ICTSD » ICTSD Recommends

Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development: Development Agendas in a Changing World

cilaria — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:34:40 +0000

In response to many requests, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) is pleased to make available an information note which summarizes the key findings of its recent book “Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development: Development Agendas in a Changing World,” which was launched on 27th April 2010, at a side event during the last session of WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP).

The book, edited by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz and Pedro Roffe, was inspired by the dialogues and events sponsored by ICTSD globally since 2001, many of which were held in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the context of their joint project on intellectual property rights and sustainable development.

It brings together a selected number of papers by recognized experts in the field of IP and development initially produced for these dialogues, as well as those authored by rising scholars and policy-makers. The book’s ability to unite a diverse range of voices on issues that occupy a central space in today’s global policy debates is part of what sets it apart as a unique contribution to this field.

From a development perspective, a number of new and emerging IP issues are examined in this book as well. Case studies and experiences from Africa, Asia, and Latin America analyse the impact of IP on the pharmaceutical sector, the protection of life forms and traditional knowledge, geographical indications, access to knowledge, and the role of competition policy. Challenges developing countries face in the TRIPS-plus world are also addressed. The experiences revealed, as well as cyclical attitudes toward IP, show that there is ultimately no universal model of IP protection.

Punching below their weight? Anglo-French co-operation in a changing Africa

Paige McClanahan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:32:10 +0000

Chatham House will be hosting speakers from the University of Portsmouth and Cardiff University on the progress made since Britain and France agreed in 1998 to harmonise their policies on Africa. The speakers will discuss the collaboration to date between France and Britain in the following areas of African policy: direct government-to-government co-operation at EU level; co-operation at the level of the UN, IMF ,World Bank, and other multilateral organisations; co-operation between Paris and London; and co-operation on the ground in Africa. For more information, or to register, please visit http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/1574/.

G20 Summit

Paige McClanahan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:27:52 +0000

The G20 will convene in Toronto this month for its fourth summit. This meeting will provide international leaders with the opportunity to follow through on commitments made at previous summits regarding the global economic crisis and to continue the work of building a stronger and more sustainable global economy. The event’s theme will be “Recovery and New Beginnings,” and will focus on financial sector reform, fiscal and monetary stimulus programs, and global trade and growth. For more information, please visit http://g20.gc.ca/home/.

UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2010

Paige McClanahan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:23:58 +0000

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will be hosting this summit, which aims to provide a platform for organisations to use in working towards a new era of sustainability. The event will be divided into three parts: setting the sustainability agenda, leading the change, and achieving development.

For more information, please visit http://www.leaderssummit2010.org/.

China’s Agricultural Trade: Competitive conditions and effects on US exports

Paige McClanahan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:18:32 +0000

The US International Trade Commission (USITC) will be holding a public hearing on its investigation of agricultural exports to China, specifically concerning market access measure and conditions of competition. The USITC will be providing an overview of China’s agricultural market; a description of the competitive factors affecting the agricultural sector in China; preferential tariffs negotiated under China’s free trade agreements; and China’s non-tariff measures on US agricultural exports and on imports from the rest of the world, among other related topics.

For more information, please visit the USITC website at http://www.usitc.gov.

Please note: the date of this event has changed from the original June 23 date listed in Bridges Weekly.

Transiting to a low carbon economy

Paige McClanahan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:11:27 +0000

This conference, held by Wilton Park in co-operation with the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership and with support from the International Confederation of Energy Regulators, will focus on best practices for forming policy to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Topics discussed will include linkages between economic development, energy security, and the future energy matrix of a country; institutional and structural barriers for effective deployment of renewables and energy efficiency, and other related topics.

For more information, please visit http://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/themes/climate/conference.aspx?confref=WP1036.

Communicating Climate Change in Africa: Challenge and Opportunity

Paige McClanahan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:59:40 +0000

This panel discussion, hosted by the Overseas Development Institute, will focus on the role of media and communication in supporting the response to climate change in developing countries. Other topics of interest will include communication priorities for climate change in Africa and the developing world, and Africa’s potential to take a leading role in educating and driving the global response to the climate challenge.

The panel will include speakers from Forum for the Future and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service Trust. For more information, or to register, please see http://www.odi.org.uk/events/details.asp?id=2393&title=communicating-climate-change-africa-challenge-opportunity#details.

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF)

Paige McClanahan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:56:35 +0000

This forum attracts over 2,500 international and Russian participants from academia, business, civil society, government, and media. This 3-day event will include roundtables on Russia-EU co-operation, Russia-US co-operation, post-crisis finance, global energy and the future of the gas market, and a range of other topics. It will also include an address by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

For more information, please visit http://www.forumspb.com.

Learning from the global economic crisis

Paige McClanahan — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:50:06 +0000

The Latin America Initiative at the Brookings Institution will welcome experts from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who will examine the long-term outlook for the region in the context of the financial crisis, along with the challenges associated with the upcoming recovery.

Economists from the IDB and IMF will use two recently published reports to guide the discussion. For more information, or to register, please visit http://www.brookings.edu/events/2010/0617_latin_america.aspx.

Multiple Financial Crises: Is the Solution More Globalisation Or Less?

Paige McClanahan — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:45:39 +0000

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Radio 4 presenter Evan Davis will be speaking at a forum hosted by the Chatham House. The topics discussed will include global trade imbalances, problems of sovereign debt in the eurozone, and the world’s banking system, and whether these and other situations can be resolved with more or less global integration.

For more information, or to register, please refer to http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/competition2010/.