The meeting was attended by 23 participants from … member

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1
THE THIRD VI MEMBERS MEETING 2008: INTRODUCTION
Since the second Virtual Institute (Vi) members meeting in October 2006, the membership has
grown from 15 core members to 23 and welcomed a new category of member, 'affiliate member
universities', which are national partners of core members and currently number 121. This year's
meeting was attended by 22 representatives from the Vi's core membership, as well as 2
representatives from the Vi's affiliate member universities2, making this the biggest meeting yet
of the Vi network.
As a member driven programme, the Virtual Institute is the expression of its members' interests
and needs: along with the Geneva-based Vi team, it is the members who define the future work
of the Vi. This approach to the ownership of Vi activities ensures that the work of the Virtual
Institute responds to local demand (in the teaching and research of trade-related issues) and is
relevant to local contexts and capacities. The regular Vi members meetings are therefore
instrumental in shaping the future direction and content of the Vi work and gathering feedback
on the experimental nature of a project driven by a diverse network with different needs and
country experiences.
This year's week-long meeting was structured around three types of sessions addressing the
needs and future work of the network, topics of professional interest and importance to the
members, and opportunities for networking with each other and Geneva-based experts. The
members also got acquainted with, and received training on the newly launched Vi website. The
meeting was opened by the Director of UNCTAD's Division for Services Infrastructure for
Development and Trade Efficiency, Anh-Nga Tran-Nguyen, and followed by presentations and
accounts from Vi members and the Vi team reviewing the past year's activities and reflecting on
the successes and lessons learned by the network.
As part of the meeting, two afternoon-long sessions were held on substantive issues of
importance to the network: the first session was a keynote speech given by the Director of
UNCTAD's Globalization and Development Strategies Division, Heiner Flassbeck, which addressed
the growing imbalances in the international financial system and how this affects developing
countries. The speech was prefaced by a presentation from Detlef Kotte, Head of the
Macroeconomic and Development Policies Branch in the Division, on the challenges of
globalization for developing countries, in the context of UNCTAD XII. The second session was a
roundtable on Regional Trade Agreement (RTAs) and regionalism - an issue requested by
members at the last meeting in 2006. The roundtable was chaired by Patrick Low, Chief
Economist at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the panel included speakers from the
World Bank, the European Commission in Geneva, The Caribbean Regional Negotiating
Machinery in Brussels, the University of Geneva, the World Trade Institute and UNCTAD.
During the week, two workshops were held on areas of further cooperation between network
members, the aim being to take advantage of the face-to-face contact to negotiate the future
work plan of the Vi. Lastly, the week also included opportunities for individual networking
between members in formal and informal settings, and optional networking opportunities with
the Vi's partner organizations in Geneva, such as the WTO, who attended several of the
meeting's sessions. On the final day of the meeting, both members and the Vi team presented
the week's outcomes and future direction of the Vi to an audience of diplomats and Vi partners,
attended by 18 delegates of Geneva-based missions and 3 colleagues from Vi partner
organizations, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the South Centre. For a more detailed
summary of all of the week's sessions, please see the programme of the meeting (in Annex I), the
individual write-ups for each session and the evaluation of the meeting by members (below).
1
2
See Annex III for a full list of member institutions.
See Annex II for the list of participants.
2
LOCALISATION OF GENERIC TEACHING MATERIALS
The localisation of teaching materials was a project introduced at the 2006 Vi members meeting
with the aim of making generic teaching material more relevant to the local teaching needs of
university members. In addition to this, other benefits of the project include a broader
participation of university staff, who may wish to localise material, in Vi activities and the
eventual sharing of localised teaching materials among multiple members of the network. Since
2006, 11 adaptations of existing generic teaching materials on investment, commodities,
negotiations and competitiveness have been completed or are in progress.
One objective of this session was to raise awareness among members of what is contained in the
new generic teaching materials on Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), Trade Data Analysis (TDA)
and Trade and Poverty (TAP), and how they could be used in members' teaching. Additionally,
the session was intended to promote discussion and ideas about how the material could be
adapted to make it more relevant to members' local needs, in the context of the Vi's project on
