The return of WELS and SELS to our Network

VALENTIN BADERT

Vice President in charge of Seminars and Conferences PAULA BAČIĆ

President of ELSA Zagreb DARIO SCHÖNBÄCHLER

VP S&C of ELSA Switzerland

Another challenge of this year was to bring back one of the largest-reaching projects we have in our Association after two years of a mandatory pause: the ELSA Law Schools project.

Our ELSA Law Schools aim to allow our members and non-members to discover a new legal topic while also benefitting from discovering new cultures from all across Europe and making friends for life.

At the beginning of our term, we had decided to take a proactive approach regarding the project to change our usual structure and make it fit for the COVID-19 situation to guarantee our participants’ safety and good health. Indeed, in addition to delaying our first cycle to evaluate the situation better, we also decided to make COVID vaccination certificates a prerequisite to participating in our ELSA Law Schools. This approach enabled ELSA Law Schools to take place in the best conditions of health possible, and we are happy that overall, we managed to welcome everyone without experiencing any significant outbreaks.

However, one of the extra challenges we had this year in addition to the COVID pandemic was to ensure that the quality of one of our most unified projects would stay the same, if not improve. Right when the cycles started, the ELSA Law Schools team decided to have a very prominent approach to the ELSA Law Schools Coaching, being either through multiple calls, the organisation of our Training Weekends in an online format to ensure the possibility for the largest number of people to participate, and also through an idea that was implemented in 2019 but which we were able to execute only this year, namely the ELSA Law Schools Pre-Visit. During the pre-visit, the aim is to witness the organisation of the ELSA Law School in person and to use this opportunity to check rooms, venues, accommodations, food etc. I was therefore happy that in the context of our coaching strategy, we had the opportunity to proceed with those previsits throughout the year in Munich, Istanbul, Adana, Athens, and Sarajevo, and I am sure that it helped them and us to organise an even better ELSA Law School.

In the end, the clear message that we received from our network was that this was something they were profoundly waiting for, as Paula and Dario explain:

Testimonials from WELS/SELS Organisers

“As a proud president of a local group participating in both the winter and the summer cycle, I am extremely glad that the Schools in the ELSA network could finally be held again!

Our WELS took place from February 27th until March 6th on the subject of Law and Business; the participants visited the High Commercial Court and the Croatian National Bank as part of the academic programme. A part of the cultural and social programme was marked by trips to the Plitvice Lakes National Park and the nearby town of Samobor where a traditional carnival was held.

At the end of July, SELS will be held traditionally on the coast, in the City of Zadar; the topic is, again, Human Rights and Globalization. We have prepared a rich academic, cultural, and social programme for more than 40 participants, and we are organising a boat trip to another national park, this time to the Kornati Islands.

The organisation of Schools meant a great deal to me. Namely, the student organisers have the opportunity to try different challenges, acquire many skills, and deepen their legal knowledge.

I am also glad that we can once again offer young people the opportunity to get involved in such a fantastic project, where cultural and social experience are combined with academic knowledge. Schools are an exceptional opportunity for members and nonmembers to feel the ELSA Spirit and learn something new in a more informal and relaxed environment.” - Paula Bačić

“Finally is what I thought in January 2022, when the decision was announced not to cancel Summer ELSA Law Schools. I was very happy that one of my favourite projects – and one of the flagship projects of ELSA – was a step closer to happening. By January 2022, the Organising Committee for the SELS Geneva had already been working on the SELS Geneva for over half a year. Organising a project that had not happened for two years has its own challenges. Only two people in my Organising Committee experienced an ELSA Law School. The majority of the OC never attended a SELS or WELS. However, everyone was very motivated to give their best to make the comeback of ELSA Law Schools a success. Organising an ELSA Law School is not just a lot of fun; it is also amazing to see what skills everyone involved learned individually and as a team. Furthermore, it is a project that lets the participants enhance their knowledge and skills immensely. Although there were many challenges, thanks to the dedication of the Organizing Committee and the support of ELSA International we overcame these challenges and provided our participants with a fantastic SELS experience, one that I hope they will want to relieve at another WELS or SELS now that the project is back!” - Dario Schönbächler

Finally, the return to physical law schools gave us the opportunity to bring back into the spotlight our partnership with CBL International, an organisation that holds different Law Schools annually, for example at the Oriel College of the University of Oxford. The continuous partnership between ELSA and CBL enabled us to again provide a 20% discount for all ELSA Members applying to the Oriel College programme this summer.

Testimonial from Gabriel Li, Academic Partnership Manager, CBL International - Worldstrides

“It is really exciting to see students from ELSA again in our Summer Institution at Oriel College, University of Oxford, after the pandemic. ELSA is one of the most important partners of CBL; we have worked together for more than 10 years. This year, with the great support and help from Valentin and his team, we believe the students will have a delighted and unforgettable summer. We also look forward to seeing more students from ELSA at Oriel College next year.”