My name is Yin Mon Kyaw Oo, also known as Jess, from Myanmar, and I am 21 years old. I am in my final year, at Yadanabon University, where I major in English, and study International Relations. During my time at university, I have done a lot of volunteering, and I am an active leader of “Dedicated Next Generation”, which is a Myanmar organization that works on youth development programs.

One day, a person, who is works for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), asked me to be a volunteer interpreter for the “4th Asia Pro Bono Conference and Legal Ethics Forum”. Although I had a general idea that Pro Bono is some kind of Legal Aid service, and that the conference was about “Legal Ethics”, I am the kind of person who is always looking for opportunities to experience and explore new things and this event clearly provided me these opportunities. During the conference, I met a lot of lawyers, students and legal advocates, from different countries and backgrounds, who explained that Pro Bono has to support legal aid services, for those who cannot afford legal assistance and are lacking access to justice. It also helps to develop and support a society based on rule of law. Furthermore it was demonstrated to me that legal ethics are the duties to practice as a responsible good lawyer, which for me, is both a simple and sophisticated idea. Also, the conference distributed a lot of handouts and law related handbooks. This gave me a chance to read about law, pro bono and legal ethics and to learn more, even after the conference.

I became aware that each country has different legislation such as the ways lawyers handle land law and property law. Even though laws play a major role in all countries, it occurred to me that we are facing the “Law”, in our daily life, without noticing it.

There was a conference culture night and dinner, which were a lot of fun, as those from different countries got to share personal cultural experiences, and the dinner was a great networking opportunity for my future career. As a volunteer, the thing I enjoyed the most was “appreciation” for others and “exchangeable experiences”. Pro Bono is the magical hope for people who cannot afford access to legal services, and suffer, because they lost their rights. The conference was beneficial to the attendees and will help a lot of other people in need.

I decided to take part, to contribute toward Pro Bono promotion in my community.  I am honored to have taken part in this conference, and it has inspired me to study law. If I have the chance, I will actively volunteer, in the upcoming “5^th Asia Pro Bono and Legal Ethic Forum”, which will be held in Indonesia, next year. I highly encourage all who value the rule of law to volunteer for this conference, so that they may develop knowledge and skills, as I did, in this “4^th Asia Pro Bono and Legal Ethics Forum”. Finally, thanks to those who gave me the great opportunity to be a part of this amazing conference, and for giving me the opportunity to get more experience.

By Jess (Yin Mon KyawOo), Dedicated Next Generation