ICC celebrates diversity with new Young Arbitrators Forum representatives

Elected for a two-and-a-half year mandate, the freshly appointed Young Arbitrators Forum (YAF) representatives are responsible for promoting and developing the dynamic global network of more than 10,000 members.

Open to those 40 years of age and under, YAF provides a variety of opportunities for professionals to gain knowledge, develop their skills and understand ICC’s arbitral procedure and other dispute resolution services.

Enhancing diversity in international arbitration remains a key priority for ICC. Since its inception, gender balance has been met with every YAF mandate. The current set of representatives comprises 38 women and 34 men. Commenting on the recently appointed representatives, YAF Co-Chair and Deputy Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration Ana Serra e Moura said:

“A true testament of ICC’s continuous efforts to promote different types of diversity, I am extremely proud of the incoming YAF representatives. I have no doubt that they will work hard to address the many challenges that young arbitrators face today.”

Recognised as the largest association of its kind, YAF reflects ICC’s status as the world’s leading arbitral institution. This year’s roster of regional representatives sets the record as not only the most diverse but also the largest group. What started with only 15 ambassadors in 2008 has increased almost five times over. Today, YAF regional representatives include 72 professionals.

“We are very grateful to our previous YAF representatives who significantly contributed to the promotion of our dispute resolution education around the world. Through this incoming group of individuals, we look forward to continuing ICC’s efforts to develop and nurture the next generation of arbitration and ADR practitioners. The events and activities they organise in their respective jurisdictions will provide an array of opportunities to young practitioners,” said YAF Co-Chair and Manager of the ICC International Centre for ADR Alina Leoveanu.

Members of the 2019-2021 YAF mandate represent 46 countries and 60 cities. Of those cities, 14 are highlighted with representation for the first time. New areas include Canada’s cosmopolitan city of Calgary; the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, Hangzhou; Saudi Arabia’s capital and main financial hub, Riyadh; and the sprawling capital of Poland, Warsaw.

ICC firmly believes that professional development activities, such as educational programmes and conferences, provide the ideal platform for young practitioners to learn from some of the world’s leading experts and provides the space to exchange views on international arbitration trends. In 2018, YAF organised over 140 events throughout the world.

With the help of the new representatives, YAF will continue with its full calendar of global top-level events. They will also play a key role in expanding the network in their respective countries and neighbouring regions, in addition to taking an active organising role in coordinating the forum’s flagship event, the ICC YAF Global Conference. The biennial conference is set to take place in London from 7-8 June 2019.

View the full list of our YAF regional representatives for the 2019-2021 mandate.