Networking
Networking is SAWTEE's strength. Its member institutions are also active members of various national, regional and international alliances. By virtue of this networking, SAWTEE member institutions are involved in collective efforts in realising the objective of fair trade and equitable development in the region. SAWTEE has established network links with media, academia and research institutions at the national, regional and international levels and seeks to obtain critical inputs from them. SAWTEE is currently the Secretariat of three alliances - Farmers' Rights Advocacy Network (FRANK), an international network formed to protect farmers' rights; LDC-Net, an international network formed to work for increasing the capacity of civil society organisations to deal with trade issues and National Alliance for Food Security - Nepal (NAFOS), a network of more than 20 institutions working towards ensuring food security in Nepal.
At the international level, SAWTEE has established close institutional links with ActionAid, London, Bangkok and Kathmandu; Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Geneva; Consumers International (CI), London and Kuala Lumpur; Danish 92 Group, Copenhagen; EU-LDC Network, Rotterdam; Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Kathmandu; Gene Campaign, New Delhi; Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), Minneapolis; Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Colombo; International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Geneva; International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Rome; MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai; Novib, The Hague; Oxfam, New Delhi; Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI), Harare; The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Nepal, Kathmandu; United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva and New Delhi; United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), South Asia Regional Office, New Delhi; World Trade Institute (WTI), Berne; the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Geneva, among others.
Capacity Building
Recognising the need to build the capacity of the concerned stakeholders in South Asia in order to better equip them with information and advocacy tools to provide adequate safety nets for the protection of poor, marginalised and vulnerable communities and people through enhanced regional and international cooperation, SAWTEE conducts capacity building activities at various levels. Training workshops, monthly & bi-monthly forums, information dissemination and internship programmes are the major vehicles through which SAWTEE builds the capacity of its member institutions, network institutions and other NGOs.
Policy Research
Realising the capacity and resource constraints faced by South Asian NGOs to conduct research on policy issues; come out with policy recommendations and prepare well argued advocacy strategies, SAWTEE, along with its member institutions and academics of the region, conducts policy research on issues such as WTO rules, regional cooperation, intellectual property rights, competition policy, environment and the development dimension of trade liberalisation. The research findings are widely disseminated among South Asian as well as international audiences comprising of trade negotiators, NGOs, media, academia, research institutions, international and regional inter-governmental organisations and donor communities in English as well as various South Asian vernacular languages.
Advocacy
SAWTEE conducts various advocacy programmes with a view to complementing and supplementing the efforts made by various NGOs within the region in advocating the cause of social justice and economic equity in the context of globalisation and liberalisation in general and trade liberalisation in particular. SAWTEE and its member institutions organise conferences, seminars, policy dialogues, consultation meetings, talk programmes, monthly forums and interaction programmes at regular intervals to achieve this objective. The advocacy at the policy level is also supplemented by publication and distribution of policy briefs on relevant issues in a timely manner.
Sensitisation
With a view to informing, educating and provoking action from a wide readership, SAWTEE and its member institutions regularly publish briefing papers on issues related to globalisation, liberalisation, multilateral trading system, regional cooperation, competition policy, investment, environment, intellectual property rights, food security, farmers' rights etc. SAWTEE also publishes a quarterly magazine - Trade Insight in which it includes cover feature, news, analytical articles and views on contemporary trade and development issues.Office bearers and staff members of SAWTEE as well as those of its member institutions publish articles on contemporary issues on agendas pursued by SAWTEE in national, regional and international newspapers, magazines and journals.
