WCP Outreach Activities: Achievements 2015-16 WTO Chair Programme Annual Conference

1. WCP Outreach Activities:Achievements 2015-16 WTO Chair Programme Annual Conference

2. This pillar is aimed at disseminating research and promoting discussions regarding international trade and trade cooperation. In the period 2015-16, WCP Chairs organized : • 7 conferences • 13 roundtables • 14 workshops • 19 Seminars • 3 essay award

3. Outreach activities target groups focused on: • Government agencies • International institutions • Private and public sector companies • Other academic institutions

4. Engaging government agencies • The highest number of policy makers attending outreach activities was observed in events organized by University d’Abomey-Calavi and GetulioVargas Foundation. • Done through smaller meetings where selected topics were discussed, with the participation of invited experts, including WTO Staff • Initiatives of this type have proven to be effective in maintaining a dialogue with governments, generate new ideas, and create opportunities to network. Examples include: Tunis Business School Sultan Qaboos University University d’Abomey-Calavi Getulio Vargas Foundation Istanbul Bilgi university North-West University

5. Engaging government agencies • Tunis Business School: approached Tunisian Ministry of Trade and Handicrafts to develop joint projects and will formalize the partnership by organizing joint workshops in 2017. • Sultan QabosUniversity: engaged in demand driven activity requested by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to assess the state of trade liberalization of services in Oman. • University d’Abomey-Calavi: had an impressive number of policy makers attending all their activities especially at the senior policy orientated meeting entitled Cooperation, Technology Transfer, and Trade Development. • GetulioVargas Foundation: held meetings with national and foreign authorities in Brazil (for example US Consul, EU delegation) to discuss trade policies, regulatory coherence, among others. The Chair was also invited to participate in debates held by the government. • Istanbul Bilgi University: cooperated with Turkish Ministry of Economy where Chair is part of Turkey’s delegation for the WTO Trade Policy Review meetings. Also, members of WCP team are advisers to Turkish government bodies (such as Turkish Competition Authority, Istanbul Bar Association and Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs). • North-West University: was requested to undertake a comprehensive study of the most promising export opportunities for South Africa in the agriculture sector by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

6. Tunis Business School: signed MoU’s with UNCTAD Virtual Insititute to develop a course on International Political Economy . Also signed an MoU with the Doha Institute of Graduate Studies for an exchange of professors and students. • GetulioVargas Foundation: engaged with Society of International Economic Law to contribute to working sessions in conferences and presentation of papers. And, Chair partnered with Foreign Trade & International Relations Institute to discuss and develop projects on economic integration. • Istanbul Bilgi University: signed an MoU with WIPO Academy to conduct the online courses. In addition engaged with Pan European Seal programme which is a paid internship programme in IP Law. • North-West University: was commissioned to produce two publications on services by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development: a country report on Botswana’s most promising service sectors; and paper on the role of SMEs in building a vibrant services sector in LDCs. Collaboration with International Institutions

7. Some Chairs specifically collaborated with the public and private sector companies, such as: Istanbul Bilgi University: organized Conference on TRIPS which marked the 20th Anniversary of the TRIPS Agreement and invited over 50 lawyers working in the field of intellectual property. Also, Chair was requested by private sector representatives to provide expert opinion or training. Chair is also on the Board of the International Law Institute which organized trade related events. North-West University: trained the Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal and Botswana Trade and Investment Centre were trained to use the Decision Support Model to identify export opportunities for South Africa .

8. Collaboration with other academic institutions Included Chair holders lecturing externally and inviting external professors to the host institution. These activities usually took the form of: • delivering a guest lecture to the host institution • undertaking collaborative research with faculty or staff • contributing to the university's teaching by presenting at lectures or faculty seminars Some examples include: Sultan Qaboos University North-West University

9. Collaborations in academic teaching • Sultan Qaboos University: invited the Chair from Tunis Business School to present at 2nd MENA Trade Workshop on Trade and Food Security • North-West University: Chair has been appointed to be an external examiner for the MSc in International Business Management degree programme at the University of Mauritius. Also, took part in lecturer exchange with the National Institute of Development Administration in Thailand.

10. Participation in conferences and seminars- Some illustrations: • Getulio Vargas Foundation: Chair and team attended 26 conferences mainly in Brazil

11. WCP Awards to stimulate research North-West University: organized the second year prizes for Recognition of Excellence in Research Outputs such as Best Master’s Dissertation, Most Promising Honours Student, Best PhD Thesis, and Best Research Article. These were presented at a WTO awards function.

12. WCP flagship activities Chairs have been able to develop new and leverage on existing partnerships to develop high profile WCP flagship activities such as: • Gertulio Vargas Foundation: organized the Annual conference on international trade. Provided the opportunity to hear from government officials, professors and private sector on topics of relevance for international trade in Brazil. This year the conference dealt with Mega-agreements and debated its effects on Brazil and other developing economies.

13. WCP Activities focused on sustainability of outreach activities • Tunis Business School: established an Advisory Committee to strengthen the human and institutional capacities. Government officials, private sector and researchers met to identify projects and activities that the Chair could undertake to ensure the sustainability of the Chair in the long run.

14. Some Examples of Positive spill overs from being part of a network • Through the assistance of the WTO the Chair at Sultan Qaboos University engaged in demand driven activity requested by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Further projects are also being discussed. • Tunis Business School has been able to develop an impressive WCP Advisory Board comprised of Government officials, private sector and researchers

15. External partnership agreements Outreach activities can contribute to sustainability of WCP activities, for instance, if they lead to the development of external partnership agreements Examples include: • Getulio Vargas Foundation: World Bank; World Economic Forum; UNCTAD; Society of International Economic Law; Foreign Trade & International Relations Institute ; and Brazil Centre for International Relations • University d’Abomey-Calavi: UNDP; World Bank • Tunis Business School: UNCTAD; Doha Institute of graduate Studies • Sultan Qaboos University: International Food Policy Research Institute; University of Paradeniya in Sri-Lanka • Istanbul Bilgi University: Pan European Seal Programme; WIPO • North-West University: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development; Trade and Investment KwaZulu-Natal and Botswana Trade and Investment Centre

16. Using the Web and Media • Improvements to websites: WCP Websites have been improved in all 7 Chairs. The websites contain activity reports, research papers, links to books published and information on forthcoming events. • Chairs have also raised their presence in the media: North-West University engaged in 2 radio interviews, 9 videos on YouTube, and 3 newspaper articles. Sultan Qaboos University featured its work in the media where four articles on the Chairs activities have appeared in national news papers (Muscat Daily and Times of Oman). Istanbul Bilgi University has been requested to provide expert analysis on WTO issues on TV and in newspaper articles. • Using social media: Most Chairs use Twitter and Facebook to update their activities

17. Summary Lessons learnt Strengthen web presence Develop ways to obtain feedback from participants and provide more information about audiences and outputs Link more research activities with government needs Develop new partnerships to sustain the activities of the Chairs Encourage Chairs to develop a Advisory Board • WCP has generated a vast number of outreach activities; • The focus has been on reaching out to national government agencies, international agencies and other academics;