WIPO at Global South-South Development Expo 2016

December 19, 2016

The Global South-South Development Expo (GSSD Expo) took place from October 31-November 3, 2016 in Dubai’s (UAE) World Trade Center. During the event, WIPO presented the work it carries out on South-South and triangular cooperation.

During the session “UN Stakeholders Meeting”, WIPO outlined the South-South and triangular cooperation mapping exercise it undertook in 2016. As a result of this work, a total of 83 activities relating to South- South and triangular cooperation were identified for the biennium 2014 – 2015.

WIPO was congratulated for having allocated 1.5%of its core budget in the 2014/2015 biennium to support these activities and build upon them. The UN Inspection Unit advises that no less than 0.5% of the core budget should be allocated to the promotion of South-South cooperation.

Diverse success stories

The GSSD Expo showcases successful, evidence-based initiatives undertaken by countries of the Global South to address development challenges.

WIPO SSC South South meeting — (Photo: Oswaldo Reques).

Over the course of four days, various panels were held for the almost 700 delegates from more than 90 countries, at which successful cases of South-South cooperation were outlined in areas such as:

gender;
water;
households;
young people;
policy development and best practices;
fair work;
food;
tobacco control;
the environment; etc.

GSSD Expo 2017

The host for the next GSSD Expo has yet to be defined. The 2017 edition will be the year before the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Buenos Aires Plan Action (BAPA, 1978) – a major milestone in the evolution of technical cooperation among developing countries. As such, not only the preparations for anniversary celebration, but also perspectives for the future of South-South and triangular cooperation will be hot topics for discussion.