Jahresbericht ELSA-Deutschland e.V. 2007/2008 - ELSA Germany

Secretaries’ International Meeting (SIM) in Munich
Confessions of a SIM
Munich — ELSA stands for European Law Students’ Association. Therefore our association has an international component
which is missing in other law students’ associations in countries all over Europe. But why should we care about other
countries? In this new world of globalisation it is important to have good knowledge of foreign cultures and for instance an
understanding on different law systems. ELSA contributes to the education of young people. Therefore we need an Association
with an international character.
Bernardo
Almeida
ELSA Porto
Before I talk about what I was asked to,
let me introduce myself. My name is
Bernardo Almeida. I am from Portugal,
so I am, what they call on international
level, a Mediterranian. The reason why?
I guess it is because we are living our live
relaxed. Meet me at an international
meeting and find out.
But, let’s talk about SIM! It stands for Secretaries
International Meeting and took place in Munich, more
exactly in the youth hostel of Possenhofen. It was the first SIM
ever, but hopefully not the last one. I was representing my national
boards secretary general who could not be present. At this meeting,
we discussed what SecGens can do to strenghen the network.
If you want to know how the work of a Sec-Gen looks like, I will
tell you: they have a broad range of responsibilities mainly in the
administrative part of the network. Also they are responsible
for communication and the probably the utmost important area:
Human Resources. That demands a lot of cooperation between
the International Board and the SecGens of other countries.
People on which we can rely on
During the SIM we focused on the topic of Human Resources.
Why? Many countries do not have a lot of financial support
and therefore have limited possibilities. ELSA, as an association
of people, has the most valuable resource: People on which we
can rely on. Those people are in particular our trainers of the
International Trainers Pool. They offer their time and efforts
(for free!) to train ELSAnians in relevant areas, as for example
Human Resource. That is why we should accept that offer and
have trainings, not only national ones, but those with an international
input, such as the ELSA House Training Week or the
regional trainings. There we have the possibility to have three or
four countries together, with an international trainer, to receive
education in soft skills to be able to work more efficiently.
During that weekend we were joined by the ITP trainers, most
of them being a former member of the board or national boards
members with a lot of experience. They were having their Refreshment
Weekend while we were having SIM. Wo we were able
to have some joint sessions with them, including a brainstorming
about the ways to improve the contact between National Boards,
the Director for Training, and the International Board.
Come across Europe from time to time
But why should someone go to Munich to discuss that? Well
ELSA is an association of people…or to put it better, it is an
association where people live to their ideals on a daily basis. An
association where they can ring someone living in another part
of Europe and having a discussion about problems and solutions
that are pretty similar in different countries. ELSA is a place for
those new ideas and experiences. It is a melting pot for interesting
people and above all, a birthplace for true friendship.
Probably one of the most important things is the teambuilding
aspect of international meetings mentioned: the network of
contacts that is build up while working on an international level.
It is much easier to work with someone when you know that person,
because you have worked with them face-to-face and shared
good moments with them.
That is why many of us should come across Europe from time
to time…To be with friends, to exchange ideas, to learn and to
teach and to open new borders and to broaden horizons.
Nationale und internationale Treffen
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