International development with Raleigh
Each year, the Junior Lawyers Division community can volunteer to participate in a two week expedition to a developing country in association with Raleigh, a youth and sustainable development charity based in the UK.
This page provides an overview of the project, its aims and how it developed. We hope you'll be excited by this unique and fantastic opportunity, and eager to take part.
Project
The next JLD Raleigh expedition will be to Malaysian Borneo from 8-25 March 2012 and the project will be the construction of a gravity-fed water system in a remote rural community.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to take part in an incredible overseas expedition. You have the chance to make a positive and lasting impact on a marginalised community while enhancing your own personal and professional development. The expedition also qualifies you for a set number of hours of accredited Continuing Professional Development.
To see more of day to day expedition life have a look at the last two JLD Raleigh programmes:
- the pilot JLD Raleigh project took place in October 2009 in Malaysian Borneo.
- in 2010 we visited Tamil Nadu in India's Nilgiri Mountains.
Register for the JLD Project Borneo 2012
Aims
The project aims to provide up to 15 members of the JLD community with the opportunity to develop their practical and employability skills, to grow stronger and wider professional networks while making a real and positive contribution to the development of disadvantaged communities.
The team will experience unique interaction with local people while living in basic and challenging conditions. Living away from the comforts of daily life has many benefits, including:
- Increased ability to plan, lead and have influence in group situations.
- Increased ability to work alongside people from different cultures and countries, improved sense of identity and self awareness as well as individual's awareness of global issues.
- Improved leadership, team, interpersonal, intercultural, problem solving skills that are all highly transferable and likely to increase the effectiveness and motivation of participants, and widen their national networks.
Activity
Each community project is planned by Raleigh in partnership with a local community NGO. Raleigh focuses on infrastructure developments such as installation of a gravity feed water system or construction of bio-gas fuel plants. Participants are expected to work together as a team to complete the project and will receive coaching and support from Raleigh throughout the expedition. The projects are designed to be achievable in the time period given, but the conditions will be challenging and intense.
There are four stages to each project - planning, training, project and workshop. At all times, your own development goals, along with the overall aims of the project, will be reviewed and discussed with participants.
1. Planning
Each project begins with a briefing weekend six weeks prior to departure for the expedition. This enables all participants to meet each other (and their Raleigh leaders) and begin team building before being put into project conditions. It also specifically covers:
- Kit requirements
- Medical briefing
- Country and project briefing
- Developmental tools relating to key practical skills
- Cultural awareness
- Individual objective setting
- Team-building process
The weekend enables all participants to meet each other (and their Raleigh leaders) and begin team building before being put into project conditions.
2. Training
The group travels together to the destination country where they are greeted by Raleigh's staff and taken to the expedition induction. The induction provides full health and safety training and field preparation and allows the group to familiarise themselves with the equipment they will use and the project they will be undertaking. The induction includes one-to-one sessions and some facilitation sessions to ensure that each individual gains the most from their time on expedition.
3. Community project
Following the induction, the group departs for their community project in a remote location. They will live and work alongside the community, which is a challenging and unique opportunity. This promotes increased cultural awareness, interaction with the community (especially when means of communication are limited) and, most importantly, a greater understanding of global issues. The project also promises to be hard work - designed to push the participants to the limit and requiring them to work together as a strong, performing team.
4. Workshop
After the completion of the development activity, the team leaves the community and heads for the nearest town/city in country. After a short adjustment period, the final phase of the project is spent preparing for and running a workshop with local junior lawyers.
This task brings the group together to working on planning, presentation and teamwork. The workshop focuses on current legal ‘hot' topics in both countries, giving the team and the workshop participants the opportunity to learn about the local legal system, exchange ideas, to talk about the challenges they face as junior lawyers and to encourage an open and honest debate.
CPD accreditation
By completing a JLD expedition it is possible to obtain up to a year’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points. The skills gained on the expedition are recognised by, and are central to, the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) requirements for CPD, and as such the JLD expeditions are accredited by the SRA.
Raleigh staff will work with each volunteer throughout the entire expedition to identify their strengths and weaknesses in order to assist and coach them with their future professional development. Your participation on this programme is not just a benefit to yourself and the community, but to your employers as well.
Origins
The JLD's first international public service project is formulated and managed by Raleigh, a youth and sustainable development charity. Raleigh’s vision is to create a global community of inspired and inspiring young people committed to working together regardless of age, social background, culture and nationality, building strong sustainable communities and making a difference to their world.
Former Law Society president Fiona Woolf initially introduced Raleigh to the Junior Lawyers Division. Raleigh's proposal excited the Committee, and extensive work was done to develop both the concept and the format of the project. After the success of the 2009 pilot expedition, the program was officially launched on 2 February 2010, which has changed the face of corporate social responsibility for the members of the JLD community.
The project, now into its third year, is open to the wider JLD community, with the third expedition returning to Borneo in March 2012 to follow on from the good work completed by the pilot team.
See the expedition overview (PDF 822kb) or contact the JLD Raleigh project sub-committee at juniorlawyersraleigh@gmail.com for more information.