Summer Law School
Summer Law School - "International Law and Arab Spring"
A global wave dispatched in law and society A new, official beginning of an annual ELSA event took place on the 22nd of July 2012 – the Summer Law School in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Truth being said, this event started out of scholars, like historians, Arab specialwith an immediate vision of its future ists and civil society experts. Marko Jordacevic Loes van der Graaf shape. Back in the summer of 2011, in Vice President Seminars & Organising Committee which the first edition of the Summer Conferences Together with this combination we ELSA Rotterdam Summer Law School was organized, the way was ELSA Netherlands 2011/2012 Law School 2012 wanted to achieve a week with difpaved for its annual nature in its future ferent perspectives, which could be years. Its regular offer was to be highly based on an actual brought within the mindset of a typical law student from topic; the focus of this years’ second edition was on the major our vast ELSA Network. By adding more views and profeshappenings evolving around the Arab Spring, its humanitarisional perspectives to the main storyline, we have tried to an, sociological and especially highlight the true background legal points of view, from its "The overthrowing impact of the Arab of the variety of conflicts that starting sparkle until its end inflicted during the period Spring on the global civil society in this of the Arab Spring, in which that has not been reached by some, until this day. part of the world, flawlessly suited ELSA’s many countries in the Middle East were experienctrue origins as a law students’ association." ing constitutional changes in The overthrowing impact of the Arab Spring on the their societies. global civil society in this part of the world, flawlessly suited ELSA’s true origins as a law stuIn order to break the ice between the participants and to dents’ association with of course, a strong international flavor ease up things a bit, we introduced a quiz on general ELSAwith a deep interest for human rights in general. knowledge, together with a magnificent ELSA-cake that was specially ordered for one of the participants, whose birthday All of its organisation, human resources management, acait was on that exact day! A main introduction about the week demic addition, the main ELSA Vision and highly fostered and the general idea of the Summer Law School was planned expectations, could barely predict the success of this week. in the first morning hours of the event.. A lecture about The organising committee of the Summer Law School aimed some misconceptions about the Arab Spring followed closely. to strike a clear balance between the academic program and This was also the perfect moment for a debate the social program for its participants. By creating this balance between the lecturer and our participants that led we also visualized a greater diversity in speakers for the acato a variety of different perspectives and opinions on demic program; next to law practitioners, we invited a variety the main topic.
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