On 2 July 2018, INCU representatives Mr Jiayuan Yao (INCU Media Operations Manager) and Ms Enjia Hu (INCU Assistant News Editor) represented INCU at the inaugural meeting of the Global Trade Development Week (GTDW) Advisory Council that was held in Shanghai, China. The meeting was hosted at the office of Asia Pacific Model E-Network (APMEN) Operational Center.
GTDW Advisory Council is a top level, inter-disciplinary policy group that deliberates on key subjects related to the overall themes of GTDW with a view to influencing global thinking on the topics and steering the direction of the GTDW conferences and defining the outcomes. The aim of the meeting was to enhance and implement strategic development of the GTDW events profile for the benefit of international trade stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
The attendees of the Advisory Council meeting included representatives from:
- APMEN Operational Center (AOC)
- KW Group
- Center for China & Globalization (CCG)
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- International Trade Center (ITC)
- International Air Transport Association (IATA)
- Luna Global Networks
- KGH Border Services
- International Network of Customs Universities (INCU)
The participants had in-depth discussions on the theme of how to keep GTDW model commercially sustainable and the outlook for the next edition of conference. A number of issues were discussed around marketing of the GTDW. In order to achieve the aim of sound development of GTDW, INCU representatives proposed that the organisers should pay more attention to and make full use of different communication and marketing media options to enhance the GTDW’s influence to benefit its stakeholders. The localisation was an important factor which cannot be neglected when marketing the event. Another advice given by INCU delegates was to develop closer cooperation with governments of host cities.
The Advisory Council also discussed matters relating to the international growth of the GTDW event platform and expansion into new regions, the overall focus of the GTDW and potential topics for future GTDW conferences, and the capacity of the GTDW to build next generation of trade facilitation executives along with support from academic institutions.
The Chairman of the GTDW Advisory Council, Mr Andrew Keable, expressed his gratitude to INCU representatives for playing an active role in the meeting.