ISFiT 2013

The International Student Festival 2013 is an upcoming student festival to be held from February 7 to February 17, 2013, in Trondheim, Norway. This will be the 12th ISFiT-festival.

President election

On April 6, 2011 a plenary session was held at the Student Society in Trondheim to elect the President for the upcoming festival in 2013. Several pre-announced candidates ran for president and presented what they believed should be the main of ISFiT 2013; among them were Guro Grytli Seim (Energy), Marianne Ytterbø (Technology) and Kaja Juul Skarbø (Trade).^[1]

Juul Skarbø and Grytli Seim were the remaining candidates after the preliminary rounds, and Juul Skarbø won in the end with 110 votes to 101, making Trade the main theme for ISFiT 2013.^[2] During the debate Juul Skarbø emphasized trade as a mean for social and economic development, but also as an obstacle for development. She pointed to power structures, sustainability, ethics and human trafficking as interesting approaches to the theme.^[3]

Theme

The theme for ISFiT 2013, Global Trade, covers many different areas of human activity. Juul Skarbø proposed topics as diverse as finance, economies of war, subsidies, human trafficking and local and global markets, for some of the workshops during the festival.^[4]

ISFiT 2013 have defined trade as legal and illegal exchange of goods, services, labour, capital and financial instruments. By this definition, international trade encompasses issues that are both the reason for, and the consequences of, such exchanges. They will discuss solutions to global trade issues in a long-term perspective. ISFiT 2013 also want to create a constructive debate and dialogue across ideological and national boundaries.

The theme will be discussed in the workshops, at plenary sessions and under the event ISFiT open. They want to put a spotlight on issues like: Do students have the power to change a political regime? Who dominate the global market, and why? Is there a limit for what we can buy or sell? What is the reason for starvation when tons of food are thrown away in the western countries? Can consumption be a way to communicate and express our cultural identity and values? Is mixing business and social development the future?

In this context they do not consider trade as a goal in itself, but as a means to promote development. ISFiT 2013 acknowledges that resources are not equally distributed globally, and that transparency and cooperation on more equal terms will increase fairness in trade. In addition to the economic aspect, we wish to view the social and environmental consequences of trade. This means that they will discuss how actors such as nations, multinational companies, organizations, social movements, local communities and individuals are affected by, and may influence global trade.^[5]

The ISFiT 2013 Board

As president, Juul Skarbø elected the following as members of the board:^[6]

Yvonne Fadnes: Head of Administration
Martin Gulseth: Head of Culture
Victoria Nash: Head of Economy
Elise Djupedal: Head of Theme
Therese Høstad: Head of Student Peace Prize
Christine Berntzen: Board Member
Marte Helland: Organization Secretary

During the 2012, there will be 3 rounds of recruiting volunteers for the festival: Mars, April, September and October. When all volunteers have been recruited, there will be approximately 440 people preparing the festival.

References

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