the localisation of teaching materials. Older members who had already completed a localisation
of existing teaching materials were also able to share the benefit of their experience with newer
members.
Participants split into four groups to discuss the material and address three questions: (1) Who
would you give the material to in your university? (2) What courses could the material be used
for? (3) What else would you need to do to the material to make it relevant to your national and
regional context? What data, exercises, readings, or research/essay questions would you need to
add to the material to make it more locally relevant?
Participants discuss how to localise the material
Two groups chose to look at the RTA material, while one group each looked at the TAP and TDA
material respectively: the following is a summary of their ideas.
Regional Trade Agreements (Group 1)
The material:
 Could be given to graduate students, lecturers and the library. Some of it can be adapted
to undergraduate level; some can be adapted to policy makers workshops.
 Can be used in general courses on Regional Integration; International Trade; Trade
Policy; specific courses for policy makers; other related courses, e.g. MBA courses that
are related.
 Could be adapted by providing specific cases of RTAs with the member country
concerned, including regional statistics; translation, focus on some sectors important for
the country.
3
Regional Trade Agreements (Group 2)
The material:
 Could be used for graduate courses on Masters in International Business or International
Relations; undergraduate courses in Economics. Adapted versions could be used for
Graduate/MPhil students in Economics. For Masters students in Economics, the material
would need to be supplemented by additional items from the reading lists.
 Could also be used for continuing education courses, e.g. certificate/diploma/
workshops/training courses/reading courses.
 Could be adapted by providing case studies, including illustrations and examples.
Members could include analytical models from the existing reading list; add readings
from their country/region; translate concepts into locally/relevant exercises; provide
simulations on RTA negotiations; and analyse country/regional level trade diversion &
trade creation effects.
Advice from older members:
 Intervention from Azad: Mauritius encountered data problems not foreseen when
writing the proposal, e.g. the coverage of Islamic banking had to be dropped as it was
not feasible.
 Intervention from Chantal: CTPL has developed some simulation exercises that could be
shared.
Trade Data Analysis:
 Module 1 of the material could be used with undergraduates and governmental officials;
modules 2 and 3 are more appropriate for graduates and post-graduates, and
government officials (only if they have the necessary background knowledge).
 The material could be used in courses on International Trade, International Economics,
International Competitiveness, International Trade Policy, International Finance, Public
Finance, specific TDA courses, and interdisciplinary courses.
 Examples of local adaptations could include the harmonisation of software common to
all members; training on software databases; local examples and case studies using the
methods presented in the material; translation into local languages; contracting experts
to help teach with the material.
It would also be useful to have:
 Workshops on TDA involving experts, organised by the Virtual Institute - such as the one
that took place in Geneva, in September 2006.
 Networking opportunities
 Computer facilities (to follow the exercises, simulations and cases)
Trade and Poverty:
 The material could be used with third year undergraduate students in courses on
Development Economics and Development Studies, and on courses with
trade/government representatives and in executive training. Additionally, the material
could be used on trade workshops for MA students and as background material for
teaching notes.
 The material could be made more locally relevant by providing case studies, both
sectoral and national, such as mining, cut flowers, fisheries, tea, coffee etc. Although the
material addresses the gender impacts of trade reforms, this could be much expanded
by a short paper or additional notes to the material.
4
JOINT MEMBERS' PROJECTS
Launched at the second Vi Members Meeting in 2006, Joint Members' Projects were intended to
encourage and support cooperation between the membership in areas of mutual interest. Five
joint projects have been undertaken since the last meeting and are now either completed or
near to completion.
This year's meeting focused on the presentation of joint projects already undertaken by
members, rather than structuring activities for the discussion of future projects. This was
deliberate, partly in recognition of the diversity of members' skills and interests, and partly to
give newer members a concrete idea of what joint projects involve. Discussion of future projects
was instead left to members to do individually in sessions reserved for networking and
consultation and during informal networking events.
Members present the results of the joint projects
During the session, four projects were presented by members:




