Category Archives: Student Organizations and Journals

Humanitarian and NBA All Star Dikembe Mutombo talks at HLS

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Dikembe Mutomb. Photo by Heratch Photography.

Photo by Heratch Photography.

Mutombo visited Harvard Law School on Oct. 23 for a talk sponsored by International Legal Studies, the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, the Harvard African Law Association, and the Law and International Development Society. Introducing Mutombo to the standing-room only audience, Harvard Law School Professor William Alford ‘77, who serves with Mutombo on the board of the Special Olympics International, noted “When I say I look up to Dikembe Mutombo, I’m not talking about his height, I’m talking about his humaneness. [He] is one of the world’s greatest humanitarians.”

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LIDS Fall Symposium on Friday, October 31, 12-4:30 pm

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Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Rebuilding from Emergency to Development

WCC, Milstein East B+C

Join the LIDS Fall Symposium, where experts, practitioners, and academics working on issues of development and reconstruction in post-conflict countries convene to discuss strategies to best promote growth, stability, and long-term development in countries arising from violent conflict.

Lunch will begin at 12 pm with keynote speaker Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank and former minister of finance and economic planning in Rwanda.

Other notable panelists hail from the UN, World Bank, USAID, The Asia Foundation, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative, and Namati. These speakers will be part of two panels, first on Driving Economic Growth and Building Institutions After Conflict, and second, Developing Stability and Security: Post-Conflict Security Sector and Justice Reform.

The symposium will be followed by an evening reception in the Hark South Dining Room.

Please visit the LIDS website for further information and the complete schedule.

Organized by Harvard Law and International Development Society, co-sponsored by International Legal Sudies.

International Party 2014 – Snapshots

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Photo courtesy of Heratch Photography.

The 2014 LL.M. class hosted the International Party on Saturday, February 15, a highly-anticipated annual event in which students, faculty, staff, and family members celebrate the graduate students’ cultural heritage. Decked out in traditional outfits, students shared their favorite culinary treats, which ranged from Taiwanese Boba tea to Swiss chocolates to Indonesian Gado-gado. With full plates and bellies, the crowd gathered to watch performances that included a traditional Maori song, a Chinese folk dance, and an Indian Bollywood dance. View a slideshow of the party on the HLS Student Spotlights Web page.

Trudy Dako (JD ’11) on organizing the Harvard African Development Conference

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“As president of the Harvard African Law Association, I was proud to join forces with five other Africa-focused groups at schools across Harvard to organize the first annual Harvard African Development Conference. We had six panels that covered topics ranging from food security to education and development, including a panel on theories of development featuring Professors Duncan Kennedy and Amartya Sen. Overall, the two-day conference brought together around 300 students and practitioners from varied backgrounds for what turned out to be a very fruitful experiment in cross-disciplinary exchange.”

James Nortey (JD ’11) on his trip to Rwanda with the Harvard Black Law Students Association

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“ I recently returned from Rwanda as part of the Harvard Black Law Students Association’s annual Africa Summit. The purpose of the trip is to allow students to connect to the larger African diaspora, engage with political, business, community, and legal leaders, and provide community service to the native people of the host country. We met the women of Hinga Kawa Coffee Cooperative to learn about how they produce coffee to be sold at fair trade prices to send their children to school. In addition, we met the Dean of the National University of Rwanda Faculty of Law, the U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda, the Minister of Justice, and President Paul Kagame to discuss Rwanda’s legal and political climate and his vision for the nation’s future. But we also had some fun, journeying deep into the forest near the volcanoes at the Ugandan border to track a family of gorillas.”