. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/INF/180 
16 July 2012  
 
(12-3765) 
  
  
 
INFORMATION NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL 
 
WTO Public Forum  
 
“Is Multilateralism in Crisis?” 
 
24-26 September 2012 
 
Over the past few years, the WTO Public Foru m has firmly established itself as a major event 
at which governments, non-governmental organizati ons, academics, businesses and students can come 
together to discuss issues regarding the multilateral tr ading system. This year the Public Forum has as 
its theme "Is Multilateralism in Crisis?" 
This year’s Forum will provide an opportunity for relevant stakeholders of the multilateral 
trading system to analyse whether multilateralism is in a state of crisis, taking into account both the 
Doha Round deadlock and elements of the WTO work  programme that continue to work well. These 
include monitoring and surveillance, administration of the existing rule-book, capacity-building and 
technical assistance. The new geo-economical cont ext in which the WTO operates will also be among 
the topics for discussion.   
The following core themes will provide the stru cture for this year’s Forum: formulating new 
approaches to multilateral trade opening in areas such as trade facilitation; addressing 21st-century 
issues and identifying areas in need of new regulations , or which offer scope for future rule-making; 
and looking at the role of non-state actors in strengthening the multilateral trading system. The 
conclusions arising from discussion of these themes sh ould provide some interesting suggestions as to 
how the WTO can participate in better addressi ng world problems and improving global governance. 
For further information about this year’s programme  and core themes, visit the Public Forum website 
at http://www.wto.org/publicforum . 
To increase the outreach of this year's Public Forum, there will also be the opportunity to 
contribute to the debate by submitting short articles on the themes of the Forum and to provide views 
on the articles submitted by others.  In additio n, regular updates will be available on the WTO 
Facebook page, Twitter and YouTube. This will allow a wider audience to follow the sessions, post comments and contribute to the discussions even if they cannot attend in person.  
In the run-up to this year’s Public Forum, the WTO launched a video and essay contest within 
the framework of the WTO Youth Ambassador Pr ogramme to allow young people from all over the 
world to provide their views on the question of  "How can trade promote development?" (see  
http://www.wto.org/youth ).  The winners of the best video and essay submission will be invited to 
the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland to present their id eas at the WTO Public Forum.  In addition, as 
WTO Youth Ambassadors they will contribute to promote the principles and values of the multilateral 
trading system within their communities throughout th e year.  In this regard, I encourage you to 
support them to ensure they are able to ma ke a positive impact at the national level. WT/INF/180 
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  I invite you to forward this message to ci vil society organizations and other relevant 
stakeholders in your country who might have an in terest in contributing to the discussions during the 
WTO Public Forum 2012. 
If you have any suggestions regarding this y ear's Public Forum, please contact Maria Perez-
Esteve, (tel.: +41 22 739 55 46, email: maria.perez-esteve@wto.org ) Public Forum Co-ordinator in 
the Information and External Relations Division. 
The importance of this year's topic makes your participation even more valuable than ever. 
Please keep these dates free so that you can particip ate in this event and contribute to its success. 
 
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