The Global South-South Cooperation Forum: Livelihoods, employment and inclusion for vulnerable groups
Online
The Global South-South Cooperation Forum: Livelihoods, employment and inclusion for vulnerable groups
21 June–2 July 2021
The course is available in English
Recent decades have demonstrated the power of South-South cooperation to advance sustainable development and decent work. Driven by a spirit of solidarity, respect for national sovereignty and equal partnership, South-South cooperation has offered concrete solutions to shared challenges, with many countries becoming sources of support and inspiration for innovative development approaches.
South-South cooperation offers a promising pathway to accelerate progress that leaves no one behind and now more than ever such pathway is needed. The pandemic has devastated the world of work, causing massive human suffering and laying bare the extreme vulnerability of many millions of workers and enterprises. In medical terms, the virus does not discriminate. But in the world of work it has impacted more the disadvantaged and vulnerable, exposing the devastating consequences of inequalities.
South-South co-operation can be an effective instrument for tackling structural and intersectional inequalities that contribute to excluding people. However, to leverage that potential, we must share knowledge and coordinate efforts for scaling up impact.
In this context, the Global South-South Cooperation Forum is a platform for dialogue to exchange good practices, experiences, tools and methodologies applied in the Global South to improve the livelihoods and create employment opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized populations in situations of fragility, with a special focus on innovative and digital solutions.
Introduction to the course
The COVID-19 outbreak and the preventive measures undertaken to slow the pandemic have exacerbated pre-existing economic and social vulnerabilities in many countries, drastically increasing the basic survival needs of for the most vulnerable groups, including youth, people with disabilities, migrants, refugees and displaced persons. The Global South-South Cooperation Forum is a two-week immersive experience, consisting of live sessions, group activities, good practices, knowledge-sharing and remote networking on how to "build back better", in other words how to include vulnerable groups in the labour market, sustain livelihoods and promote resilience in the post-COVID-19 world.
Who attends this course?
The Global South-South Cooperation Forum is intended for government officials, social partners, UN representatives, NGOs representatives and development practitioners involved in helping vulnerable groups from the Global South to integrate into the labour market.
What topics does this forum cover?
During the Forum, following the strategy of South-South collaboration and cooperation, participants will be able to share, get inspired and learn more about concrete experiences for the promotion of decent employment for vulnerable groups, including experiences related to:
- Disaster risk reduction and fragile to fragile cooperation
- Labour migration
- Rural development and sustainable tourism
- Skills and job creation
- Digital inclusion
- Inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized populations
Why should I attend the forum?
At the end of the Forum, participants will be able to:
- Know more about the theoretical framework that promotes South-South collaboration as an instrument for tackling inequalities and exclusion.
- Get exposed to innovative south-south collaborative initiatives to promote decent work and livelihoods in the context of COVID-19
- Share their own South-South cooperation initiatives focusing on the inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized populations
- Build a stronger network of practitioners working in the field of South-South cooperation
Format and methodology
The Forum will be held online from 21 June to 2 July. Each day participants will have access to two live online sessions of 90 minutes each. The Forum will be conducted using a highly participative methodology, through a combination of interactive presentations by subject-matter specialists followed by group discussions and exercises. Participants will have access to the ITC-ILO eCampus where they will be able to download documents and reference materials, interact with other participants and access the recordings of the Forum.