The implications of textiles/garment trade and investment from China to Senegal - a
research paper written by Aly Mbaye of Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal,
and Weiyong Yang of the University of International Business and Economics, Beijing,
China. Members hope to publish the research in the coming year.
A comparative analysis of the effects of regional trade agreements on trade (Jordan,
Mauritius and India) - a research paper undertaken by Talib Awad and Amir Bakir of the
University of Jordan, Meeta Mehra, Manoj Pant, Saptarshi Basu, Roy Choudhury and
Amit Sadhukhan of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, and Sawkut Rojid,
Vinesh Sannassee, Boopen Seetanah and Suraj Fowdar of the University of Mauritius.
Members hope to either publish the research in the coming year and/or extend the
scope of the project to include other countries.
Two training projects on International Trade Law between the Centre for Trade Policy
and Law at Carlton University in Canada and the University of Mauritius and EAFIT
University in Medellín, Colombia. Members plan to establish courses in International
Trade Law at their respective universities with the support of CTPL.
A training material on trade and environment, developed by Sangeeta Bansal and Meeta
Mehra of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, and Anne-Marie Zwerg of EAFIT
University in Medellín, Colombia. Members plan to use the material with students on
undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
At the end of each presentation, there were opportunities for questions and discussion, both
about the substance of the projects as well as methodological and practical issues, often relating
to the coordination between remote members.
5
LAUNCH OF THE NEW VI WEBSITE 2008
The expansion and changing needs of the network require a website that can both meet those
needs now, as well as can be easily adapted to meet evolving needs in the future. For this reason,
the Vi brought the design and construction of the website 'in house' and during 2007 built a new
website using free and open source software (FOSS). This enabled the Vi to increase the
interactivity and add several 'Web 2.0' functions to the site (such as member uploads and
contributions to the news section), as well as have the capacity to introduce any changes to the
site in the future.
The new site was launched to members in a specialised training session during this year's
members meeting. In order to ensure the proper and increased use of the site, it was important
to train members in a face-to-face setting on the functions of the site, especially given the
diverse levels of experience with ICTs among the membership.
Participants during the website training session
"The new website is much more user-friendly!"
Pham Thi Mai Khanh, Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, Vietnam
"Susana, Yasemin and Bertrand did a really good job - first created this new site and then taught
us to use in a simple and understandable way!"
Anna Olefir, Vadym Hetman Kiev National Economic University, Kiev, Ukraine
"Now I am feeling able to teach my colleagues how to register, and to access and upload
material."
Adérito Notiço, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
The site has two main purposes:
1. To provide access to specialised knowledge about trade and development, in the form of
annotated resources, collected in a browse-able and searchable (full text search) online
library. Additional resources include links to websites relevant to the field, materials
used in Vi workshops and an archive of Vi newsletters, which contain information about
the network and trade and development resources. The site also contains 7 bespoke
training materials produced by the Vi, as well as localised versions written by members.
2. To provide a networking tool for members: news items provide information about
developments at member universities to the network and individual members can
6
upload items themselves. Members are also able to upload their research for
distribution and feedback, as well as their own presentations and resources for sharing
with other members. Members can also use several features of the site to communicate
with each other.
The training included how to upload documents and members' own research, as well as create
personal profiles that include professional information and research interests, to help with
networking. Having been shown how to use the Vi website, member coordinators can now help
other staff members in their universities use the site too.
7
IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT PROJECT 2006 - 2009
The Virtual Institute is mainly funded by the United Nations Development Account, a condition of
which is that an evaluation of the impact of the project is conducted at the end of the project, in
2009. To assist this process and to facilitate the collection of data that would be required for
such an impact assessment, the Vi asked participants at this year's meeting to brainstorm how to
assess the five different areas funded by the Development Account: namely, (i) the Vi meetings;
(ii) the generic teaching materials; (iii) the localisation of generic teaching materials; (iv) joint
member projects; and (v) the website.
The objectives of the exercise were to gather ideas from the expertise and experience of the
membership as to how to conduct the assessment, and to understand what would be feasible for
the members in terms of their time and the availability of data. As well as the impending
requirements of the Development Account, an impact assessment also has the broader
perspective of illuminating what Vi membership brought to member universities, what the Vi
team did well and what could be improved, and what direction the Vi should take based on the
