Trade Forum Features

50 years at a glance

2 July 2014

ITC News

1964: United States President Johnson signs Economic Opportunity Act.
1969: First man lands on the moon
1970: 1st Earth Day held internationally to conserve natural resources
1973: First portable cell phone call made in New York City.
1974: Population doubles since 1927 to 4 billion, 14 years after reaching 3 billion.
1975: Helsinki accord on human right signed.
1979: OPEC doubles its share in the receipts from the sale of oil, triggering recession and borrowing.
1981: AIDS virus identified.
1987: World Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable development.
1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall and collapse of the Soviet Union leads to the end of the Cold War.
1990: The World Wide Web is created, along with the first ever web page and web browser.
1992: The European Union comes into being with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in the Netherlands, creating the Euro currency and triggering a major shift in internal border policies.
1995: Yahoo and eBay are founded.
1999: The 6 billionth person populating the Earth is born.
2001: Terrorists attack New York’s World Trade Centre, causing economic and political instability for the coming years.
2004: Spirit and Opportunity of the Mars Exploration Rover Mission lands on Mars.
2008: The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression starts and affects the whole world. Oil prices hit a record high.
2011: Arab Spring heralds a series of revolutions in the different Arab region states.
2012: Death of lonesome George, the last Pinta Island Tortoise.

1964: ITC begins operations in Villa Le Bocage, Geneva, with a staff of five.
1970: ITC’s annual technical cooperation programme hits the US$ 1 million mark for the first time.
1973: ITC is designated as the United Nations focal point for technical assistance and export promotion.
1978: ITC’s annual technical cooperation programme hits US$ 10 million for the first time.
1981: ITC’s new headquarters in Geneva is officially inaugurated.
1983: The United Nations Development Programme grants executive agency status to ITC.
1988: ITC shifts focus to training and capacity-building programmes.
1990: Extra-budgetary funds from donors fuel more than 70% of ITC’s annual expenditures.
1992: ITC’s annual technical cooperation programme hits US$ 20 million for the first time.
1995: ITC sets out a strategic ‘road map’ to chart new responses to a changing trade landscape, including the new World Trade Organization.
1999: First Executive Forum, later renamed World Export Development Forum, is held on ‘Redefining Trade Promotion’.
2004: ITC launches ‘best practice’ awards for trade promotion organizations.
2008: Online Market Analysis Tools become free for users in developing countries.
2011: US$ 87 million in annual expenditure, highest to date.
2014: Annual expenditure planned at US$ 91.7 million, with 146 active projects and a staff of 281.