CALL FOR PAPERS 2024 WCP Virtual International Conference on International Trade and Investment

‘Doctoral and Young Scholars Colloquium’ , 5–6 November 2024, Organised by the African Trade Group of the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP)

WTO Chairs in Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia. 

The African Trade Group (ATG) of the WTO Chairs is organising a Virtual ‘Doctoral and Young Scholars Colloquium’ for this year’s edition of its International Conference on International Trade and Investment. This event is dedicated for doctoral or young scholars who are engaged in research in any aspect of international trade and investment. The Colloquium will provide an opportunity for participants to gain valuable experience in presenting their work to their peers as well as to a wider audience and, more importantly, to receive constructive feedback on their work. It offers a great opportunity for participants to discuss their research with their fellow PhD students, assigned resource persons/discussants, leading academics and policymakers in the field as well as industry practitioners. They can benefit from exchanging ideas and experiences with other researchers coming from different research backgrounds. The colloquium will also be an opportunity for students to expand their network with other students and experienced scholars, possibly kick-starting collaborations.
The conference organisers are calling for conceptual or empirically based research papers/presentations or country-specific case studies that address all aspects of international trade or international investment related issues. Presenters can deliver either completed research papers or work in progress, and their paper submissions and presentations might address both the theoretical and policy implications of the findings.
Presentations will be conducted in parallel tracks and will be refereed to enable researchers to receive constructive feedback on their work. One special feature of the Colloquium is the hosting of a 1-day Capacity Building Workshop on ‘Gravity Modelling’, delivered by seasoned researchers in the field, for our young scholars. In addition, the organisers hope to hold a round table discussion on ‘Academic Publishing for Young Scholars’.

Potential topics/themes
Topics that could be considered include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Trade and SGDs
- Trade facilitation
- Trade in services
- Digital trade
- Regional Trade Agreements
- African Continental Free Trade Area
- Sustainable rade
- Investment facilitation
- Foreign Direct Investment
- Sustainable FDI
- Legal and tax issues in FDI
- Trade and inclusive growth/ development
2
- Global Value Chains and trade dynamics
- Barriers to trade
- Trade policies and Food Security
- Trade and climate change
- Trade and gender equality
- Trade and new technologies including AI, robotics, IoT and Blockchain

Guidelines for authors/presenters
The organising committee invites the submission of abstracts (max. 300 words) or full papers (max. 5000 words) from Doctoral and Young Scholars in the fields of international trade and investment. All abstracts should be formatted to facilitate the review process. On a separate cover page, the following information should appear:
• name, affiliation and address (including email address for general correspondence) of each author and co-author, and
• a brief personal profile (max. 100 words) of each presenter.

By submitting an abstract, at least one author undertakes to attend the virtual international conference if the final abstract/paper is accepted. In addition, one author should not have more than two submissions, either as a single author or as a co-author. All submissions should be forwarded via email (as a word.doc attachment) to b.seetanah@uom.ac.mu (cc to v.tandrayen@uom.ac.mu & v.mooneeram@uom.ac.mu) with the subject line ‘ATG Doctoral and Young Scholar Colloquium 2024’. Researchers are encouraged to register for the conference upon acceptance of their abstract.

Important dates and deadlines
Call for Papers/Abstracts: 27 August 2024
Deadline for abstracts (max. 300 words) or full papers (max. 5000 words): 2 October 2024
Notification of outcome of review process/acceptance: 15 October 2024
Deadline for conference registration: 22 October 2024
Conference dates: 5-6 November 2024
Conference Proceedings (with revised abstracts or full papers): 31 January 2025
Registration is Free (complimentary of the ATG, WTO Chairs Programme)

Organising Committee
African Trade Group of the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP). WTO Chairs in Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia.

Scientific Committee
Jaime De Melo (Emeritus Professor, University of Geneva); Oliver Morrissey (University of Nottingham); Nicholas Ngepah (University of Johannesburg); Pramila Krishnan (University of Oxford); Raja Vinesh Sannassee (SADC); Richard Newfarmer (International Growth Centre/WCP); Stephen Karingi (UNECA); Pierre Sauve (World Bank); Clemens Boonekamp (Trade Negotiations and Investment Forum); Trudi Hartzenberg (TRALAC);Nassim Oulmane (UNECA); Bineswaree.Bolaky (UNECA); Mustapha.Sadni Jallab (WTO);Taleb Awad-Warrad (University of Jordan); Sheereen Fauzel (University of Mauritius); Maarten Smeets (St Petersburg State University/SUIBE); Kesseven Padachi (University of Technology, Mauritius); Chibole Wakoli (WTO); Adelia Jansen van Rensburg (North-West University); Lorainne Ferreira (North-West University); Ali Parry (North West University); Ermie.Steenkamp (North West University).

About the WTO Chairs Programme: https://wtochairs.org/home