experience of the first five years of its existence (2004-2009) - issues that will be addressed at the
fourth meeting of the network in 2009.
In groups, participants were asked to consider: (a) what would need to be measured for such an
assessment (indicators, both quantitative and qualitative), and (b) sources of information for
these indicators (how the data will be collected). Participants were asked to keep in mind what is
a good measure of the impact (convincing enough), yet how feasible is the information to collect.
This is a summary of participants' responses:
Network meetings (to be assessed by member coordinators only)
Qualitative and quantitative indicators:
 Provide reference to members' prior expectations
 Assess access to information and knowledge, such as up-to-date trends and ideas on
trade and development from experts at the meeting
 Evaluate the materials provided at the meeting by the Vi, and their use
 Assess the degree of networking opportunities provided by the meetings: numbers of
contacts with other members and the results, numbers of contacts with experts and the
results and numbers of contacts with missions
Generic teaching materials (assessed by member coordinators, other teaching staff and
students)
Quantitative indicators:
 The number of training materials used by members: which ones and on what courses
 The number of lecturers using the materials
 The number of students on courses using Vi training materials
Qualitative indicators (of the usefulness of the material):
 Their methodology and structure
 Their geographical coverage
 Their thematic coverage
 The clarity of their information
 The quality, availability and relevance of their further readings
8
Localisation of teaching materials (assessed by member coordinator)
Quantitative indicators:
 The number of materials that have been localised
 The number of case studies added
 The number of staff members who use the materials
Qualitative indicators (of the usefulness of the material):
 Assess the relevance and quality of the localised materials for teaching/research: for
example, is it up-to-date, does it provide relevant tools?
 Assess the impact on members' research from localising material: for example, the
collection of data for a case study
 Assess how the material was localised and what form it took, for example, translation
 Assess the relevance of the material for policy makers and the private sector
Joint members' projects (assessed by member coordinator and participating staff)
Quantitative indicators:
 The number of members involved in the project
 The number of lecturers/faculties involved in the project
 The number of hours spent working on joint projects
 The number of joint projects
 The number of publications/journals/working papers in which joint (research) projects
appear
 The number of downloads of joint (research) projects' papers from the Vi website
 How many members used the joint (research) projects' papers
 The number of citations of joint (research) projects
Qualitative indicators
 Assess how the researcher has progressed as a result of involvement with the project
 Peer review the projects
The website (assessed by member coordinator and Vi team)
Quantitative indicators:
 The number of site hits
 The number of downloads of a material
 The number of documents posted by Vi members
 The number of staff members registered on the Vi website
 The number of student members registered on the Vi website
 The total number of registered members using the Vi website (for example, this would
include all associate - individual - members)
Qualitative indicators
 Assess the accessibility of the site
 Assess the user-friendliness of the site
 Assess the degree of networking opportunities provided by the site
9
PARTICIPANTS' FEEDBACK QUESTIONAIRE ON THE VI MEETING 2008
The meeting was attended by 24 participants from 20 core member universities and 2
affiliate member universities; the following feedback is based on 21 returned responses.
Expectations
In general, the meeting either met or exceeded the expectations of participants, and
participants rated this category on average 4.4 out 5 (5 = expectations exceeded). Before the
meeting most members hoped that the meeting would broadly address 3 main areas: to
provide opportunities for meeting other members and networking with them and other
Geneva-based experts, to review the past year's work of the Vi, and to agree on further
areas of joint cooperation and the future work plan of the Vi.
"Sometimes lecturers are isolated, even on their own in a department, so the support of a
network is vital for their own professional development and the survival of the courses they
teach and research they undertake".
Adérito Notiço, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
More specifically, participants expressed pleasure that more members gave presentations
than at previous meetings and that there were plenty of opportunities for interaction and
networking. Some members however, felt that there was not enough time for the discussion
of joint projects, especially given the diversity of members' research interests and expertise.
Relevance of the meeting sessions
The graph below shows the averaged response for each session. It is apparent that a
majority of members in general found the content and format of all the sessions to be very
relevant to their work and the work of the Vi.
Quantitative responses of participants to the
relevance of individual sessions to their work and
the work of the Vi (5 = very relevant; 1 = not
relevant)
4.8
4.7
4.6
4.5
4.4
4.3
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Some sessions in particular stood out for praise from the membership, such as the website
training and the localisation projects, which were useful for new members. The response to
the networking sessions was more mixed, with some members describing them as excellent
