ELSA National Council Meeting 2020
ELSA stands for the European Law Students Association. ELSA Glasgow is a local group of ELSA UK, which is in turn part of the overarching network of ELSA International. ELSA is an international organisation which aims to provide its members with a platform to develop their existing skills and acquire new ones, in order to meet the needs of their student members who are interested in achieving academic and personal excellence in addition to their legal or law-related studies at university.
The NCM is a bi-annual statutory meeting of the ELSA UK network, which sees all the local groups in the UK come together to receive training, vote on proposals at plenaries and attend socials in order to get to know the ELSA UK community better.
This November saw ELSA Glasgow become the organising committee for what was a very unique NCM. The NCM traditionally takes place in person, but this year it had to be moved online. We worked hard to make it as close to a traditional NCM as possible, making sure to maintain the fun and Scottish spirit that would have come with an in-person NCM in Glasgow.
The plenaries are a time for members of each local group to come together, hear from speakers and discuss and vote on proposals. As ELSA Glasgow was the organising committee, our Vice-President of Academic Activities, Dávid Bali created a wonderful academic programme, and during the opening plenary the network had the pleasure of hearing from Professor Jim Murdoch and Maria Fletcher.
See Dávid’s reflection on the opening plenary below:
The NCM involved a substantial amount of planning, but it definitely paid off. Besides the fact that we could showcase the university through an introduction video of our organising committee and also a campus tour provided by the SRC, we were lucky to have law school staff members attend the event as well. Through this, law students across the UK were able to gain some insight on what our university’s atmosphere is like, and what we stand for.
Jim Murdoch gave a stellar opening speech, immersing people into the Scottish university experience through mentioning everything that ranges from out international law education all the way to deep fried Mars bars. Shortly after, maria Fletcher’s very inspirational presentation on the topic of 100 years of Women in Law was very well-received and the guests bombarded both of our speakers with many questions.
Personally, I could not have been more satisfied with the academic and social programmes that we conducted in order to have more than 100 students get a feel of what Glasgow University is like, even from afar.
And see below ELSA Glasgow’s President, Meemi Matero’s reflection on the talks in the opening plenary:
“Jim started with a general talk about the University of Glasgow, reflecting on its position in the within the UK legal education – it’s history, our famous alumni and overall success. However, what seemed to resonate most with people across the network was Glasgow being famous for the deep-fried Mars bar! There were many requests within the discussion forum for members of the network to be sent one, with many hoping to hear what it was like to bite into one! However, to everyone’s disappointment, neither Jim or Maria had tried one, so it remains a mystery to all!”
The plenary then turned to hear from Maria, who provided a talk about the University of Glasgow’s 100 Women in Law project, a general discussion of the achievements of women in law, and the importance of gender equality and inclusivity in general in the legal profession. This importance was further reflected on in the network’s plenary discussion on an input paper on inclusivity brought by ELSA Westminster who called in question the lack of diversity within the ELSA UK network. It therefore seems apparent that what people took most from Maria’s talk was that there is work to be done in the area of inclusivity within the legal profession and we all, including the ELSA UK National Council, need to make an effort to promote inclusivity and diversity in law and beyond.”
Other than workshops and plenaries, there was also an evening social programme. These gave members of the network the opportunity to relax and get to know each other after full on days, and everyone who attended commented favourably on how well Glasgow had done in organising enjoyable social events. On Friday, we held a quiz, and on Saturday we held a very chill social, with the dress code of ‘lockdown attire’. Overall, these socials were well-enjoyed, and a special thanks goes to Helen Scott, our Director of Socials, for putting on such wonderful events, whilst coping with the ever-present challenges of technology.
As well as being a positive and beneficial weekend for the ELSA UK network, having the chance to ‘host’ the NCM was also beneficial for the University of Glasgow Law School. Jim and Maria’s talks showcased the innovative and dynamic way in which the Glasgow Law School works. Furthermore, welcome packs were also sent to all participating local groups, containing a welcome message from Glasgow, some classic Scottish snacks and University of Glasgow socks. There was also information on the Women in Law project Maria Fletcher discussed in the opening plenary. Photos of these could be seen across the local group’s social media pages and helped to show the warm Scottish welcome we gave to the network since we could not welcome them in person. The socks were a particular highlight!
Although not the type of NCM we expected to have to organise, it was a great success, and everyone who attended thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. A special thanks goes to Professor Jim Murdoch and Maria Fletcher for providing such insightful talks at the opening plenary, and to every member of the law school involved in helping us to create such a wonderful event.
