THE ROTARY FOUNDATION

From: Lucia Wyland
To: Rotary D1610

Hoi Rotary District 1610!

My name is Lucia Wyland and I am honored to be this year's Global Grant Recipient for Peace and Conflict Prevention. Rotary is an organization that is close to my heart since it gave me me lots of international exposure as a young member of Interact such as conducting service work in India, Nepal, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Morocco and hosting international exchange students.

The Global Rotary Grant will support my second year of education in Global Law at Tilburg University in the Netherlands so I can practice human rights law to combat systemic legal issues contributing to the disenfranchisement and exploitation of vulnerable individuals.

I grew up in Grand Rapids, Minnesota where I went to highschool, played sports year round, worked at our local nursing home, and graduated from the IB diploma program in 2019. After graduating from highschool, I continued on to study at St. Olaf College where I double majored in Political Science and Spanish with an emphasis in International Relations. In addition to academics, I have always loved sports which I have been involved in since my earliest memories. At St. Olaf I was a three sport NCAA athlete- running track, cross country, and competing in nordic skiing. I was fortunate enough to captain my team to a national title in Nordic Skiing in 2023.

As an alumna of St. Olaf College where the mission statement emphasizes building and living in community, I place a high value on solving international challenges by thinking globally and acting locally. After college, I knew I wanted to continue my global education with an emphasis on building strong and sustainable communities. The summer after graduation I conducted 320 hours of service work for Americorps in their Summer Impact Corps program, providing support for youth enrichment and education for people experiencing homelessness, and local environmental challenges. Additionally, I worked as a bartender at Grand Rapids’ local craft brewery. Rapids Brewing Co., branded itself as a community space where families could gather to play a round of Uno. RBC gave back to the community by hosting music festivals with local musicians, art events, and sponsoring the development of the Tioga Pit mountain bike trail systems. Working at RBC, and volunteering domestically opened my eyes as to how NGOs and businesses can make a real, positive impact on a community.

Seeing with my own eyes the positive impact businesses can have on a community fostered my dream of working with Human Rights Watch as legal counsel for an international business or NGO to improve dialogue between businesses and local populations. This would mean facilitating conversations surrounding resource management and enhancing the capacity of communities to build positive peace through legal protection. My goal of becoming a legal advocate for vulnerable people is how I discovered the Global Law program at Tilburg University. At its core, Global Law identifies the social structures that give rise to conflict by centering the curriculum around three main global challenges: climate change, global health, and human rights. Global Law is an innovative study of law that trains lawyers to understand the importance of humanitarian perspectives when it comes to promoting equitable and resilient societies where people can reach their potential.

Currently, the Netherlands is experiencing some of the most cutting edge human rights litigation to protect local communities from climate change violations by multinational corporations. A recent example is the Milieudefensie v Royal Dutch Shell (2021) which was heard in a district court of The Hague. The case was brought by the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth with the charge that Shell had a duty of care to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The case law was based on the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees the rights to life, private life, family, home, and correspondence. What is groundbreaking is that this case successfully used local law to force an international company to abide by the 2016 Paris Climate Accords. Through this ruling, the Dutch court recognized that climate change is contrary to human rights and upheld the importance of community.

The cutting edge nature of human rights law in lieu of climate change requires legal professionals who are well versed in the terminology of multiple jurisdictions. By working for the legal team for Human Rights Watch, I will be able to actively participate in the protection of vulnerable people and work to make companies and communities safer and more sustainable. Thank you for taking the time to read this short autobiographical piece on my story. I would like to extend my continued gratitude to Rotary as an organization and share my excitement for this upcoming academic year. It is because of this organization that I was able to realize my dreams of having a global education through my early exposure to other cultures through Interact. It is because of Organizations like Rotary and the people volunteering their time that the world is a brighter and more hopeful place!

Met vriendelijke groet,

Lucia Wyland