World Bank engagement with civil society around the 6th World Trade Ministerial held in Hong Kong on December 13 – 18, 2005 began with a pre-Hong Kong video conference with CSOs from seven countries. The video conference was held on November 30, 2005 and involved a discussion between the Bank’s Trade Team, headed by Uri Dadush, and some 50 Civil Society Organization (CSO) representatives from Belgium, India, Moldova, Nigeria, Uganda, United States, and Zambia. The two hour event allowed for a wide ranging discussion about the most important issues to be discussed in Hong Kong and the Bank’s own trade policies. More In Hong Kong itself, the Bank undertook a series of civil outreach activities with civil society in order to explain the Bank’s positions on trade as well as receive CSO views on the unfolding trade negotiations. The most important activities carried out included: | Fair Trade Fair and Symposium and Fair - The World Bank and the Consultative Group on International for Agricultural Research (CGIAR) set up a booth at the Fair which was held in an exposition center two blocks from WTO convention site. The fair, held on December 14 - 16 brought together some 30 small scale producer organizations from throughout the world displaying and selling handicrafts, organic coffee, and other fair trade products. There were also booths set up by NGOs and international organizations to distribute materials. |  |
Bank staff attended the opening reception, staffed the booth with the assistance of local university students, and hosted a policy session on assessing the poverty impacts of the Doha Round. Policy Luncheon
 | World Bank Vice President, Danny Leipziger hosted a lunch discussion on December 15 with some 30 representatives of international CSOs present in Hong Kong. A variety of CSOs, including NGOs, labor unions, research centers, and foundations participated. The discussion was guided by a panel discussion composed by senior CSO representatives from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and Oxfam/International, a trade specialist from the University of Michigan, and the head of the Bank’s Trade Team. |
They highlighted the challenges related to achieving the development and poverty reduction goals of the Doha round before the session was opened to a general discussion among participants.
Speaking Engagements
Several members of the Bank’s delegation in Hong Kong spoke on several panels and events organized by CSOs such as International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), World Vision, and the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD). They also participated in two civil society dialogue dinners organized by the Heinrich Boell Foundation. Finally, the Trade Team was able to connect and network with numerous CSO representatives who were members of official government delegations or hosting events in the “NGO Center” within the WTO convention site, or at the Fair Trade Fair. These contacts proved to be quite useful as it allowed the Bank and CSOs to better identify the areas of growing common ground on trade issues (such as the need to reduce developed country agricultural subsidies), as well as continue to dialogue on issues of continued disagreement (such as the pace for opening developing country markets). More photos As of: December 19, 2005 |
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