SEATINI –The Organisation 
The Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) is a regional non-governmental organization founded in 1996 soon after the World Trade Organization (WTO) Singapore Ministerial Conference after realizing that Africa in particular and Third World countries in general were marginalized in the WTO negotiations. SEATINI has its head offices in Harare- Zimbabwe, regional offices in Kampala-Uganda, Nairobi-Kenya and is represented in Johannesburg- South Africa as well as Geneva-Switzerland.
 
SEATINI-Uganda
The SEATINI -Uganda office was established in 2001; and subscribes to the overall SEATINI vision, mission and values. The Uganda office is run by a country programme management board which oversees the country office activities; it is also the coordinating office for the Eastern Africa region. For the last 6 years since its inception, SEATINI-Uganda office has focused on strengthening the capacity of the different stakeholders especially the government officials, CSOs, media, and members of Parliament to participate in and effectively influence trade negotiations at national, regional and international levels.

Mission
The main purpose of SEATINI is to strengthen the capacity of African trade negotiators and other key stakeholders i.e. the media, Non Government Organisations (NGO’s), Members of Parliament (MPs), farmer groups to take a more effective part in the emerging global trading system and to better manage the process of globalization.

Values
SEATINI thrives as an independent, people-centred non-profit seeking organisation driven by the values of openness, transparency, integrity and non-violence, working with diligence towards greater justice and equity.

We abide by the following principles in letter and in spirit:

• Commitment to human justice, democracy and fairness.
• Commitment to search for alternatives to the contemporary mainstream neo-liberal model of globalization.
• Non-partisan professional, non-racist, non-sexist and independent position in relation to national issues.
• Non-profit seeking and non-exploitative work ethics within SEATINI.
• Commitment to regional and continental unity.

Objectives and Functions
SEATINI seeks to;

• Monitor developments in the area of trade and trade related matters to ensure that trade negotiations generate favourable rules and trading environment which can be utilized to achieve sustainable development in East and Southern Africa in particular and the continent in general
• Enable Southern and Eastern African senior level policy makers and other stakeholders to discuss matters of concern to them in a relatively free atmosphere (free from mandated positions) in order to clarify matters for themselves, and help to develop African consensus.
• Undertake research into contemporary issues arising out of demands of globalisation, the new multilateral trading regime, regionalism and national responses to these.
• Help build long term capacity of African countries on trade related matters through building an information network using electronic and print media.
• Help raise awareness and bring into discourse the concerns of other key stakeholders i.e. MPS, civil society movements into trade related matters.
• Help develop a documentation centre to build on institutional memory and learning.

At a broader level, SEATINI seeks to:

• Network with academics, policy makers, researchers, NGO’s and civil society movements concerned about the effects of globalisation on Africa and the third world.
• Contribute to the fight for social justice, democracy and good governance without partisan, sectarian, racist or sexist biases.
• Help democratise international economic decision making organisations such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the World Trade Organisation.

Activities:
The activities to advance the above objectives include:

• Organise workshops and meetings at national and regional  
• Research and documentation
• Networking and information dissemination
• Organise public dialogues
• Organise capacity building programmes  

SEATINI – Uganda Country Office

Contact Details:

SEATINI Uganda 
Plot 101 Kira Road,
Kamwokya
P.O.BOX, 3138
Kampala
Uganda
Email: seatini@infocom.co.ug
Tel + Fax: 256-41-4540856/7

SEATINI Zimbabwe
20 Victoria Drive 
Newlands 
Harare, 
Zimbabwe 

Phone: 263-4-776418 
Tel/Fax: 263-4-788078 
Email: seatini.zw@undp.org

Organization & Administration

SEATINI is run by an Chief Executive Director, a deputy director and coordinator of Southern Africa, and a coordinator of Eastern Africa. These principle officers are assisted by a minimal supporting staff and a team of researchers, consultants, and international experts with practical experience in the area of trade negotiations. SEATINI also draws heavily from international organizations such as the UNCTAD, UNDP and the WTO. SEATINI is largely funded by grants from donors and in-kind contributions from African Governments.

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