President's Blog, December 2024
Posted: 23 Dec 2024 by
Compliments of the Season to you all, from the (windy and chilly) Highlands- though we are snug as bugs, courtesy of Damien and Kate Greer… look closely enough and you can see us sporting our matching Bin Chicken socks (it’s a long story, but those of you who were in Brisbane this year will understand that I accidently fell in love with an exotic bird, much to the bemusement of the locals, who do not consider the White Ibis exotic…). We now have beautiful socks to go with the BC goodies that Geoff sent me home from Brisbane with!
It has been an incredible year for the Academy. Serving as your President has been an honour, particularly in a year where so many have contributed to strengthening our organisation and its mission. A formal Annual Review of 2024 will come in the New Year, but meantime, to close off the year, a couple of my personal highlights, which sum up all that I love about the Academy and all of you - and a Christmas quiz!
The Amicus Committee, led by Ed Freedman, intervened in four cases this year related to 1980 Hague matters. These included cases before the Cour de Cassation in France, the Court of Appeal in England and Wales, and the Supreme Courts in Portugal and the US. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ed and the committee members, Tim Amos KC, Ian Kennedy AM, Richard Min, Alice Meier-Bordeau, Karabo Ozah, Rahima Nato-Kalfane, Jacqueline Renton, Konstantinos Rokas, and Tim Scott KC. Their pro bono work benefits children and families embroiled in child abduction cases. Thank you all - and Ed in particular, who has championed this work for so many years.
Highlight: Training Initiative in Romania
Another standout was the European Chapter’s initiative to train Romanian lawyers on introductory aspects of European Cross Border Family Law. This ground-breaking four-week virtual course, created for lawyers working with the INPPA (National Institute for the Training and Improvement of Lawyers) is the first dedicated training of its kind in Romania. What started as a casual conversation with Prof. Dan Oancea, the National Training Director, in 2022 during the EPK Conference in Vienna has evolved into an exceptional program aimed at inspiring young Romanian lawyers to pursue careers in Family Law and deepening their understanding of cross-border family issues.
This program wouldn’t exist without the commitment of our fellows, particularly Prof. Ian Sumner, who pre-recorded sessions, and those who presented at live events: Alberto Perez Cedillo, Charanjit Batt, Armando Restignoli, Isabelle Rein Lescastereyres, Eleri Jones, Marie von Maydell, Vicky de Sanna, and Adriana de Rutter. A special thanks to European Chapter President Sandra Verburgt and Vice-President William Healing for turning an idea into reality. Thank you all!
Nearly a decade ago, under Nancy Zalusky Berg’s Presidency, we began analysing membership trends. This year, we made significant progress in improving our data collection and analysis, gaining insights into fellows' age and sex demographics for the first time. Better data allows us to identify trends in our fellowship, focus where we are under or unrepresented, ensure we protect our financial stability, and strategically expand. This work will be developed in the coming year, under the leadership of President-Elect Designate, Suzanne Todd, and will ensure that we track trends effectively and keep the Academy vibrant and inclusive. If you’ve received an email from Annie requesting your date of birth or year of birth, please do respond - we’re missing this information from about 7% of the fellowship.
Now, a festive quiz inspired by this year’s membership data analysis (answers below). For the purpose of the quiz work on the basis that we have 5 Chapters- Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, the US and a ‘Non-Chapter’, Chapter:
1. How many Chapters have more female fellows than male?
2. Which Chapter has the largest percentage of fellows under 65?
3. How many new fellows joined us in 2024?
4. How many fellows do we now have?
5. What proportion of the fellows are in each Chapter?
6. How many new jurisdictions have we added in the last 12 months?
7. If we had maintained the membership trajectory we had in 2016 (based on the average change in the preceding decade), would our current membership be less than it currently is, or more?
The Academy is in fine shape, thanks to the dedication and commitment of so many. 2025 is set to be a busy year and there are lots of ways you can get involved. If you have not joined one of the revamped committees and would like to, let Annie know. And if you want to be more involved and don’t know how to go about it, get in touch!
With all good wishes for a wonderful break and here’s to 2025!
