Modelled on a World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, The Model WTO Symposium on Trade will run from Monday, 31 August – Friday, 4 September 2009, at WITS University, Johannesburg.

 

  The expected eighty-two student participants will be drawn from all over the world, providing a culturally enriching experience for participants.

Successful applicants will be allocated a country and a negotiating committee. There will be twelve countries – the USA, the European Union, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Benin and Kenya – and five negotiating committees. The committees are Agriculture, Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA), Services, Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and Trade, Development, and the Environment (TDE).

Each country delegation will have a leader, the Country Head, who does not participate in any specific set of negotiations, but plays a strategic coordinating role instead. Finally, a knowledgeable chairperson, each supported by a deputy will guide each negotiating committee. Committee chairs will also be responsible for draft texts, from which student negotiators will work.

To ensure a rounded learning experience, each day’s negotiations will be supplemented by lectures covering relevant topics delivered by trade and development experts, government officials, and academics.

The Symposium is conducted in English. To learn more please visit http://johannesburg.oikos-international.org/projects/projects-2009/model-wto.html.

KN 05/09