BRICS SOUTH-SOUTH KNOWLEDGE SERIES
Visual: © ITCILO. Based on a photograph by Joachim Pietsch, Informal Economy Cartagena Colombia, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
BRICS SOUTH-SOUTH KNOWLEDGE SERIES
Advancing social protection , skills development, AI, just transitions and gender equality through South-South cooperation
29 September 2026
Across BRICS countries and the wider Global South, governments and social partners are exploring new ways to extend social protection, promote the transition to formality and ensure that no worker is left behind. South-South cooperation provides a practical framework for countries to learn from solutions developed in comparable contexts and to adapt them to national realities.
Effective solutions cannot simply be transferred from one context to another. They need to be shared, discussed and adapted through peer exchange - with participating countries and institutions recognised as both providers and beneficiaries of knowledge.
Formalising for Inclusion is the first series of the BRICS South-South Knowledge Series: three interactive webinars bringing together policymakers, practitioners, ILO specialists and experts from BRICS countries and the wider Global South to exchange experiences and explore practical approaches to advancing formalisation and social protection.
The series supports the continuity of BRICS cooperation across the Troika of Brazil, India and China, connecting successive BRICS priorities through practical South-South exchange. It responds to the priorities endorsed by BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers in 2026, including advancing social protection and the formalisation of labour markets through stronger cooperation and exchange of experience, while creating a platform to carry forward areas of particular relevance to India, including AI, the BRICS VLO, social protection, women empowerment and digitalisation.
BRICS South-South Knowledge Series
Formalising for Inclusion launches a five-part BRICS South-South Knowledge Series designed to foster peer learning and practical cooperation among BRICS countries and the wider Global South. Anchored in the continuity of the Brazil-India-China Troika, the five thematic series connect shared labour and employment priorities with emerging areas of cooperation, including social protection, women empowerment, skills, AI and digitalisation, the BRICS VLO and just transition. Policymakers, practitioners and experts will share experiences, compare approaches and explore solutions that can be adapted across national contexts.
Key Features
Formalising for Inclusion - Advancing social protection and formalisation of labour markets through South-South cooperation
Women at Work - Advancing women empowerment, participation and inclusion in the workforce
Skills for the Future - Employability, skills mapping and skills development in a changing world of work, including the implications of AI
Digital Work Futures - Leveraging AI and digitalisation for workers, including gig and platform workers, and supporting knowledge exchange linked to the BRICS VLO
Just Transition - South-South knowledge exchange on just transition, supporting continuity across the Brazil-India-China BRICS Troika
What will you gain?
Through technical inputs, country experiences and facilitated South-South peer exchange, participants will:
- explore practical approaches to expanding social protection and promoting labour market formalisation;
- learn from policies, innovations and solutions developed across BRICS countries and the wider Global South, including experience relevant to AI, digitalisation, women empowerment and the BRICS VLO;
- discuss common implementation challenges and opportunities with peers, strengthening continuity and cooperation across the Brazil-India-China Troika;
- share and examine South-South cooperation good practices that can be adapted to different national contexts
How does it work?
- 3 interactive online webinars
- Every Tuesday at 13:00 Italian time
- Technical expertise + country experiences + South-South peer learning + participant good practices
The series will be delivered in English, with live captions provided in Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese.
Scholarships available
Participation is fully covered by a scholarship for applicants from the Global South for a maximum number of 50 selected participants.
The scholarship is linked to the submission of a good practice with a South-South and Triangular Cooperation dimension: not a generic case study, but a concrete experience involving digital solutions for formalization, developed within your institution or country. The submission should describe the challenge it sought to address, the institutions and countries that cooperated in responding to it, its innovative elements and the results achieved, as well as its adaptability to other contexts.
It may be submitted as a short video of three to five minutes or using the written good practices form; the template and instructions are sent after the application is submitted. Submission does not, in itself, guarantee the award of a scholarship: submissions are reviewed and scholarships are awarded according to the number of places available.
How to participate
Places are limited. Applications must be submitted through the online form:
- Application. Complete the online form by 23 September 2026.
- Good practice. Applicants who are eligible for a scholarship will receive, by email, instructions for submitting their good practice, including the template and upload link.
- Review and confirmation. Submissions are reviewed by the programme team. Selected applicants will then receive confirmation of their participation and access information.
Share your experience. Learn from the Global South. Adapt solutions to your context.
Organised by the ILO Emerging and Special Partnerships Unit and the ITCILO, in support of BRICS South-South and Triangular Cooperation and continuity across the Brazil-India-China Troika.