The ATSDF was a three-day forum held in parallel to the 8th Ministerial Meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). It was held in Miami November 17–19 2003, within the "security perimeter," so that informal dialogue and substantive exchanges could occur between civil society organizations and government officials working on the proposed FTAA. The ATSDF convened workshops, panels, roundtables and other activities within nine different "thematic tents" for discussion of social, economic, political and practical concerns relating to trade liberalization in the Americas, complementing and building upon existing efforts within civil society relating to the FTAA and the Miami ministerial. The Forum wrapped up with a precedent-setting dialogue between 20 Forum representatives and the 34 Trade Ministers present in Miami.
The Canadian Government (Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Canadian International Development Agency) provided substantial assistance in bringing some forty developing country participants to the event, and the C.S. Mott Foundation helped to support IISD's participation.
IISD was, along with a number of other NGOs, a member of the event's organizing committee, spearheaded by the North-South Center at the University of Miami. IISD also co-convened the thematic tent on investment, along with the Centre for International Environmental Law. More information on this event, and on the ATSDF as a whole, can be found below.
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