 Welcome
to ICTSD
The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
was established in Geneva in September 1996 to contribute to a better
understanding of development and environment concerns in the context
of international trade.
As an independent
non-profit and non-governmental organisation, ICTSD engages a broad
range of actors in ongoing dialogue about trade and sustainable
development. With a wide network of governmental, non-governmental
and inter-governmental partners, ICTSD plays a unique systemic role
as a provider of original, non-partisan reporting and facilitation
services at the intersection of international trade and sustainable
development.
ICTSD facilitates
interaction between policy-makers and those outside the system to
help trade policy become more supportive of sustainable development.
By helping parties increase capacity and become better informed
about each other, ICTSD builds bridges between groups with seemingly
disparate agendas. It seeks to enable these actors to discover the
many places where their interests and priorities coincide, for ultimately
sustainable development is their common objective.
ICTSD's
Mission: By empowering stakeholders in trade policy through
information, networking, dialogue, well-targeted research, and capacity
building, to influence the international trade system such that
it advances the goal of sustainable development.
ICTSD is accredited
by the United Nations. In this context it enjoys Consultative Status
with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC);
Observer Status at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD), the United Nations
Industial Development Organization (UNIDO),
the Codex
Alimentarius Commission and at the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO). The Centre
has also been granted accreditation since 1996 by the World Trade
Organization (WTO) to participate
in all its Ministerial Conferences and other ad hoc activities.
ICTSD is further accredited to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD),
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Since July 2005, ICTSD is an accredited member of the Governing
Council of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
ICTSD is a principal
member of the Trade Knowledge Network (TKN);
and the Frati Initiative on Intellectual Property and Development;
and a founding member of the Geneva Environment Network (GEN);
Concerted Action on Trade and Environment (CAT&E)
and the Grupo Zapallar (GZ).
ICTSD leads
the Trade and Development
Symposium, an informal consortium of international organisations,
research institutes and NGOs active around major trade and development
events, and has served as a principal convener of the Global
Biodiversity Forum (GBF) on Trade. Through its Executive Director,
the Centre participates in the UN
Millennium Project's Task Force on Trade; the WTO Director General's
NGO Advisory Group and the Commission
on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) of the
World Conservation Union (IUCN)..
On this section
of the site, you will find comprehensive information about our history,
work programme, staff, funding and governance. We welcome your interest
in the Centre’s activities and invite you to become a part
of our worldwide network of supporters.
ICTSD
History
In October 1995, the twelve members of
the Neptune Group of environmental NGOs proposed the creation of
an international resource centre to advance the understanding of
links between trade and sustainable development. Their initial proposal
envisioned a small, highly efficient support centre dedicated to
providing information services and facilitating dialogue.
Less than one year later,
this vision became a reality as five founding members – the Consumer Unity and Trust Society
(India); Fundacion Futuro Latinoamericano
(Ecuador), the International Institute for Sustainable Development
(Canada), the Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations
(Switzerland), and the World Conservation Union (Switzerland) –
established the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
in September of 1996.
Since its founding,
ICTSD has grown both in size and in scope. At the outset, ICTSD
employed a small staff of four; today, ICTSD regularly employs a
staff of about forty professionals and interns with expertise in
law, economics, management and sustainable development. While it
has remained committed to the basic principles articulated by its
founders, ICTSD has evolved into a dynamic, internationally respected
provider of news and analysis of issues in trade and sustainable
development.
ICTSD has been a presence
at each of the World Trade Organization’s Ministerial Conferences,
where it has provided support services for its affiliates and the
general public. At the Doha Ministerial Conference, for example,
ICTSD produced daily briefings in four languages, providing immediate
information about the progress and sustainable development implications
of the negotiations.
More recently, ICTSD has
reorganised its governance structure to become more broadly representative
of the public it now serves. Visit the governance section of this
site for more information on this change.
From its early days as
a small, tightly focused resource centre to its current status as
a highly efficient information provider and facilitator, ICTSD has
evolved to meet the needs of the international trade and sustainable
development communities. As new issues emerge and new positions
are articulated, ICTSD will be on the forefront of efforts to integrate
policy, knowledge and participation into the framework of sustainable
development.
How
to find ICTSD
Contact
Information
ICTSD is located
at :
The International
Environmental House 2,
7 Chemin de Balexert,
1219 Châtelaine,
Geneva, Switzerland
http://map.search.ch/chatelaine/ch.de-balexert
Public Transport
From Cornavin:
Take bus 6 or
19 in the direction of Vernier-Village or bus 22 from the Palais
des Nations in the direction of Tours-de-Carouge. Get off at the
bus stop "Chatelaine-Ecole". Walk up and turn right onto Avenue
de Pailly. Continue and then turn right on Chemin des Anemones and
take the first left onto chemin de Balexert. The bus fare costs
3 SFr. from the ticket machines at most bus stops. To access the
time tables for bus 6 and 19, please visit: www.tpg.ch
From City
Centre by car:
From the train
station 'Place de Cornavin' you follow Rue de la Servette in the
direction of the International Airport. When you reach the first
traffic light turn left on Rue de Lyon in the direction of Chatelaine.
Continue to follow this street until you get to Avenue de Chatelaine
at the Viaduc de I'Ecu (which continues on to Avenue du Pailly).
Keep driving and turn on right onto Chemin des Anemones and then
immediately take your next left, and the International Environment
2 House and ICTSD will be on your left hand side.
On the Auto
route:
From the airport
route, take the exit for Vernier. Then follow signs to Chatelaine,
when the road goes under the bridge immediately take the left and
drive two blocks. The International Environment House 2 will be
on your right hand side.tt
Taxis:
Taxis are accessible traveling to the
ICTSD, ask the driver for the Maison Internationale de I'Environment
2, 7 Chemin de Balexert.
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