WTO Director General Pascal Lamy is doing an on-line chat with the global public on February 21. It's easy to be cyncial about such gestures--the "digital divide," the limits of the medium for serious deliberation, the self-selectivity of participants, etc., but let's hand it to Lamy: at a minimum, this represents a gesture towards the view that the Director General is and should be accountable not just to the "Members" of the WTO but to global public opinion. Further, the transcript of the chat session is to be made available on line. I suspect that the ideas and views in that transcript will be of much greater value and interest than the previous DG's wisemens' report, produced in a vacuum where consultation and deliberation of a public nature were entirely absent. I hope the blog links to the transcript when it is available. I'll probably do a post, summarizing the nature of the conversation, the main viewpoints in play, and any innovative and challenging ideas for the reform of the WTO.
If anyone is interested in participating, here is the URL: http://www.wto.org/english/forums_e/chat_e/dg_chat_e.htm
Bravo, Pascal!
