Vice President Academic Activities - Amanda Bertilsdotter Nilsson
My name is Amanda Bertilsdotter Nilsson and I am originally from Lund, a city in the south of Sweden. Though, since 2006 I have been studying law at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark and that’s where I finished my bachelor degree before going to Brussels. So, perfect timing for a break from my studies and concentrating fulltime on ELSA for a year.
I have always been interested in other cultures and I believe that was the main reason why I got interested in ELSA, the internationality and cultural diversity -as stated in our vision.
I started my ELSA career as a local VP AA in ELSA Copenhagen and then went on to the National Board of ELSA Denmark as a VP AA as well as Secretary General of ELSA Copenhagen. My interest to work for ELSA on an international level was raised already after attending my first big international event, an International Council Meeting. Meeting people from all over Europe who are working towards the same goal as well as seeing how this network grows bigger and bigger after each event are a few of the things that motivates me to work for this organisation.
As responsible for Academic Activities my focus is on the legal knowledge of the students’. Studying law means a lot of reading and writing. To become the best future lawyer you need legal practice and this is the core value of the Academic Activities area.
Through Legal Writing, Moot Courts, Lawyers at Work events, Legal Debates and Legal Research Groups the students get the opportunity to improve their legal skills and gain experience from an international environment.
Internationality and Networking is what makes ELSA an outstanding organisation among so many others. A great example of this is ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO Law –EMC2, being the biggest project within ELSA. The competition reaches every continent and involves students and WTO practitioners from all over the world. Take the chance and face the global challenge with us!
Vice President Seminars & Conferences - Sofia Kallio
Internationality, academic knowledge and networking – that is what made me join ELSA as a first-year law student at the University of Helsinki in 2004. Who could have predicted then that for the term in office 2009/2010 I would work full-time for the association as the Vice President for Seminars & Conferences, ELSA International.
Before joining the International Board I was the Vice President for Seminars & Conferences in ELSA Helsinki and ELSA Finland, and also the President of ELSA Finland. Through ELSA I have gained unforgettable experiences and valuable knowledge that will be a great asset in my future professional career as well as in my personal life. I enjoy being in an international environment, and during my studies I have attended exchange programmes in Stockholm, Sweden and Strasbourg, France. In addition to law, I am studying Scandinavian languages as a second major. Wherever future takes me, I must admit that nothing beats a beautiful summer night at the Finnish countryside with the evening sun and sauna.
As the Vice President for Seminars & Conferences I am in charge of the overall co-ordination of the events regarding Legal Education in the ELSA Network. In addition to the seminars, conferences and other legal events, my area includes Study Visits which are either visits between groups of students from different countries or visits to international private or public institutions. I am also responsible for ELSA’s institutional relations and the delegations that represent ELSA in the meetings of international institutions. The area of Seminars & Conferences is the core of ELSA’s activities because it provides opportunities for sharing legal knowledge and cultural experiences.
ELSA is my choice for complementing the university curricula – and for the term 2009/2010, it will be my way of life.
Vice President Student Trainee Exchange Programme - Mirko Djukovic
My name is Mirko Djukovic and I am 22 years old. I come from Podgorica, capital of a small and beautiful country called Montenegro. I graduated one month before my work as a Vice President Student Trainee Exchange Programme started in Brussels. I have specialized Public International Law on University of Montenegro.
I started my ELSA career in 2005 but my main activities started after International STEP Meeting in Novi Sad 2007. I worked in the National Board ELSA Montenegro holding position of the VP STEP until I was elected as a VP STEP ELSA International on the spring ICM, Budva 2009. During my work on STEP I had a task to run several national projects and I was a Head of Organizing Committee of the International Council Meeting Budva 2009.
My main reason for joining the Association was the fact that it is internationally minded and because of the possibility to travel and visit different countries. I discovered that ELSA is an organization full of amazing and unique young people. They are steaming towards the same goals and overcoming the differences in legal systems and cultures from country to country.
In my opinion STEP is definition of the Network. This product gives you possibility to gain practical knowledge and enrich your experience by living as a student or young lawyer in other country, working in different kind of firms and companies. STEP is a great beginning for the legal career of law students in Europe. Our task as the International Board is to make STEP available for as many students as possible.
President - Leonid Cherniavskyi
My name is Leonid Cherniavskyi and I was born in the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv 22 years ago. I met ELSA for the first time when I was a third year student in the National Law Academy of Ukraine in Kharkiv and that meeting changed my life.
I immediately became active in ELSA by planning activities and taking part in organizing different events. In 2007 I became VP STEP of ELSA Ukraine and afterwards I was the president of ELSA Ukraine in 2008-2009. Being an officer of a National Board and taking part in numerous international events showed me the real international nature of the Association.
On the whole ELSA provides every law student and young lawyer with invaluable opportunities to learn about other cultures and legal systems in practice and become internationally minded. It has also provided me with a range of professional management skills – planning and control, team-building and motivating your colleagues, market research and negotiating. My University just couldn’t give me any of the upper mentioned skills which are without a doubt indispensable in anyone’s future professional life.
