Media Training Course: Promoting Dialogue on Trade Reform in South Africa

SAIIA is offering an introductory trade policy course covering key trade issues targeted at domestic business journalists.

BACKGROUND

Ideological posturing has made the debate around trade reform contentious in South Africa. The antagonism around the debate has prevented an open, evidence-based dialogue. However, trade policy reform forms part of the structural economic reform agenda in South Africa, as it has potential to offer significant positive impacts on economic performance and poverty.

Trade and economic decisions affect not only businesses and governments, but ordinary citizens too. This being the case, it is important for any society to know more about its trade and economic policies and be able to participate fully in shaping such policies.

Despite their indisputable importance in the overall development matrix, trade policy issues are currently not receiving sufficient informed coverage in the local media.  Similarly, debates involving key stakeholders could be much better informed.  Part of the reason they are not is that most journalists and other key players are not sufficiently well-versed with these issues themselves making it difficult to increase general public awareness about them.

The project under which the training course resides, ultimately hopes to empower stakeholders (media, business, consumers, opposition political parties and people within the governing alliance) to engage in and influence the debate on trade policy. Active and informed engagement by the media would promote quality debate around key milestones on the global and domestic economic agenda e.g. G20 meetings, EU-SA meetings, announcements of chan

NB: All sessions will be conducted under Chatham House rules; ie statements cannot be attributed to specific individuals without their express permission. Furthermore, in order to maximise discussions admission is conditional on participants attending the entire course. The quid pro quo is that you will obtain many insights relevant to reporting on the subject plus first hand analysis and information from session presenters.

METHODOLOGY

The course shall be offered in a non-technical way to expose participants to various disciplines intimately involved in trade policy formulation. The focus shall therefore be on high-level issues with an option to include technicalities as appropriate.

The course will be facilitated by former World Trade Editor of the Financial Times, Guy de Jonquière (his resume is attached below). Presentations by professional experts in trade policy and international relations will also be offered.  Group exercises, feedback sessions and a written assignment will be important components of the programme.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

This course is designed to enhance the ability of trainees to evaluate policy issues relating to international trade. Specific learning outcomes include:

• Deeper understanding of global trade issues including the trajectory of global economic governance in light of the financial crisis;
• The role of trade policy within broader economic policy formulation;
• Approaches to regional economic integration with specific application to the Southern African and African contexts.

PROGRAMME

* = confirmed participant
The course is scheduled to take place on the 14-16 April 2010 and its outline is as follows:
14 April 2010

Topic: Globalisation and global economic governance in the aftermath of the financial crisis

09h30 – 10h00   Registration/Tea & Coffee

10h00 – 10h15   Welcome

10h15 – 11h30  Introduction:       Trade policy and trade negotiations: key concepts and tricks of the trade

Presenter:Guy de Jonquières (ECIPE)*
11h30 – 12h00   Tea/Coffee Break

12h00 – 13h00   Session 1:            Drivers of globalization

Presenter:Guy de Jonquières (ECIPE)*
13h00 – 14h00   Lunch
14h00 – 15h00   Session 2:            Changes in the politics of global governance

Presenter: Guy de Jonquières (ECIPE)*
15h00 – 15h30   Tea/Coffee Break
15h30 – 17h00  Session 3:             The multilateral trading system versus regional trade agreements
Presenter: Guy de Jonquières (ECIPE)*

15 April 2010

Topic: Trade policy reform in South Africa

09h30 – 11h00  Session 4:             Trade liberalization in relation to economic and industrial policies: Practical Insights

Presenter:           Mr. Guy de Jonquières (ECIPE)*
11h00 – 11h30   Tea/Coffee Break

11h30 – 12h45   Session 5:            South Africa’s trade policy dynamics

Presenter:           Dr. Mzukisi Qobo (SAIIA)*
12h45 – 13h30   Lunch

Afternoon free.

16 April 2010

Topic:    Regional trade integration in Southern Africa

09h30 – 11h00   Session 7:            SACU, SADC and the EPAs

Presenter:           Mr. Peter Draper (SAIIA)*

11h00 – 11h30 Tea/Coffee Break

11h30 – 12h45   Session 8:            COMESA, EAC and SADC FTA

Presenter:           Mr. Mark Pearson (Trademark)*

12h30 – 13h30   Lunch

13h30 – 15h30   Session 9:            The Future of Trade Relations with the EU

Moderator:        Mr. Guy de Jonquières (ECIPE)*
Panelists:             Mr. Jorge Peydro Aznar (EC Delegation)*
Dr. Brendan Vickers (IGD)*

15h30 – 15h45   Concluding Remarks

Facilitator: Guy de Jonquières

Guy de Jonquières is a senior fellow at the European Centre for International Political Economy. He was previously a journalist with The Financial Times, where he spent much of a 40-year career working, living and travelling extensively in North America, Europe and Asia.

Career:

1967: Joined The Financial Times
Staff correspondent in:
1968-70: Paris
1970-73: Washington
1973-76: New York (bureau chief)
1976-80: Brussels (chief European Communities correspondent)
1980-86: Specialist correspondent covering the international electronics, computer and telecommunications industries.
1986-91: International Business Editor, responsible for covering in depth developments including the birth of Europe’s single market, US industrial competitiveness and international expansion by Japanese companies.
1991-94: Consumer Industries Editor, heading a team covering fast-moving consumer goods manufacturing, retailing, marketing, the media and leisure industries.
1994-2004: World Trade Editor and editorial writer, responsible for leading coverage of global trade policy.
2005-2007: Asia Columnist and Commentator, based in Hong Kong.
2008- : Senior fellow, Ecipe.

Awards:
2001: BP/European University Institute prize for essay on transatlantic economic relations
2007: Opinion writer of the year, Society of Publishers in Asia.

Public and media appearances: Extensive radio and television broadcasting experience, principally in the US and Europe. Frequent engagements as both guest speaker and chairman at conferences arranged by international organisations, including the United Nations, the WTO, the OECD and the World Economic Forum, by universities, research institutes and business schools in many parts of the world, and by multinational corporations.

Education: Lancing College; Exeter College, Oxford (M.A., Modern Languages)
Languages: Fluent French, basic German

British citizen. Married, 2 children.

Email: guy.dej@gmail.com
Tel: 44 (0) 20 7485 9903
Mobile: 44 (0) 7988 237433