Current Activities
From 28 to 30 of August the 25th SMEWG Meeting was held in Bali,
opportunity where the former Working Group on Trade Promotion (WGTP)'s
delegates were welcomed.
During the meeting, member economies discussed inter-sessional issues including:
- APEC SMEWG Intellectual Property Rights Seminar. The
purpose of this program is to help to liberalize trade by educating and
providing concrete tools for SMEs by identifying intellectual property (IP)
assets, protecting their IP, maximizing IP either through licensing or other
business transactions, and by enforcing IP through civil, criminal, and/or
administrative measures.
- Enhancing the Market Development of Local Cultural Industries in
APEC. The objectives of the project are to strengthen the ability of
local cultural industries to develop new markets and undertake exportation
and to create a platform for displaying the products of APEC Member
Economies' local cultural industries. The project has implemented two
activities: the APEC Local Cultural Industry Virtual Expo ALCIVE 2007 and
APEC OVOP Workshop on E-commerce.
- Implementation of the
Daegu Initiative for 2007. The
Daegu Initiative on SME Innovation Action Plan is an opportunity for each
economy to establish appropriate economic and policy environments, so that
innovative SMEs can realize their potential, and increase the innovative
capacity of the individual and regional economy.
Implementation of the SPAN. The "Implementation of the Integrated
Plan of Action for the Development" of SMEs is aimed to promote the
development of competitive and resilient SMEs towards increasing their
contributions to the economy.
Members also presented the following key policy initiatives designed to
improve the business operating environment for SMEs and Micro enterprises
(ME):
- Sharing Best Practice SME Policy Initiatives,
to provide
economy-specific case studies for Australia, Chinese Taipei, Peru, Japan,
New Zealand and Indonesia promoting the growth of SMEs businesses.
Sharing Best Practice ME Policy Initiatives to foster
an environment conducive to the growth of the entrepreneurial spirit and
by presenting policies being implemented in Chile, Japan, Malaysia and
Peru.
Sharing Best Practice Internationalization Policy Initiatives,
to encourage the internationalization of SMEs with ongoing successful
policies and case studies about Indonesia, Chile, Peru, Chinese Taipei and
Singapore.
Pandemic planning for SMEs will continue with the upcoming APEC SMEWG "Train
the Trainer" Workshop to be held in the margins of the next 26th SMEWG
meeting in Chinese Taipei. The workshop will train officials to help SMEs to
be better prepared for an influenza pandemic. This workshop is part of the
menu of the "Pandemic Flu Planning Guide for SMEs" endorsed on the 14th
SMEs Ministers Meeting held in Hobart on March 2007. The workshop is designed
to cover, in depth, the three sections of the Guide that address the
preparedness areas of SMEs, including making plans to stay in business,
protecting employees' health and making preparations in their homes.
