Mr. Pelayo Alvarez, Programme Coordinator at UNITAR New York Office, welcomed participants and introduced Professor Alexandra Carter, Clinical Professor of Law and the Director of the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School. Professor Carter introduced the topic of leadership and self-awareness, explaining how important it is and how it affects organizations. The floor was then passed to Mr. Paul Riley, Columbia Law Mediation Clinic. Mr. Riley initiated a break-out room exercise discussing the qualities which all great leaders possess. This exercise helped unearth several viewpoints which lead to a very interactive discussion between participants, Professor Carter and the Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School.

Mr. Ben Childress, Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, talked about self-awareness in terms of individual needs and values, as well as an understanding of how others see things and how this affects a person’s leadership skills. Moving to the importance of cultural intelligence, Ms. Daimiris Garcia, Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, outlined the three components of cultural intelligence, explaining each one in detail. Ms. Aita Seck, Mediation Clinic at Columbia Law School, discussed the value of active listening. She said that the key to active listening is listening to understand and not just to respond, which is what most individuals do. The second session of the Columbia Law School series ended with an interactive Q&A.