Two Pinoy law students place fourth in Harvard competition

Two Filipino law students — Gian Miranda and Janeca Naboya — placed fourth in a case competition during the International Development Conference (IDC) at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government from April 12 to 13.

In the case competition entitled "The End of Development? Why International Development Must Adapt or Fail," the duo tackled the developmental problems in Haiti, considered to be the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

In an email to GMA News Online, Miranda and Naboya said a panel of judges weighed in their proposals to solve some of Haiti's developmental problems such as extreme hunger, poverty and a low literacy rate of only 62 percent.

The duo said the conference allowed them to meet "rising professionals and world leaders such as Former President of Mexico Felipe Calderon and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and President of Liberia."

The IDC is an annual conference run and organized by students which aims to create a productive network and channel of communicaiton to create a better world.

The participants include students, practicioners and experts including international groups such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and The United States Agency for International Development.

Miranda and Naboya said they intend to apply what they learned from the conference to their "organizations and academic institutions and engage in pioneering works in the field of law and international development."

Labor advocacy

Miranda and Naboya were awarded in Switzerland by the International Labor Organization for their short film about labor advocacy in May last year.

Both are alumni from the Ateneo de Manila Univeristy with Miranda graduating from the Law School while Naboya is a graduate of Political Science.

Miranda is currently the founder and president of the Intellectual Property Society of Ateneo and was also a TOC-TOYM awardee and a recipient of President Gloria Macapagal Leadership and Gerry Roxas Leadership Award in 2005.

On the other hand, Naboya is an editor of the Lyceum Law Journal and a member of the Moot Court Society.

She was chosen to represent the Philippines in ASEAN Youth Summit 2012 held in Cambodia. - Andrei Medina, VVP, GMA News