Young Practitioners Group under the auspices of AIAC
The youth is the hope of our future.
Jose Rizal
The youth of today will be the future leaders of the international dispute resolution community. As such, they need a strong foundation, critical awareness of the existing challenges, and a platform to be heard from. Acknowledging the importance of youth empowerment, the AIAC established a Young Practitioners Group (“YPG”) under its auspices on 17th March 2017. The YPG brings together dispute resolution practitioners below the age of 40 and students interested in building their careers in this fast-growing and dynamic field. The YPG is managed by two Co-Chairs and includes seven committees (Commercial Arbitration, Investor-State Arbitration, Maritime Arbitration, Sports Arbitration, Belt and Road, Adjudication, Mediation), each comprised of three young dispute resolution practitioners. Members of the YPG are offered a variety of exclusive events in multiple languages, such as seminars, training days and workshops, visits to ports, interviews with distinguished practitioners, etc. The group actively collaborates with other international and regional groups (e.g., ICC YAF, YSIAC, Young PIArb, CIArb YMG Malaysia, ICDR Y&I, etc.) and was recently confirmed as a member of the Co-Chairs Circle (“CCC”) during its annual meeting in Rome, Italy. This major accomplishment will allow YPG to be the voice for its members at this prestigious international platform.
The group has demonstrated continuous success from day one. Within a year of its inception, the YPG went from zero to over 1,200 members from more than 40 jurisdictions and 4 continents. From March 2017 to April 2019 alone, the YPG offered more than 90 events to its members, and the total number of attendees exceeded 2000.
A significant amount of work has been targeted at the Malaysian student community. The YPG regularly visits law schools in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Penang and Terengganu to increase awareness about alternative dispute resolution among young talents. In order to encourage students to study alternative dispute resolution and to network among like-minded peers, the First Essay Competition and First Asian Conference for Students and Young Practitioners were held a few months ago. As a result of consistent efforts, students were able to present their research results and receive feedback from experienced practitioners. Furthermore, fourteen of the brightest students from seven Malaysian law schools were appointed as YPG Student Representatives to proudly develop the ADR communities in their alma maters.
Recognising the importance of the Africa-Asia partnership, along with the new and exciting opportunities it offers and the challenges it may bring in the dispute resolution arena, the YPG organised a unique event targeted at young practitioners from two continents: “Tailoring Dispute Resolution Mechanisms: Africa and Asia in Focus” on 20th July 2018. The event was supported by a number of groups (AfricaArb, CIArb YMG Kenya, CIArb YMG Nigeria, the Association of Young Arbitrators Nigeria) and was livestreamed worldwide.
The dedicated team at AIAC YPG looks forward to further development and implementation of innovative ideas in the field of international dispute resolution. Stay tuned.
