Life Along the Copper Value Chain: The Swiss Commodity Trading Hub and its Impact in the Global South

On behalf of an international research consortium in which it is a partner, UNRISD is organizing two events in Geneva:

• Round Table Discussion: Monday, 10 December 2018, 18.00–20.00 at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (this page)
• Research Symposium: Tuesday, 11 December 2018, 09.00–16.30 at the Palais des Nations

Both events are open to the public.

Download the full Programme of Events as a PDF here.

The events present the research results of the Valueworks project, funded by SNIS. For an introduction to the issues, see this blog post by project collaborator Rita Kesselring.



How does the global (financialized) commodity trade impact on local lifeworlds?

The growing influence of transnational market intermediaries, including financial actors, has profoundly changed the global commodities trade, “de-linking” markets in commodities from the material conditions of production and use and “re-linking” them to offshore marketplaces and trading hubs, such as Switzerland.

How do these processes affect local lives along the copper value chain, from the mining pits and the surrounding communities in Zambia, through towns and harbours on African transport corridors, through Swiss trading firms and banks to sites of industrial production and recycling? What needs to be done in order to move towards more ethical trading and production systems conducive to the vision of sustainable development and Agenda 2030?

This moderated roundtable will bring together researchers and civil society activists from the project Valueworks: Effects of Financialization along the Copper Value Chain, funded by SNIS, as well as representatives from business and policymakers to discuss the Swiss Commodity Trading Hub and its Impact on the Global South.



Opening Remarks

• Filipe Calvao—Assistant Professor, The Graduate Institute
• Paul Ladd—Director, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

Valueworks: What Have We Learned?

• Rita Kesselring—Principle Investigator, Valueworks Project, University of Basel
• Marja Hinfelaar—Director Research and Programmes, Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR)

Roundtable Speakers

• Stefan Leins—University of Zurich
• Dale Mudenda—University of Zambia and Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR)
• Barbara Müller—Swiss Apartheid, Debt, Reparation Campaign (ADR)
• James Nicholson—Head of Corporate Responsibility, Trafigura
• Jean Rossiaud—Member of Parliament, Canton of Geneva, and Co-director, World Democratic Forum

Moderator

• Isolda Agazzi—Journalist

Discussion with the Audience

• Introductory input by CETIM (Centre Europe – Tiers Monde)

Funding

This project is funded by the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS).

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Read also: Le cuivre de Zambie au gré des négociants suisses, in Le Temps, by Isolda Agazzi, Alliance Sud


Image credits: Composition by Sergio Sandoval based on photographs by Luca Rüegg and Kamryn Hinojos, public domain via Unsplash, and copper icon by Michael Senkow, Creative Commons vis The Noun Project.