Two weeks at AIA

The last couple weeks have been pretty busy but we are at a stage in most of our projects where each day is fairly similar, its merely a test of patience and persistence. We have a conference on UNCITRAL Model Law in June and the European mediator training course in August that we must now market to legal practitioners and academics around the world. My boss told me he really wants me to take initiative with this task so I have been trying to be as creative as possible in fin ding ways to disseminate news about AIA to the write places. Because I like enjoy writing a put together several editorial pieces and sent them to English speaking newspapers in the several different EU countries. It allowed me to not simply market our project but actually explain the history and future potential of international mediation in enhancing economic relations as well as informal justice. I had to adapt the editorials based on the country where the newspaper was, so that required some additional research. I was also able to publish an article about AIA and ADR in a magazine called “Corporate International.” You can read it for free online if anyone is interested. You can even see my goofy picture above the text. Enjoy.

One of the most exciting events of the past week was when I conducted a phone interview with the head of the mediation office and the United Nations. We spoke for about 45 minutes in what proceed more as a conversation than a Q & A. He is extremely experienced and knows a lot about the theory behind conflict management and peace studies. It was quite a learning experience to say the least. The fact that there is a mediation service for the UN, an international organization that by definition conducts its own mediation, says a lot about how widely applicable and unequivocal mediation services are. I was fascinated by the concept of “on-call mediators.” An on-call mediator often mediates during UN peacekeeping missions to ensure that the UN can do its job without being hindered by its own international conflict. The article I wrote about the UN mediation services will be in the April AIA newsletter.

Last Monday I went to the Vienna for the day (yes, literally only for the day) to do research at the United Nations UNCITRAL library. It felt a bit like studying for finals because I was trying to cram as much information into notes as quickly as possible. The research I am doing is to help my boss write his speech. However, I will be responsible for the opening introduction so I need to put together a brief text for that as well. Luckily, thanks to Brandon I was able to see a bit of Vienna before I took the place back that evening. Vienna is truly an amazing city. A one day does not suffice but it was great anyways, thanks again Brandon.

It is finally spring, which in Brussels means its conference season. Apparently it is very common in the months of April and May for international organizations and EU institutions to hold big conferences in the city. It is a great time to show off the European capital I think. Anyways, I will be going to several of these on behalf of AIA which is exciting. I have always enjoyed going to conferences because it allows you to get fairly extensive knowledge about a specific topic you may have been unfamiliar with before. The tough part is trying to connect AIA’s services to the issues addressed on the concerts and then trying to network to the proper attendees. Still, it is good practice for negotiation.