Deadline: 7-Jun-21
The WTO has issued a call for proposals for this year’s Public Forum, whose theme is “Trade beyond COVID-19: Building Resilience”.
This year’s Public Forum will look at the effects of COVID-19 on trade and how the multilateral trading system can help build resilience to the pandemic and future crises.
The Public Forum will have three subthemes:
- Enhancing Resilience beyond COVID-19
- Strengthening the Multilateral Trading System
- Collective Action towards Sustainable Trade
It is clear that trade has an important role in the response to COVID-19 – not least in scaling up vaccine production – as well as in supporting economic recovery and efforts to prepare more effectively for future pandemics.
The Forum will look into how a reform agenda can rebuild confidence in the trading system and deliver positive results for developing and least-developed countries. It will examine how to integrate women, youth and small businesses into the global economy and how updated trade rules can help to raise living standards and reduce poverty. In addition, it will look at how reform of the WTO will require governments, multilateral institutions, the private sector and civil society to work together to ensure that the future trading system promotes sustainable trade and supports the protection of the environment.
Working sessions or workshops
All the sessions at the Public Forum are organised by the participants.
Organisers can choose between working sessions or workshops.
- Working sessions are composed of no more than 5 panellists (including the moderator) introducing the issue and offering their point of view to the audience. The moderator will engage the participants in an open discussion. Interpretation in the official WTO languages (English, French and/or Spanish) will be available on a first-come first-serve basis.
- Workshops take the form of informal brainstorming discussions. There will be no interpretation to allow for better interaction.
Please note that the number of available slots is limited. Selection will be based on creativity, diversity of the panellists — including gender, geographical representation, differences in perspectives and relevance to the theme and sub-themes.
Eligibility Criteria
The Forum will bring together representatives of:
- Governments,
- Private sector,
- Civil society,
- Academics,
- Consumers, and
- Students.
This will help to understand how the trading system can help countries further develop resilience. Participants will discuss the role of trade at a time of crisis and how the WTO can be strengthened to tackle the issues of the 21st century, increasingly characterised by rapid technological change, knowledge-driven economies, global environmental issues and growing consumer influence on the production of goods.
For more information, visit https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news21_e/pfor_12apr21_e.htm?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter