Venture Grant: World Trade Organization Conference
The Abstract
Starting November 29, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is holding an international conference in Seattle, Washington. The weekend preceding the conference, The International Forum on Globalization will be hosting a Conference and during the rest of that week, other non-governmental organizations will be hosting a wide variety of events all in order to promote education and awareness about the "social, political, cultural, and environmental" effects of the WTO’s policies. Each day of this conference, one major aspect of globalization will be considered. Topics range from human rights, corporate power, global investment, and democracy, to agriculture and food safety.
We need to participate in this conference in order to hear (and take part in) the current dialogue on some of the most pressing and controversial issues the world is presently facing. Many of the organization’s policies have been debated and protested throughout the world, as they are an integral part of globalization. The conference will allow us to hear viewpoints and even topics that are rarely covered in mainstream media.
It is crucial that this cutting-edge dialogue be brought back to the Colorado College campus. Few people (particularly youth) know what "neo-liberal globalization" is, let alone what affects it has on women, the environment and our own cultural structures. It is essential that we have at least a basic understanding of these issues that are becoming more and more important and the role that such institutions like the WTO play in economic globalism. For this reason, we plan bringing this critical discourse back to campus, and doing presentations for the campus community.
The Academic Experience
As briefly described in the Abstract, the conference and meetings and speeches (after the conference) will be incredibly beneficial to out academic experience and intellectual growth. During the 125" Anniversary symposium held on campus last year students were exposed to a wealth of knowledge and ideas about the future of global convergence’s and conflicts. The symposium offered a very diverse cast of discussion topics as well as leading academics from the states that were able to focus in on their particular topics as well as synthesize various distinct topics.
The conference and other activities during the Seattle stay is organized in a similar fashion to shed important answers to the question of economic globalization and the effects on other cultures and peoples within various countries. Similar to the 125"’ Anniversary symposium at Colorado College the Seattle conference and events following the conference will greatly enhance are existing understanding of economic globalism and give us insights into the advantages and disadvantages to increase global interdependency. As the symposium on campus last year brought to light, answers to larger questions of cultural difference, economic integration, social and political struggle don’t have easy solutions. Therefore, the continuation of education and discussion of economic globalization is incredibly important in contemporary times (if not the essential topic) as we move on to a new century.
The Group
Each day of the conference sessions are held concerning specific topics such as agricultural issues, bio-diversity, women’s issues, environmental issues etc. Like many other conferences, this conference will have different workshops, institutes, meetings, speeches and discussions going on at the same time due to time constraints and size of the event. This makes it impossible to experience everything offered at the conference. This is one of the main reasons that we designed this trip as a group project with three students.
The three of us also have very different academic backgrounds and intellectual interests. ____ is a history-political major, ____ is anthropology major with a specific interest in women studies, and ____ is biology major. These different backgrounds mean not only that we will take on a diverse caste of interests, but we will also bring back to the campus a wide array of newfound knowledge from different areas. We can then present different ideas, discovered at the conference about globalization to our own perspective communities.
None of us have ever attended a conference of this magnitude, and our excitement is sure to foster an incredible amount of learning from various fields in our five-day stay.
Presentation
The way our group would like to inform the campus of what we learned, who we talked with, what experiences we were exposed to is by putting on a campus wide presentation. Concerning logistics, we have already contacted The Student Lecture Series leaders and the Cipher newspaper to go over how we will present the conference material to the campus at large. We will be bringing photo and audio equipment to the conference in order to have slides and adequate information for our presentation. The Cipher newspaper will be discussing our trip and printing interviews we gather from important speakers. The Student Lecture Series leaders have given us a date to put on a lecture series talk concerning our subject, Economic Globalization and the Role of the World Trade Organization. The presentation and lecture series talk will be held in the third week of block four, where we will sit on the lecture series panel with two or three other campus professors concerned with this issue.
List of Events, Topics and Speakers at the Conference and Debate
ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION AND THE ROLE OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
FRIDAY NIGHT, NOVEMBER 26, 1999
Session One, Opening Night: 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
The Multiple Impacts of Economic Globalization
Broad presentations on the big picture: economic globalization’s grave effects on nature, culture, workers, human rights, sovereignty, and democracry. Special attention on the driving engines of globalization – global corporations – and the theories, and WTO rules that pave their way.
Maude Barlow Council of Canadians, Canada
John Cavanagh Institute for Policy Studies, U.S.
Susan George Transnational Institute, France
Martin Khor Third World Network, Malaysia
David Korten People-Centered Development Forum, U.S.
Jerry Mander International Forum on Globalization, U.S.
Vandana Shiva Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, India
Lori Wallach Public Citizen, U.S.
