The Soroptimist International London Chilterns Region Celebration of International Women’s Day at the University of Hertfordshire, School of Law was a resounding success! https://www.herts.ac.uk/study/schools-of-study/law
The United Nations International Women’s Day Theme for 2025 was “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”.
The Region’s Theme for 2024-25 is “Impactful Women”.
This event really hit the spot for both the UN theme and the Region’s theme!
We were very grateful to the University of Hertfordshire for hosting the event. The afternoon programme provided us with a unique opportunity to visit the Law School and hear first-hand from students how they are able to develop practical skills and experience linked to academic knowledge to enable them to be world class practitioners in the future.
We began with a Courtroom Tour – ahead of the main event. The courtroom facility in the Law School provides a fitting forum for the award-winning advocacy activities where students have the opportunity to put the law learnt in the classroom into practice in the courtroom. It has also been used in many TV dramas!
SI London Chilterns Regional President: Kate Belinis DL welcomed everyone at the start of the main event and gave a brief introduction to the day.
The keynote address: “Breaking Barriers and Shaping Futures” was given by Amanda Thurston – Director of Hertfordshire Law Clinic, Principal Lecturer & Solicitor: School of Law & Education – please click here to download and read Amanda’s speech: IWD – 25 Amanda Thurston Keynote Speech
Panel Discussion – What does inclusion look like for women in Higher Education?
Panel Members – from the University of Hertfordshire were Amanda Thurston: Director of Hertfordshire Law Clinic, with Shanina O’Reilly and Sylvia Holmes, plus Student Representatives – Ocean and Funke and from SI London Chilterns Region Kate Belinis DL and Rita Beaumont.
Rita Beaumont gave a short presentation about Soroptimists’ projects, with a focus on education .
After this there was an Interactive session led by Kathleen Tripp, Senior Lecturer in SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and Inclusion with Ocean, a Level 5 Law Student and ambassador at the University. The audience was asked questions: “Who are some women who have inspired you?”, “What does international women’s day mean to you?”, “What piece of advise would you give to the younger generation of women in higher education?”, “What action will you take in the future?”. Please click on this link for the responses from the audience IWD – Mentimeter
Regional President Kate wrapped up the event, thanking everyone for making it such a thought provoking experience for everyone – a great way to mark International Women’s day.
The Law School enables students to get involved with a wide range of linked activities alongside their academic studies to help build applied skills. This includes volunteering at Hertfordshire Law Clinic who provide free advice to the local community, provide support to litigants in person through the “Support at Court” project or design and deliver interactive presentations for schools and community groups as part of the “Streetlaw” project.
Students also have the opportunity to represent the School in both national and international competitions for mooting, trial advocacy, client interviewing and mediation. Over the past decade the school has earned an excellent track record in these competitions, regularly beating teams from both Oxbridge and Russell Group universities and winning national trophies.
As a result of the event we were able to make a donation of £120 for the Soroptimist International Foundation and £75 to the LawWorks in support of Herts Law School’s Pro Bono legal work https://lawworks.enthuse.com/pf/hertfordshire-law-united