while others felt that they were not structured enough and that the substantive sessions
were more useful; Monday's keynote speech was highlighted as informative, academic and
interesting.
Work plan of the Vi for 2008
For a successful implementation of the agreed work plan, it is important to have a realistic
appreciation of how participants imagine the feasibility of individual activities. Scoring an
average of 8.6 out of 10 (10 = very feasible; 1 = not feasible), the participants felt that the
work plan for 2008 would certainly be achievable before the next Vi meeting.
However, as with last year's meeting, there was more optimism about the success of
localisation projects than joint cooperation activities, which require coordination with two or
more members.
Future directions for the network
In this section, members were asked how their understanding of the Vi network had
changed, as well as their understanding of their role as a Vi coordinator, and to make any
suggestions for the next meeting. One participant noted that being a Vi coordinator means
"commitment, responsibility to the promotion of better education and cooperation with
other universities", while another reflected that following this year's meeting he now needs
"to be more active in different aspects".
Some specific suggestions for the coming year
 Add new member(s) from developed countries
 Get a list from members about available journals published by their university
… And for next year's meeting
 The next meeting should focus on a specific topic and the membership suggested
several possible themes to choose from:
 Investment and related topics, such as mineral economies (4)
 Promotion of entrepreneurship and business development (2)
 Regional integration (2)
 Technology transfer
 Poverty
 Services (especially Mode 4)
 The meeting could take a more academic/conference format
 The meeting could be fitted into three or four days
 Papers on the substantive parts of the meeting should be circulated in advance
 There should be more opportunities to discuss the findings of joint projects
 There should be more focus on members' teaching, in particular the methods and
tools used, as well as curricula
 There should be more substantive sessions with experts.
Several members expressed their satisfaction with the current format of the meetings.
11
Additional suggestions for the website
 Announce member university activities, such as international conferences and calls
for papers, online
 Digitally publish members' essays and articles on the Vi site, with the possibility to
peer review them
 Provide an email distribution list
 Provide more creative space for students, such as discussion forums or chat
 Provide discussion forums for university members
 Link to UNCTAD XII roundtables, press conferences and press releases
12
CONCLUSIONS
In the closing session of this year's meeting, Fredrik Arthur, Counsellor for the Permanent
Mission of Norway to the United Nations in Geneva, remarked that the Virtual Institute had
changed unrecognisably since its inception just after UNCTAD XI, four years ago. In such a short
time, the network has grown in both size and stature, expanding the number of its members and
their geographical distribution, as well as the number of services it provides to its members. It
was clear from this year's meeting also, that the membership has developed in two other ways:
the connections and cooperation between members has matured and expanded, and the
number of people involved at individual member universities is starting to increase, thereby
multiplying the impact of the project.
Having launched several new services at the last Vi members meeting in 2006, this year's
meeting was very much a stock-taking event designed to involve newer members who have
joined since the last meeting, and to build relationships within the network to ensure the
ongoing success of existing services. The work plan is considered to be achievable by the network
and should therefore provide members with realistic opportunities and support, rather than
over-burden them with time commitments and bureaucracy.
Round table on RTAs: (from left to right) Talib Awad, University of Jordan; Anna Olefir, Vadym Hetman
Kiev National Economic University, Ukraine; Jorge Vitorino, European Commission; Patrick Low, WTO;
Marcelo Olarreaga, University of Geneva.
Judging by some of the suggestions for the next Vi meeting, due to take place in May 2009, it
seems that the format of the meeting will be somewhat different again, reflecting the evolving
needs of the membership and the deepening ties of trust and cooperation between them. For
example, there is support for a shorter, more intensive meeting, perhaps following a conference
format. There have been offers from member institutions to host the meeting in a different
region of the world, on one hand sacrificing access to Geneva-based expertise, but on the other
gaining from local knowledge and experience (government, the private sector, local academia)
and familiarity with a specific regional context. And, it has been suggested also, that the next
meeting should focus on a specific topic recommended by the network, such as investment.
The Virtual Institute began as an experiment, and in a limited time, with limited funding and
other resources, it has rapidly become a successful model of capacity building and support to
developing country academic institutions in the field of trade and development. After 4 years of
refinement of the project, it is clear that developing countries will benefit from support to
academia and the contribution it makes to policymaking in these countries.
13
ANNEX I - Program of the 2008 Vi Members Meeting
Third UNCTAD Virtual Institute Meeting
Geneva, 4 - 8 February 2008
Program
Monday, 4th February
09:00 - 12:30
(with a break)
Room XXIV, E-building, Palais des Nations
Opening


