Class VI (2008-2009)

Sponsor Club: Mendoza Tajamar, Mendoza, District 4860, Argentina

Veronica Hynes is from Mendoza, Argentina. She holds a Law Degree from Universidad de Mendoza, Argentina, where she graduated in 1999 among the top 10% of the class. After the completion of her studies, Veronica first worked as a lawyer for the public sector, focusing on regulatory law in the energy sector. She then joined private practice, specializing in corporate and restructuring issues. Veronica also holds a Laws Master from Georgetown University Law Centre received in May 2003. During her studies at Georgetown she specialised in international investment law and international finance. In particular, her thesis revolved around International Dispute Settlement with a special view to the Argentine emergency regulation after the financial crisis in 2001. After her studies at Georgetown, Veronica successfully sat for the New York Bar exam.

Pursuing her interest in international organizations and their influence in developing countries, she was an intern at the Foundation for International Community Assistance, also known as FINCA, an international non-for-profit organization focused on microfinance and village banking in developing countries, as a method to fight poverty. This experience motivated her to explore the dynamics of the United Nations in development issues and poverty reduction, as well as the analysis of new legal instruments to canalize private funding to developing countries. As a result, she embarked on an internship at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), based in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Industrial Restructuring, Energy and Enterprise Development. Her research topics included, among others, Public-Private Partnerships and Intellectual Property Rights and its role on Foreign Direct Investment.

After the financial debacle in Argentina in 2001, the country was socially transformed, widening the gap between rich and poor. Some of the regulations set in place during the 1990s - suggested by international organizations - demonstrated severe flaws when set in practice in Argentina, creating social unrest and deepening the causes for economic and social conflict. As a result, Veronica decided to embark on the Rotary World Peace Fellows program as a means to achieve a better understanding of how conflict, as a process, can be transformed to improve the livelihoods of the Argentine people. This path has taken her to different areas of study and it has also opened new dimensions to her vision of global politics and world peace. Veronica plans to go back to Argentina to foster the spread of alternative methods of conflict resolution as a way of fighting social and economic inequalities.