For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar, http://www.trade-environment.org/page/calendar.htm.
18-19 December, Geneva, Switzerland: WTO GENERAL COUNCIL. For further information, contact the WTO Information and Media Relations Division, Geneva; tel: +41 22 739 5007; fax: +41 22 739-5458; email: enquiries@wto.org.
21-25 January, Geneva, Switzerland: SIXTH MEETING OF THE CBD OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP ON ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING. The meeting will address compliance, and traditional knowledge and genetic resources, capacity-building and the nature, scope and objectives of an international regime on access and benefit-sharing. Internet: http://www.cbd.int/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=ABSWG-06
22-24 January, Beijing, China: BEIJING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMBATING DESERTIFICATION. The State Forestry Administration of the People’s Republic of China (SFA) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) will organise this conference, which will bring together senior government decision-makers, representatives of local authorities, officials from the UN system, researchers and experts, as well as practitioners, to share lessons learned and best practices in combating desertification. It will be convened as an intersessional event in contribution to the 16th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). Internet: http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/calendar/desertification_beijing2008.htm
23-27 January, Davos, Switzerland: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ANNUAL MEETING 2008. The World Economic Forum will highlight ‘The Power of Collaborative Innovation’ as the principal theme for the Annual Meeting 2008 in Davos. Internet: http://www.weforum.org/en/events/AnnualMeeting2008/index.htm
30-31 January, Tokyo, Japan: A CHANGE IN CLIMATE FOR WHALES: IS THERE A COMMON WAY FORWARD? - SECOND PEW-SPONSORED WHALE SYMPOSIUM. This meeting follows the first Pew Whale Symposium held in New York in April 2007 and will precede a special meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) on the future of the whale conservation regime at the end of February, as decided at the last annual meeting of the IWC. Internet: http://www.pewwhales.org/tokyosymposium/
13-16 April, Ooty, India: GRADUATE COURSE IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. The Society for Technology Management (STEM), Asia’s premier technology management association, will be hosting its flagship international program, the Graduate Course in IPR and Technology Transfer. The intensive four-day program will examine the role of Intellectual Property (IP) as a strategic technology transfer tool using case studies, best practices, and interactive discussions. The faculty for the program comprises of senior IP practitioners, decision makers, academicians, drawn from prominent public research institutions and global international organizations involved in IP Management. This program is aimed at technology transfer officers, IP managers, technology managers and senior policy makers engaged in IP policy development from India and abroad. Participants will be able to learn current best practices in IPRs, in innovation management, and apply these principles and practices in their respective institutional and business environment. The program details, including program agenda and registration forms, are available online at http://www.stemglobal.org/events2008.html. Contact Akshat Medakker; aksh...@sathguru.com, or Prabhu Ram; prab...@sathguru.com, for further details.