EVENTS

For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD's web calendar at: http://www.ictsd.org/cal/index.htm. If you would like to submit an event, please email events@ictsd.ch.

Coming Up: 11-17 October

11-12 October, Washington, DC. CONFERENCE ON INVESTOR-STATE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT - EMERGING ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FOR LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES AND INVESTORS. This conference is organized by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Columbia Program on International Investment (CPII), with the collaboration of the SETIC/Academia de Centroamérica and the Organization of American States (OAS). The conference will address trends and developments in investor-state dispute settlement internationally and within Latin America, the impact of investor-state dispute settlement on domestic reform processes, the challenges associated with dispute settlement for Latin American capital exporters, in particular small and medium-sized firms and the dispute settlement alternatives in the region. Internet: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=2068&lang=1&m=14516&year=2007&month=10

11-12 October, London, United Kingdom. SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY. This conference, organized by the German-British Forum along with the International Energy Agency, will investigate the world's need for appropriate economic, industrial and environmental policies to secure stable energy supplies, sustain growth and meet the challenge of climate change. As the complexities of global warming assume greater priority, the international community world faces the task of devising policies to ward off ecological threats yet maintain economic dynamism. The conference will examine the issues overshadowing the world energy scene from a mix of political, industrial and technological standpoints. Internet: http://www.gbf.com/gbf/overview.asp?ConfNo=1022

15-16 October, Geneva, Switzerland. WORKSHOP ON TRANSPARENCY. The WTO Secretariat is organising a special workshop on the transparency provisions of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). The purpose of the workshop is to enhance the implementation of transparency obligations and to identify best practices for drawing benefits from a transparent system. Internet: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/wkshop_oct07_e.htm

15-16 October, Paris, France. OECD GLOBAL FORUM ON TRADE. The objective of this Global Forum is to trigger a fruitful dialogue between the Orgranisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and non-OECD economies on the issue of trade, innovation and growth - or how trade and open markets affect the innovation process and how trade policy can be used to help provide the right framework conditions for innovation. Internet: http://www.oecd.org/site/0,3407,en_21571361_38863817_1_1_1_1_1,00.html.

15-16 October, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK: SUSTAINABILITY IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE: THE ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND GOVERNMENT. This event is organized by the International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council (IPC). Recognizing that agriculture and food security face a range of pressing challenges from increasing population growth to global warming, IPC will bring together international food and agricultural trade experts, environmental experts, farm leaders, government officials, and agribusiness and food retail executives to discuss how the private sector and governments can best address these sustainability challenges and will also discuss the role of trade in the sustainability debate. Internet: http://www.agritrade.org/events/sustainability_agriculture.html

WTO Events

An updated list of forthcoming WTO meetings is posted at: http://www.wto.org/meets_public/meets_e.pdf. Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed, and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings of the different bodies. Unless otherwise indicated, all WTO meetings are held at the WTO, Centre William Rappard, rue de Lausanne 154, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, and are open to WTO Members and accredited observers only.

11 October: COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT - AID FOR TRADE

15 October: COMMITTEE ON MARKET ACCESS

15-16 October: SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY WORKSHOP

17 October: TRADE POLICY REVIEW BODY - PERU

Other Upcoming Events

18 October, Geneva, Switzerland. BRUNDTLAND REPORT + 20, ECOLOMICS INTERNATIONAL + 5: QUO VADIS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?. The Roundtable is organized by the Trade and Environment Research Group (T&ERG) of the University of Geneva's Faculty of Law and EcoLomics International. This roundtable will take stock of the impact achieved by the widely disseminated Brundtland Report "Our Common Future" in the twenty years since its publication. At the same time we wish to use this opportunity to discuss the more focused concept of EcoLomics, which designates the ecology-economics interface, and we aim at enriching the debate on the potential and the hurdles of the sustainable development concept in today's legal, political, environmental and socio-economic context. Internet:
http://www.ecolomics-international.org/affil_program_brundtland_plus_20_ecolomics_plus_five_law_faculty_geneva.pdf

22-23 October, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. GLOBAL FORUM ON GOVERNANCE: MODERNISING GOVERNMENT: STRATEGIES & TOOLS FOR CHANGE. Organized by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Global Forum on Governance provides an opportunity for participating countries to share their reform experiences in government modernisation and policies aimed at increasing public sector efficiencies. It aims to build dialogue and provide the international policy community with insight into key policy efforts undertaken in public sector modernisation. There will be several focus areas, including regulatory reform and administrative simplification, public service delivery and performance, multi-level governance and decentralisation, open government and e-government. Internet: http://www.oecd.org/document/52/0,3343,en_21571361_38835508_38835572_1_1_1_1,00.html

26-28 October, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE INNOVATION. The Centre for International Governance Innovation is hosting a conference, dubbed "The Moment of Truth," that will explore issues related to energy and the role of international governance institutions in addressing environmental sustainability. Internet: http://www.cigi07.org/

23 October, Geneva, Switzerland. SYMPOSIUM ON TRADE RULES, REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS: DIFFERENT LEVELS OF RULEMAKING AND THEIR IMPACT. Organized by the UN Economic Commission for Europe, this symposium will discuss the different levels of rulemaking governing the production and exchange of products and services. "Levels of rulemaking" refers to both the substance of rulemaking, as in the differences between standards, rules and regulations, and the national, regional and international coverage. The symposium will address how the interaction between these levels can encourage or hinder economic growth and development and a careful coordination, which can be of critical importance. Registration is compulsory. To register, participants must complete the attached registration form and return it to poppy.willard@unece.org no later than 15 October 2007. Internet: http://www.unece.org/trade/ct/ct_2007/symposium-programme.pdf