Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute holds official launch

Last night, the Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute held its official launch event in Auckland.  The audience, hosted by AUT Business School, heard from members of each of this year’s delegations.  

Korey Te Hira shared his experience of attending the World Trade Organisation Public Forum in Geneva in October, and Charlie Lin spoke about meeting his fellow delegates to the upcoming Pacific Youth and Sports Conference in Noumea at their training weekend last month.  While he couldn’t come to Auckland for the event, Jerome Cameron, from our UN Climate Change Conference delegation, also shared his reaction to being chosen this week to join the Institute in Warsaw this December:

 The Institute extends its thanks to the AUT Business School and Dr Geoff Perry for their support in hosting this event, and to Sarah Trotman for her key role in making it possible.

Take a look here for more photos from the night.

Departing Geneva

 Geneva is a city that has much to offer to travellers, so I tried to fit in as much as I could into the three days I had before leaving.  I learnt about some of the history of Old Geneva, particularly its important role in the Reformation through the likes of Martin Luther and John Calvin.  Its bohemian district Carouge had plenty of patisseries and cafes for me to eat at, and was only a short train ride from the city centre.  Also, there was an exhibition about the pharaoh Tutankhamen in town which included exact replicas of his entire tomb and the possessions within it.  Before I knew it I was on my way to the airport for my flight back home.  I had a truly wonderful time in Switzerland and learnt a lot about the main issues and topics in international trade circles.  I want to thank AYLI for selecting me to attend the 2013 WTO Public Forum and for all their help in organising what was a fantastic experience.  Also I want to thank Fonterra who generously sponsored me to attend the forum, as without them none of this would have been possible.

 

All posts by Institute delegates reflect their own thoughts, opinions and experiences, and do not reflect those of the Institute.

For official Institute updates, take a look here.

WTO Public Forum Day 3

 As day three rolled around, I had already learnt so much but was keen to cap off the week with one last full day.  Most of the speakers on this day built upon the mains themes of the forum, namely the increasing importance of trade in services (specifically over the internet) to national economies, the need for WTO rules to be updated in light of this and the opportunities for greater economic growth and poverty relief that the digital economy presents, especially for less developed regions in the world.  

Some speakers and sessions however decided to focus on different issues.  For example, one was exclusively concerned with online information security i.e. what are the present risks, what individuals can do to protect personal and business information from security breaches, as well as a case study in how one multi-national company has introduced a comprehensive product tracking and systems to protect is goods as they’re traded around the world.  Breaking away from ideas that had been discussed extensively for the past two days was somewhat refreshing and rounded off the forum well.  As the final session came to a close, I felt satisfied that I had got all I could have out of the forum and had met some important and influential people along the way.  However, I was looking forward to doing some sightseeing in the time I had left.

All posts by Institute delegates reflect their own thoughts, opinions and experiences, and do not reflect those of the Institute.

For official Institute updates, take a look here.

WTO Public Forum Day 2

Rolf Heuer, Director General of CERN, was the keynote speaker for the second day’s plenary session.  There were a lot of confused faces when he got up to speak, all asking the same question “What has physics got to do with international trade?”.  Mr Heuer’s speech turned out to be one of the most interesting I listened to over the course of the forum.  He spoke about how discoveries and breakthroughs in physics have underpinned the creation of new technologies that are used every day to manage the transport, tracking and safety of goods and services moving around the world.  Furthermore, he discussed how important the research they are currently doing at CERN will be to the world economy in the future, even in ways we cannot right now foresee.  

This idea of technological innovation being crucial to improved efficiency of trade was complemented by the idea that innovation need not necessarily be in electronics/technology.  Another speaker pointed out that one of the most important innovations which has helped facilitate trade was the creation of standardised shipping container sizes.  This has made the process of storing, transporting and offloading bulk goods much easier, as heavy machinery could be designed to match the container specifications exactly.  It was on this day that I also met a senior member of New Zealand’s permanent mission to the WTO and UN.  His insights into the conversations between country delegates over trade disputes and negotiations were very interesting given it revealed what incentives and factors influence these situations.

All posts by Institute delegates reflect their own thoughts, opinions and experiences, and do not reflect those of the Institute.

For official Institute updates, take a look here.

WTO Public Forum Day 1

It was an early start for day one of the WTO Public Forum, hosted at their headquarters which is located right next to Lake Léman.  Arriving there in the morning I was at first a little confused about where I was supposed to be going, but soon found my way to the main hall where the daily plenary session was held.  The forum officially began with a discussion between some highly distinguished guests, such as Michael Froman, the United States Trade Representative, Roberto Azevedo, Director General of the WTO and Alexander Stubb, Minister of European Affairs and Foreign Trade for Finland.  The panel these people were on (which included other trade experts from a variety of backgrounds) had some amazing insights into the future of trade and the relevant policies governing it.  They discussed the most pressing issues and newest ideas in the trade world, which included:

• What does market access mean when trade is intangible i.e. through (online) services? 
• How should trade in services between economies be regulated, and is the WTO able in its present form to actually fulfil its function of enforcing the rules?
• Understanding that a significant proportion of new global wealth creation will be directly or indirectly attributable to the digitization of information and its subsequent commercialization.

The afternoon session for each day (of which there were two) were more flexible, with attendees being able to select which smaller workshops and/or working groups they wanted to attend.  Topics for these ranged from “How can trade policy be adapted to global value chains?” to “Climate related standards and the green economy: opportunities and challenges for developing countries in South East Asia and East Africa”.

All posts by Institute delegates reflect their own thoughts, opinions and experiences, and do not reflect those of the Institute.

For official Institute updates, take a look here.

Arriving in Geneva

Having caught a 7am flight from Auckland to begin the trip, I found myself in Sydney for a 6 hours layover.  I took the train to the central city and spent 2-3 hours at Circular Quay, the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens.  I hadn’t planned this excursion but thought I should make the most of surprise opportunity.  After a short 12 hour flight I now found myself temporarily in the Middle East, specifically at Abu Dhabi International Airport.  It was 12 midnight and again I had a layover (this time 9 hours) and wanted to head to the city and see the sights with the spare time I had.  But being overly tired, I thought it was best I stayed put and got some sleep instead.  Luckily the airport has many seats in the waiting room areas which recline into a bed-type apparatus, making my sleep much more comfortable.  

On the final flight before I arrived in Geneva, I was lucky enough to get a window seat. This meant as we approached Switzerland I had an amazing view of the Alps, which were interspersed with small villages giving it even more of an idyllic look.  After making my way from the airport to where I was staying, I met with my hosts, Jonatan & Marine.  I could tell immediately that I was going to have a great time with them; they made sure I felt at home and had everything I needed.  It had been about a day and a half since I had left New Zealand, and I was already having fun.  I looked forward to what lay ahead.

All posts by Institute delegates reflect their own thoughts, opinions and experiences, and do not reflect those of the Institute.

For official Institute updates, take a look here.