October 20-22, 2016
The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) is organizing an International Conference on Legal Empowerment as part of the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid (QALA) in Ukraine Project funded by the Government of Canada.
The Conference is scheduled to take place October 20-22, 2016 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The key objectives of the Conference are to introduce and raise awareness of the concept of legal empowerment; establish the relevance of legal empowerment within the Ukrainian context; identify critical “enablers” for legal empowerment; and share innovative and practical case studies to inform future policy/programming from legislative/policy, local self-government, law society, civil society and non-governmental organization, and legal aid system design perspectives. The case studies to be presented at the Conference will focus on several themes, including the participation in self-governance; advancing anti-corruption and integrity; alternative dispute resolution (i.e. negotiation, mediation, counseling, etc.); working with vulnerable groups (i.e. persons with disabilities, victims of domestic violence, refugees, war veterans, orphaned children, internally displaced persons, etc.); alternative legal aid service delivery (i.e. lawyers vs. non-lawyers); good practices and innovative approaches towards advancing legal empowerment; roles of stakeholders in legal empowerment, measuring progress in advancing legal empowerment; methods of assessing legal empowerment needs, and role of information technology in legal empowerment.
This event, the first of its kind in Ukraine, is expected to bring together approximately 160 people, including key policy and decision-makers and civil society leaders from across the legal community in Ukraine as well as international thought leaders and practitioners.
CBIE, as organizer of the event, is soliciting applications from students at member institutions to fill a volunteer graduate student rapporteur position at the Conference. The role of the rapporteur will be to participate in the assigned sessions of the Conference as silent observer and capture the exchange and important findings of the discussion in the form of a summary report. The report, expected to be completed within one (1) week after the conclusion of the Conference, and once finalized, will be posted on the Conference’s website and included in a comprehensive report to the QALA project’s funder.
The Conference sessions will be conducted in both English and/or Ukrainian. Interpretation will be provided for sessions held in Ukrainian. It is anticipated that the Conference mission to Ukraine will involve a commitment of 7-8 days (including travel and Conference participation).
Application guidelines
Applicants must be graduate students currently enrolled full-time at a Canadian member institution in law, political science, international affairs or other social sciences. Preference will be given to students whose graduate work is related to the Conference’s theme and/or sub-themes. Applicants must possess strong analytical skills and excellent writing skills. Knowledge of Ukrainian is considered an asset.
Applications should be submitted via e-mail to Tatiana Wojtan no later than July 31, 2016.
Applications must include:
- The applicant’s CV (including contact information);
- A one page statement outlining the applicant’s interest in the opportunity to participate in the Conference as a rapporteur as well as a relevance, if any, of his/her graduate work to the Conference’s themes and/or sub-themes; and
- Two academic references (name, position, contact information, and connection to student).
Terms and conditions of submission
- Incomplete applications will not be considered;
- Applicants will be notified of selection by August 19, 2016;
- The successful applicant will be selected on the basis of his/her application statement;
- The selected rapporteur will not be compensated for his/her service – participation in the Conference is on a voluntary basis; and
- Travel costs related to the participation in the Conference in Ukraine will be arranged for and covered by the QALA Project in line with the Treasury Board of Canada Travel Guidelines, and with all logistical/administrative arrangements overseen directly by CBIE.
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