”What is the need for and value of the WTO, and why is it essential for young people to become more knowledgeable about its functions and world trade in general?"
--- A statement by Mike Moore, Director General of the World Trade Organization for Issues in Global Education,

I saw many young people in the streets of Seattle. Frustrated, angry young people who are worried about globalization and who are not really sure how to address the future. These young people feel anxiety over the power of multinationals, the impression of not being heard by their government, poverty in the world, threat to the environment and a general sense that they are not in control. Unfortunately, they have come to the conclusion that the WTO is entirely responsible for these problems.

We must do a better job of explaining what the WTO really does and how trade can benefit everyone. We must tell these young people how the WTO can be an important part of the solution to these problem and how the solution to many of these problems lies with governments or other international organizations. It is important that young people understand the reasons behind the creation of the WTO and the exact functions of the WTO because their jobs will be based on the new knowledge industries. We must educate young citizens so they do not have biased opinions on these extremely complex issues. We must help them to propose realistic options. As we are now back from Seattle, the WTO Members and the WTO Secretariat are thinking up ways to increase the dissemination of information about the WTO. We are still in the early stages of our reflection but it is already clear that this new effort will require help from educators.

Why is trade important? It may sound idealistic, especially to those who have not lived through the Second World War, but trade is an essential peace-keeping tool. Why did Robert Schuman and Jean Monnct create the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952? Because trade in coal and steel would make France and Germany interdependent and ensure peace between these two often uneasy neighbours. And it worked! Today, it is unthinkable that these two European powers would ever again go to war. In the same way, the GATT [General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade] architects were guided by a central idea-that a durable international peace must be built on the foundations of progressive liberalization and economic interdependence. They knew that the Great Depression was deepened and prolonged by extreme protectionist policies. In their vision, removing barriers to trade would lead to shared prosperity and a shared commitment to international stability. So they created the GATT, an agreement to facilitate trade in industrial products. The GATT contained a set of trading principles, including non-discrimination, that have restrained destructive economic nationalism and helped prevent the resurgence of the protectionist policies that had done so much to increase inter-war tensions.

Take the stark contrasts in Europe today. On one hand a united Europe, where people respect each other's culture and religion, and where people, ideas, information and commerce travel freely. European Union. A force for good. Then there's the Balkans, where tribal hatred and insular, inward-looking policies have reached their natural extreme of ethnic cleansing. The lessons are clear.

What's more, trade is an essential economic booster. In 1950 trade's ratio to global GDP was 7 percent. Now it rep resents 23 percent, and a third of the 25 largest trading countries are now developing countries. Between 1948 and 1997, merchandise increased 14 times, while world production increased 5'/2 times. In the same period, world GDP increased by 1.9 percent per year at constant prices and taking account of overall population growth. Seen in an historical context, this figure is extremely high.

In particular, over the past 10 to 15 years, when developing countries have more and more embraced trade liberalising policies, the benefits have been clear. The share of developing countries in world trade overall has increased from 20 percent to 25 percent. For the manufacturing sector it has doubled from 10 to 20 percent, and on current trends could exceed 50 percent by the year 2020. And in this same period of time,10 developing countries with a combined population of 1.5 billion people have doubled their per capita income. The World Bank reports that 25 years ago 70 percent of Indonesians lived in what could be called extreme poverty, now, despite all their problems, the figure is less than 10 percent. South Korea’s capital, Seoul, has been leveled to the ground three times this century. In 1960, South Korea was one of the world's poorest countries. Today it belongs to the OECD [Organization for Economic and Cooperative Development]. It now boasts rising living standards, which in turn have lifted human rights and led to a democratic society.

I understand that globalization has produced anxiety and even anger among young people everywhere. I understand that people worry that their very livelihoods may be affected by decisions taken in the WTO. But isn’t it better to seek to manage the often unsettling process of globalization through rules that have been agreed, by consensus, by more than 130 governments? The alter native is the law of the jungle-where might makes right.

I do believe that if we provide these young people with honest information on trade and on the WTO, they will understand the need for such an organization and the need to continue to promote trade, within a set of rules that give everyone, every country, a chance to benefit from trade.

Mike Moore, Director General, World Trade Organization, was born in Whakatane, Now Zealand in 1949. He worked at a variety ofJobs as a young man and in 1972 was elected the youngest member of Parliament in New Zealand. Since then he has served as Minister of Overseas Trade and Marketing, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister of Finance, and in 1990, as Prime Minister. He is the author of several books including A Pacific Parliamen Hardtabo and Hard labour and A Brief History of the Future. He was elected Director General of the World Trade Organization in 1999.