The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognises every person’s right to social security, and there is a general consensus about the benefits that good social security coverage can provide. Yet, surprisingly, global estimates show that only one in five people have adequate social security coverage.

Countries around the world are engaged in debate over how they can best adapt their social security schemes to meet the needs of ageing populations, and the demands of globalization and changes in economic and employment conditions.

The ILO seeks to enhance the capacity of its member constituents, and particularly social security managers, to design appropriate social security schemes, and to manage and administrate these schemes more efficiently. Furthermore, the ITC supports the ILO’s conclusions at the 100^th International Labour Conference (2011) on extending social protection to excluded populations through the promotion of, and capacity building on the social protection floor at national level.  The social protection floor had previously been adopted by the UN as a strategy with which to tackle the financial crisis.

In an effort to realise these objectives, the ILO’s International Training Centre (ITC) organises several open courses on social security in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.

In 2011, the first Social Security Summer School will be held, from 26 September to 7 October. It will offer participants the opportunity to acquire an international perspective on social security policy issues through comparative analysis and experience-sharing. It will also provide a unique opportunity for networking with a large pool of social security experts.

The ITC’s training activities draw on a worldwide network of the best social security experts and strong partnerships with United Nations agencies, well-known universities, recognized research institutes and top freelance consultants.

Our courses provide the latest information on the different aspects of social security and are designed to facilitate sharing of knowledge and experiences among  participants. We bring together representatives from various sectors, institutions and regions. The open courses are specifically directed at:

• managers and personnel of social security institutions;
• policy planners from governmental structures;
• representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations;
• representatives of international organizations and sponsors working in the field of social security.

The open social security training courses are organised in close association with the Social Security Department of the ILO, the International Social Security Association (ISSA), and various training units of the ITC ILO.  In addition to our open courses, we organize tailor-made courses upon request. These are designed to meet the needs of specific countries or projects, and can be held in several languages.