WTO Public Forum 2019

8 Oct 2019 - 11 Oct 2019

Geneva, Switzerland

Session reports

Event report

The WTO Public Forum 2019, themed ‘Trading Forward: Adapting to a Changing World’ discussed services as the next trade frontier, the expectations of Millennials and Gen Z from global trade, and the WTO’s role in strength­ening the global trading system. The GIP reported from the forum, on 8-11 October 2019, from sessions related to digital policy.

Access the following resources:

[Update] DiploFoundation and the International Trade Centre (ITC) will be organising the workshop ‘Trade norms on access to the source code: What is the impact on trade in services and development?’ on 10 October at 10:15 CEST.


This year’s Public Forum, entitled ‘Trading Forward: Adapting to a Changing World’, will feature 137 sessions focusing on how to adapt to a rapidly changing trading environment. The forum, which will be held on 8-11 October, will also offer participants an opportunity to consider the increasing role for services in trade, the aspirations of youth for the future trading system, and how the WTO should change to meet current and future challenges.

The Public Forum is the WTO’s largest annual outreach event, which provides a platform for participants to discuss the latest developments in world trade and to propose ways of enhancing the multilateral trading system. The event regularly attracts over 1500 representatives from civil society, academia, business, the media, governments, parliamentarians, and inter-governmental organisations.

For more information, visit the official event page.

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