Anh-Nga Tran-Nguyen, Director, Division for Services Infrastructure for
Development and Trade Efficiency, UNCTAD (to be confirmed)
Vlasta Macku, Chief of the Virtual Institute
Introduction of members and their institutions
Review of last year's work:

Presentation of the Vi progress report (Vlasta Macku, Virtual Institute)

Research fellowships (Francis Matambalya, University of Dar-esSalaam, Tanzania)

Vi study tours (Neil Paul, University of the West Indies)

Linking policy-makers and academics in UNCTAD's Course on Key
International Economic Issues - participation of Vi members (Meeta
Mehra, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India)

Professional development workshop: Workshop on the teaching and
research of trade and poverty (Geoffrey Bakunda, Makerere University
Business School, Uganda)

Launch of UNCTAD flagship reports at member universities (Tatiana
Isachenko, Oleg Savelyev, Higher School of Economics, Russia)
LUNCH
14:00 - 17:30
(with a break)
Keynote speech (Heiner Flassbeck, Director, Division on Globalization and
Development Strategies, UNCTAD)

Globalization and development challenges from an UNCTAD
perspective - main issues to be tackled at UNCTAD XII

The International Financial System and consequences for development
(capital flow paradox; the role of exchange rate management and
regional financial cooperation; new financial instruments)
19:00 -
Networking dinner
Tuesday, 5th February
09:00 - 12:30
(with a break)
Room XXIV, E-building, Palais des Nations
Localization of generic training materials

Feedback from members who completed localization activities and
sharing of experiences with new members/coordinators (Group
activity)

Localization of new generic materials
o Trade Data Analysis
o Transfer of Technology
o Regional Trade Agreements
14
o
o
Trade and Poverty
Debt
Group activity identifying ways in which the materials can be made more
relevant to local contexts, and discussing how the materials can be used in
existing or future courses.

How to apply for funding for localization activities: application form,
procedures, deadlines
LUNCH
14:00 - 17:30
(with a break)
Joint projects of the Vi network

Introduction: types of joint projects and objectives

Presentations of completed and ongoing joint projects, feedback and
discussion:
o
Implications of textiles/garment trade and investment from China
to Senegal
o
Comparative analysis of the effect of regional trade agreements on
trade (Jordan, Mauritius and India)
o
CTPL projects with Mauritius and Colombia (Canada, Mauritius and
Colombia)
o
Training material on trade and environment (Colombia and India)

Upcoming joint projects (2008-2009)
o
Discussion of potential areas for cooperation and identification of
topics for further joint activities among members
o
Information about the application process and deadlines
Wednesday, 6th February
Room E-7109/Room XXIV, E-building, Palais des Nations
09:00 - 09:30
Introductory session to the website (Room XXIV) - All
09:30 - 11:00
Group 1: Website session (E7109)
Hands-on introduction to the new website

Website content

How to update individual and faculty profiles

How to register students

How to upload documents
Group 2: Work on the ideas for joint projects (to be presented on Thursday)
Group 2: Website session (E7109)
11:00 - 12:30
Group 1: Work on the ideas for joint projects (to be presented on Thursday)
LUNCH
14:00 - 16:00
Roundtable on Regional and Bilateral Trade Agreements and the Multilateral
Trading System, chaired by Patrick Low, Director, Economic Research and
Statistics, WTO

An economist's view of burgeoning regionalism (Marcelo Olarreaga,
University of Geneva)

Interface between RTAs and the multilateral trading system (Mina
Mashayekhi, UNCTAD)
15

Can we multilateralize regionalism? (Theresa Carpenter, World Trade
Institute)
Discussion and questions

Regionalism and development: North-South RTAs (Jorge Vitorino,
Permanent Delegation of the European Commission in Geneva; Junior
Lodge, Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery, Brussels)

South-South RTAs (Carsten Fink, Visiting Senior Fellow, World Economy
Group, Sciences Po, Paris)
Discussion and questions
16:00 -
Informal networking activity
Thursday, 7th February
09:00 - 12:30
(with a break)
Room XXIV, E-building, Palais des Nations
Impact assessment of training materials, localizations and other network
activities

Brainstorm about formats and contents of impact evaluation activities

Agree on timing of evaluations and reporting procedures
Discussion of future directions and activities

