The deadline for submitting nominations for the Youth Trade Summit on Gender, to be held at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, has been extended to 12 September.

Research and governmental institutions are invited to nominate candidates aged 20-35 to participate in the Summit to be held on 13-14 November. Organized jointly by the WTO and the WTO Gender Research Hub, the event is intended to promote opportunities for young professionals and researchers to engage in discussions on trade and gender issues.

The Youth Trade Summit on Gender will allow young professionals to exchange views on trade and gender issues and to engage with delegations of WTO members, senior researchers in the field and global stakeholders. Participants will also benefit from technical assistance and capacity building sessions to enhance their technical knowledge of the trade and gender nexus and discuss these issues with senior researchers and experts.

The Summit will act as a milestone between the first edition of the World Trade Congress on Gender held in December 2022 — which spotlighted research on women’s economic empowerment through trade — and the next edition of the Congress, which will be held in December 2024.

The Youth Trade Summit on Gender will also feature a book launch, a networking event, and an award ceremony, recognizing pioneers in the research field of trade and gender.

Nomination criteria

• Nominees must be between 20 and 35 years old.
• Nominees must show their current work on trade and gender, or their interest in including trade and gender issues in their current work.
• Nominees must provide a motivation letter and complete the application form.
• Nominees must be endorsed by their academic/research institution or government.
• Nominees’ travel costs and expenses to participate in the Summit must be funded by their academic/research institution or government.

Nomination process

Nominations must be made by the relevant academic/research institution or governmental authority for young professionals aged 20-35 who have a proven interest in trade and gender issues. No individual applications will be considered.

WTO members and observers, as well as academic and research institutions such as foundations, research centres, think thanks and policy research settings are invited to submit nominations by sending the nominee’s application form to WTO’s Trade and Gender Office at trade-gender@wto.org.

A total of 50 nominees will be selected by members of the WTO Gender Research Hub to participate in the Youth Trade Summit on Gender at the WTO. Nominees’ travel costs and expenses to participate in the Summit must be funded by their nominating academic/research institution or government.

For enquiries about the call for nominations for the Youth Trade Summit on Gender, please contact WTO’s Trade and Gender Office at trade-gender@wto.org.

Background

In May 2021, the WTO established the WTO Gender Research Hub, a network of researchers on trade and gender from international and regional organizations and academic institutions. At WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference held in June 2022, ministers recognized multilaterally the links between women’s economic empowerment and economic growth, noting the work of the WTO on this issue.

In December 2022, the WTO initiated and organized the first edition of the World Trade Congress on Gender, the first international research conference on trade and gender. Promoting innovative research, this high-level event brought together the most eminent trade and gender experts to present new findings and the latest trade and gender research from around the world. It also provided a platform for researchers and policy makers to exchange and build partnerships.

The Youth Trade Summit on Gender builds on this momentum to promote opportunities for young professionals  to engage on trade and gender issues in academia, in research institutions and in government.