Celebrating 10 Years of Young ICCA
On 26 May 2010, following the closing of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration’s 20th biennial Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Marike Paulsson, Lise Bosman and Eduardo Damião Gonzalves announced the creation of Young ICCA. Today, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of what has become a thriving global community of young arbitration practitioners and students committed to opening the doors of international arbitration. Congratulations, Young ICCA!
Despite the challenges that we now face as a community, let us remember what we have achieved in the past as a celebration of what will come in the future. Since the organisation’s inception in 2010, Young ICCA has grown from a few hundred members into a truly global organisation of over 7,200 individuals under the age of 40. In 10 years, we have successfully hosted some 137 events around the world from the West Coast of the United States to Japan, passing through Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Brazil, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Egypt, Morocco, Central Europe, Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, India, Pakistan, China, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines and Australia - to name only a few of the countries Young ICCA has been active in. In addition, we have coordinated seven cycles of the Young ICCA Mentoring Programme and awarded scholarships to some 17 young practitioners to attend prestigious LLMs at the MIDS in Geneva, the University of Miami and the Tsinghua University in Beijing. Finally, with around 4,000 subscribers, we have spread Young ICCA’s mission and legal developments in international arbitration through the Young ICCA Blog.
Young ICCA’s growth and accomplishments are testament to the dedication and creativity of its past and present leaders – this includes the Young ICCA Events Team and the Young ICCA Mentoring Programme Coordinators and the Editors of the Young ICCA Blog. In particular, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all of Young ICCA’s co-chairs, many of whom have joined together in celebrating this milestone and produced a special message for the Young ICCA Membership.
Young ICCA’s founding co-chairs – Marike Paulsson, Lise Bosman and Eduardo Damião Gonzalves – recently contributed some of their memories of Young ICCA to an article on the origins and past 10 years of the organisation. You can access the full article on the Young ICCA website today.
Finally, we would like to thank you, our members, for supporting Young ICCA and invite you to join us in looking forward to the next 10 years of Young ICCA!
While Young ICCA Membership is only open to practitioners and students under the age of 40, Young ICCA enjoys a fruitful and collaborative relationship with its parent organisation, ICCA. Over the years, many Young ICCA Members have gone on to become ICCA Members. For more information on ICCA Membership, please click here.