Localisation and joint project proposals

Study tours, fellowships

Next Vi Meeting: discuss possible formats
Evaluation of the meeting
LUNCH
Afternoon
Friday, 8th February
Individual meetings at UNCTAD, other international organizations and
Permanent Missions
Room XXIV, E-building, Palais des Nations
10:00 - 11:30
Meeting with Geneva-based missions and Vi partners
11:30 -
Informal cocktail at the Escargot Bar, third floor, E-building, Palais des Nations
16
ANNEX II - List of participants
1
Country
Belarus
Mr/s
Ms
Ms
Name
Alena
Petrushkevich
Chantal Blouin
Position
Associate Professor, Department of
World Economy
Senior Research Associate
2
Canada
3
Chile
Mr
Felipe Muñoz
4
China
Ms
Li Yang
5
Colombia
Mr
Sascha Furst
Ms
Hilda Arango de
Ortega
Professor, Institute of International
Studies
Associate Professor, School of
International Trade and Economics
(SITE)
Head, International Business
Department
Programme Director, International
Business Studies,
International School of Economics and
Business Studies
Associate Professor, Faculty of
Economics & Political Science
Associate Professor, School of
International Studies, Centre for
International Trade & Development
Head, International Economics
Department
Professor, Department of Business
Economics
Senior Lecturer, School of Economics
6
7
Egypt
Mr
Ahmed Ghoneim
8
India
Ms
Meeta Mehra
9
Iran
Mr
Mehdi Fakheri
10
Jordan
Mr
Talib Awad
11
Kenya
Ms
12
Mauritius
Mr
Tabitha KiritiNganga
Azad Parahoo
13
Mozambique
Mr
Aderito Notiço
14
Russia
Ms
Tatyana Isachenko
15
Mr
Oleg Savelyev
16
Ms
Olga Trofimenko
Mr
Aly Mbaye
Mr
Mohamed Ben
Omar Ndiaye
17
Senegal
18
19
South Africa
Mr
Andre Jordaan
20
Tanzania
Mr
Francis
Matambalya
21
Uganda
Mr
Geoffrey Bakunda
22
Ukraine
Ms
Anna Olefir
23
Vietnam
Ms
24
West Indies
/Barbados
Mr
Pham Thi Mai
Khanh
Paul Neil
Director, Centre for Professional
Development and LifeLong Learning
Head, International Relations Office
Faculty of Law
Professor, Trade Policy Chair,
Department of World Economy
Deputy Chair, Trade Policy Chair,
Department of World Economy
Associate Professor, Department of
World Economy, Faculty of Economics
Director, Centre for Applied Economic
Research (CREA)
Professor, Deputy Director of the
Centre for Applied Economic Research
(CREA)
Director, Investment & Trade Policy
Centre (ITPC)
Professor
Faculty of Commerce and
Management
Dean, Faculty of Marketing and
Hospitality Management
Deputy Director, Centre for
International Trade Development
Lecturer, Economics and International
Business Faculty
Manager, Research & Development,
Shridath Ramphal Centre for
International Trade Law, Policy and
Services
University
Belarus State Economic
University, Minsk
Centre for Trade Policy and Law,
Carleton University, Ottawa
University of Chile, Santiago de
Chile
University of International
Business and Economics (UIBE),
Beijing
EAFIT University, Medellín
Universidad de la Sabana, Chía
Cairo University
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi
School of International
Relations, Tehran
University of Jordan
University of Nairobi
University of Mauritius
Eduardo Mondlane University,
Maputo
Higher School of Economics,
Moscow
Higher School of Economics,
Moscow
St. Petersburg State University
Cheikh Anta Diop University,
Dakar
Cheikh Anta Diop University,
Dakar
University of Pretoria
University of Dar-es-Salaam
Makerere University Business
School
Vadym Hetman Kiev National
Economic University, Kiev
Foreign Trade University, Hanoi
University of the West Indies
17
ANNEX III - List of Members
Core University Members (23)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
Latin American School of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Belarus State Economic University (Minsk)
University of Campinas, Brazil
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
University of Chile (Santiago de Chile)
University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China
EAFIT University, Medellín, Colombia
Cairo University, Egypt
Université Pierre Mendès France, Grenoble, France
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
School of International Relations, Tehran, Iran
University of Jordan (Amman)
University of Nairobi, Kenya
University of Mauritius (Réduit)
Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
State University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation
Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal
University of Pretoria, South Africa
University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Makerere University Business School, Uganda
Vadym Hetman Kiev National Economic University, Ukraine
Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, Vietnam
University of the West Indies (Cave Hill Campus, Barbados)
Affiliate University Members (12)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina
Academia Diplomática de San Carlos, Colombia
Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia
Universidad Icesi, Colombia
Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar, Colombia
Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Colombia
Universidad de La Sabana, Colombia
Universidad del Norte, Colombia
Universidad del Rosario, Colombia
Universidad Sergio Arboleda, Colombia
Universidad del Valle, Colombia
St. Petersburg State University, Russian Federation
18
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