With its great vision ELSA also taught me how important it is to work for the good of society and not only for one’s private interests. This organization has given me many friends all around Europe who share the same vision and are ready to support each other. It gives you a really unique feeling of participation and unity that is an inexhaustible source of motivation and strength.
Now in my opinion it’s just not worth being a law student without becoming a part of this amazing Network – the European Law Students’ Association.
Secretary General - Timo Kortesoja
My name is Timo Kortesoja and I am the overall responsible for Internal Management of ELSA International in the term 2009/2010. I’m a 25 years old law student from north of Finland, Rovaniemi. My ELSA-career reaches down to 2006 when I was elected to be a Secretary General of my Local Group, ELSA Rovaniemi.
After starting as a local officer I have also been the Treasurer, the President and the VP Marketing of ELSA Finland. Working for all the Supporting Areas has taught me a lot about our unique association, about the importance of international co-operation and about the importance of committed people doing the work. The knowledge I have gained, the experiences I have had, and the people that I have had the pleasure to meet, have been an essential part of my law studies. Simply put, ELSA has opened my eyes to see deeper down from the surface.
From my point of view, the attraction in the position of Secretary General lies in the daily work to maintain the structure of our association and in the aim to develop the internal management system towards unified proceedings together with the whole Network. We as Secretaries General should keep in mind that communication and sharing information are the grounds for effective and functional network. Furthermore, in order to offer our members better supplies for their future ELSA-career and for their career as a future lawyers, we should always remember the promotion and applying of our very own training programme, the International Trainers Pool that is a tool for all of us to use.
Being Secretary General of the International Board is a once in a lifetime experience and an opportunity to be involved in the international interaction between the Secretaries General as a supporter when needed, and an executor of the fruits of commonly made decisions. For me, the devotion and enthusiasm for ELSA comes with the job – giving myself into it unconditionally. The work of Secretary General is like oil in the motor of a car: if there is enough of it, friction is minimal and the wheels are running.
Treasurer - Peter Christian Binau-Hansen
My name is Peter Christian Binau-Hansen and I am originally from Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Before leaving for Brussels to work full time for ELSA I finished my third year of law school and thereby earned my degree as bachelor at the University of Copenhagen
It was at the same university I discovered ELSA during a fantastic summer seminar which hosted participants from over 25 European nationalities. The extended international network that I built up during this week was amazing and gave me appetite for taking greater part in the life and work of the association. For me it was important to be able to see the joy and satisfaction my work on events and project brought to the members participating, and for that ELSA was the perfect choice.
I began my ELSA career as treasurer in the local board, followed by occupying the position as treasurer in the national board of Denmark and is now treasurer in the International Board working full time from the ELSA Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Besides my position as treasurer I contributed with the developing and administration of the local and national ELSA website.
In ELSA International my main task is to take care of the financial management of the association as well as guide and share my knowledge and know-how with the rest of the treasurers in the network. I am also the chairman of the ELSA Development Foundation which purpose is to financially support measures and activities within the association that further the vision, purpose and means of ELSA.
My spare time I use to spent behind the wheel of sailing boats on the seas in Denmark but as Brussels is in lack of big amounts of water I have now moved my interest towards swimming and running in the surrounding areas.
Vice President Marketing - Frida Orring
If someone would have told me a couple of years ago when I started my law studies in Sweden that I would be working for the International Board of ELSA 2009/2010 I am sure my reaction would be a big smile and a tingling feeling in my stomach. Working full time for the world’s largest law student association is truly the opportunity of a lifetime.
I am 25 years old, born and raised in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, but I’ve been studying in the northern parts in a town called Umeå since 2005. My first contact with ELSA was with the local group of ELSA Umeå as I was part of the Organizing Committee of the Swedish National Council Meeting Autumn 2006. I liked the idea of a law students’ association defined not by nationality or location but by common goals and believes. As I see it, ELSA is a brilliant concept but it is up to us, the network, to make the most out of it. In the key areas, Academic Activities, Seminars & Conferences and Student Trainee Exchange Programme, that would mean implementing the concept in their products. In the marketing area we make the most out of ELSA by aiming to ensure that all law students in Europe are aware of our products and the brilliance of our concept.
As in charge of marketing my main focus this year lies within our members’ magazine Synergy, our three year cycle of conducting a network-wide market research, coordination of our website and to cherish the brand of ELSA in every aspect and in every part of the network.
I still have some time left of studies when I return to Sweden next year. With me back I believe I will bring greater knowledge and understanding for other cultures and legal systems and a lot of new friends and future colleagues with common interests and values. Hopefully you will be one of them!
Directors of ELSA International
The International Board works together with a number of appointed directors who are responsible for specific areas of activity in ELSA. These are students who work several hours a day from their homes, also on a voluntary basis. Together we form the International Team of ELSA.
