Civil Society HiveTalks 2019

• Do you work for an NGO?

• Do you work on trade and development issues?

Then join us for our second Civil Society HiveTalks on 7 October, prior to the start of the World Trade Organization's Public Forum.

Format:

Keeping with the WTO Public Forum's topic: "Trading Forward: Adapting to a changing world", the HiveTalks will focus on what's needed to get the global trading system to work better for people and planet by 2030.

But it will break from the standard panel discussion set-up.

There will be no speeches, no prepared statements. Just interactive, hands-on discussion.

The concept plays on the idea of a beehive, where participants move between different discussion tables, giving their views on the issues. In the process, we draw on our collective intelligence and diverse experiences to come up with strikingly innovative ideas.

We'll be looking at issues such as trade with +1.5°C, what's changing?

Global temperatures are likely to increase by + 1.5 °C by 2030. This will entail a huge change in the way we live, and also on the way we trade. How would trade look under these conditions?

Production and trade patterns of agricultural products will shift, Transport routes and distribution networks will be impacted, and so will global value chains.

The infrastructure needed to sustain trade will have to be upgraded, which will require massive investment. And all this, in a context of rapid technological change and challenge to multilateralism by major trading nations.

What can be done to adapt to the new reality, to size the opportunities and mitigate the negative consequences? In an open and informal setting, we shall discuss how to make trade work better for people and planet.

Venue:

The event will take place in Room XXIII at the Palais des Nations, Geneva.

We'll kick things off at 15:00 and will wrap things up around 18:00.