SATURDAY DAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1999
Session Two: 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
A DAY-LONG SERIES OF PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Presenting focused panels on: Biotechnology; Global Finance/Investment; Effects on Forests, Rivers, Oceans; Labor Rights; Corporate Power; Agriculture and Food Safety; as well as a special panel on an alternative Citizens’ Millennium Agenda. Additional speakers include:
Agnes Bertrand Observatoire de la Globalisation Economique,
France
Brent Blackwelder Friends of the Earth, U.S.
Tony Clarke Polaris Institute, Canada
Herman Daly University of Maryland, U.S.
Kevin Danaher Global Exchange, U.S.
Patti Goldman Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, U.S.
Yao Graham Third World Network, Ghana
Richard Grossman Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy, U.S.
Randall Hayes Rainforest Action Network, U.S.
Colin Hines Protect the Local, U.K.
Mae-Wan Ho Institute of Science for Society, U.K.
Danny Kennedy Project Underground, U.S.
Andrew Kimbrell Int’l Center for Technology Assessment, U.S.
Tim Lang Center for Food Policy, U.K.
Anuradha Mittal Institute for Food & Development Policy, U.S. & India
Pat Roy Mooney Rural Advancement Foundation International, Canada
David Morris Institute for Local Self-Reliance, U.S.
Meena Ramen Consumers Association of Penang, Malaysia
Jeremy Rifkin Foundation on Economic Trends, U.S.
Mark Ritchie Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, U.S.
Anita Roddick The Body Shop, U.K.
Peter Rossett Institute for Food and Development Policy, U.S.
Barbara Shailor AFL-CIO, U.S.
Steven Shrybman West Coast Environmental Law Association, Canada
Hassan Sunmonu Organization of African Trade Union Unity, Ghana
David Suzuki Suzuki Foundation, Vancouver, B.C.
SATURDAY NIGHT, NOVEMBER 27, 1999
Session Three: 8:00 p.m.- 11:00 p.m.
SPECIAL EVENT: VIEWS FROM THE SOUTH
A rare opportunity to hear a roundtable discussion featuring the most prominent voices of Third World opposition to the new instruments of re-colonization: globalization, the WTO and transnational corporations. Mainstream media rarely cover these viewpoints, but it has been the South that has borne the extra burden from corporate-led globalization.
Featured speakers:
Walden Bello Focus on the Global South, Thailand
Tewolde Berhen Gebre Egziabher Institute for Sustainable Development, Ethiopia
Martin Khor Third World Network, Malaysia
Sara Larrain RENACE (Chilean Ecological Action Network), Chile
Helena Norberg-Hodge Intl. Society for Ecology and Culture, Ladakh
Vandana Shiva Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, India
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz Indigenous Peoples’ Network for Policy Research & Education, Philippines
Owens Wiwa Movement For The Survival Of The Ogoni People, Nigeria
ADDED EVENT: DAY ON AGRICULTURE
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1999, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
At United Methodist Church, 811 5th Avenue, Seattle
A free all day special event focused on the full impacts of the globalization of industrial agriculture from the point of view of farmers, consumers, food safety, world hunger, public health, and the environment. Much discussion will concern biotechnology and its effects.
This event is presented by the International Forum on Food and Agriculture (a division of IFG); the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; and Public Citizen
Debate on Globalization and the World Trade Organization
Tuesday, November 30, 1999 * 7:30 p.m.
Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle, Washington
featuring:
Anti-Globalization
Pro-Globalization
Ralph Nader, Public Citizen
Jagdish Bhagwati, Columbia University
Vandana Shiva, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology
Scott Miller, Procter and Gamble
John Cavanagh, Institute for Policy Studies
David Aaron,* U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade
Moderator: Paul Magnusson, Business Week Magazine
* invited
Co-Sponsors:
The Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington and the Glaser Family Foundation
The Nation Institute
Public Citizen
***We will be returning on Wednesday, December 1
Budget Request
For the conference and the events occurring during the week of the WTO meeting we will be requesting funding to help pay for expenses for five days (11/26-11/30): plane tickets, conference tickets and a debate, food, city transportation, and housing. We will be requesting funds from other sources on campus*.
Expense I. Roundtrip Airfare: Denver. Colorado to Seattle, Washington
Group Total: $970.75
Expense II. Conference Tickets and Debate
Group Total: $70.00
Expense III. Food (expecting about $8.00/meal/day; or 5 days-$25/day
Group Total: $375.00
Expense IV. City Transportation (expecting $5.00/day/parson for 5 days)
Group Total: $75.00
Expense V. Housing (expecting $60.00 Hotel Fee/day or $20.00/person/day for 5 days)
Group Total: $300.00
Bottom Line: Our total funding request from the campus is: $1790.75
We request from the Venture Grant Committee a total of: $1,000
***other funding sources include: the Community Service Office, and the Economics, Political Science, Sociology and Women’s studies departments