Director for Training - Ana Vouk
My name is Ana Vouk and throughout this year, I will be working as the Director for training in ELSA International. I live and study in a small town called Ljubljana in Slovenia and it was right in my hometown where I fell in love with the possibilities of 'International Trainers Pool'. After participating in trainings, given to my local group, I began to see how much knowledge and experience the trainers in ELSA can provide to an individual or a group. Four months later, I was appointed and will hopefully be able to help the groups in the Network by finding the perfect trainer for them.
Apart from being a director, I am also active in my recently re-established national group as a treasurer. My NG is my personal example how ITP trainings can help officers to overcome their difficulties and give someone like me the motivation to became a director for training.
Director for the Student Trainee Exchange Programme - Annamari Männikkö
My name is Annamari Männikkö and I study at the University of Lapland, situated in Rovaniemi, Finland. When I was accepted to study law in 2006, my friend recommended that I take part in ELSA activities. Even though I did not know much about the association, I was immediately very interested in its vision and international scope, which has during the years so far, led to my working as a Director for Student Trainee Exchange Programme. Through the term in office, I will work as a shadow for the Vice President of STEP, and help him in as many ways as I can.
My stepping stone to become a director has been my involvement within STEP in local and national level. I started in ELSA Rovaniemi, continued in ELSA Finland and now, after all the memorable international meetings and the constantly growing knowledge in STEP, I am able work at the international level. I consider STEP to be an opportunity for students and young lawyers to gain professional and social skills in international environment, which is certainly an educative and unforgettable experience they would value in the future.
ELSA has been a strong part of my life as a student, and it has given me the experiences and lasting friendships that will stay with me in the future. I am very proud to say, that from the very first step of my studies till the very end, I have been able to be a part of ELSA and to make my mark on STEP.
Director for ELSA Moot Court Competition - Morten Rydningen
My name is Morten Rydningen. I am born and raised in a small city in the far north of Norway called Harstad. I study law at the University of Oslo, but are currently living in Marbella, Spain.
I became active in ELSA after a study visit on Human Rights to Strasbourg, where I realized that ELSA is an organisation which really offers a lot to its members. The strength of ELSA is the international aspects which you can’t find in any other organisations.
I have been a member of ELSA since I joined the university, and since my first board position I have always been working as Vice President Academic Activities. I have had the pleasure to be VPAA of the International Board 2008/2009.
Face the challenge and sign up for EMC2 today!
Director for the International Focus Programme - Nina Prantl
ELSA for me is a unique network, a great opportunity for law students to learn more than usually taught at university and a chance to develop oneself. I am involved in ELSA since my first day of studies and I don’t rue one second of this time. I started my career as Vice President for Seminars and Conferences in my local group ELSA Passau in 2006. In my second year I was the president. During the first international meeting I attended, I was so much fascinated by the ELSA network and the work on the international level that I decided to run for the position of Vice President for Seminars and Conferences of ELSA Germany. Therefore I worked fulltime for ELSA last year in the office of ELSA Germany in Heidelberg.
Now I am back at university in Passau, but even after three years in ELSA I do not want to end my ELSA time. I am happy to work now on the international level as the Director for the International Focus Programme (IFP). The International Focus Programme shows the strength of our network, when ELSA groups all over Europe are concentrating on one hot legal topic. At the moment this topic is Intellectual Property law. This year will be an important IFP year, because the current IFP topic is outrunning and the network will vote upon the next topic. My task as Director for IFP is to support groups, who are organizing IFP events, especially ELSA Munich, which will host the Final IFP Conference. Furthermore, I will work on the Final IFP publication. Another important task for me will be to prepare the next IFP topic.
Thanks to ELSA, Europe for me consists of many different faces. As a director on the international level I want to inspire as many students as possible for the internationality of ELSA.
Director for Advertisements - Stephanie Denowell
“You cannot explain it, you have to experience it”. Those words make me active in ELSA. And the one who told me those words was right. I have been active in ELSA for three years. I started basically at the local level in my University in Mainz. After only few months I wanted to be involved in ELSA and became President of my local group – ELSA Mainz. After a year I got even more motivated and wanted to be even more involved and became President of ELSA Germany. I worked one year fulltime for ELSA. And now I reached the international level. After this term I certainly know what ELSA is about and if someone asks me to explain ELSA I would use the same words as I was told a few years ago.
I am 23 years old and I was born and raised in a small town in western Germany. I moved to Mainz to start my studies as a law student. Right now I'm starting the 4th year of my studies and ELSA is still with me. In my spare time I love to go jogging, meet up with friends or to go to the theater. I am also interested in music, politics, books and ELSA.
As the director for Advertisements my main focus is to keep in touch with our advertisers and getting in touch with interested new ones. I am presenting ELSA and our partnership possibilities to externals.
I hope we can continue the quality of our advertisements sales and make ELSA even more popular to externals and at the same time keep our members informed of their career opportunities once graduated.
