Development projects have the potential to transform the livelihoods of local communities through improved infrastructure, providing access to energy in remote areas and creating economic opportunities. However, when projects are poorly designed or ineffectively implemented and managed, they disrupt economic livelihoods and community cohesion.

Over recent decades, multilateral development banks (MDBs) and international finance institutions have elaborated and updated their environmental and social safeguard policies aiming at preventing harm by taking into consideration both environmental and social protection and promoting inclusive development.

However, converting these policies into practice remains a critical challenge. Development projects have physically or economically displaced millions of people in recent years, often with serious consequences for their livelihoods, raising concerns about the effectiveness of safeguard implementation and monitoring. Studies indicate that displaced populations face serious risks, including loss of property and livelihoods, food insecurity, and erosion of community cohesion.

Nowadays, traditional development assistance faces unprecedented pressure. There is an increasing recognition that development effectiveness requires local ownership, strengthening of local systems, and sustained partnerships. This requires more robust social standards and genuine implementation capacity at the country level. In this constrained funding environment, ensuring that available resources deliver sustainable impact while protecting affected communities becomes increasingly critical.

This knowledge-sharing event will gather development practitioners, government representatives, social development specialists, and multilateral development professionals to exchange on challenges encountered when implementing social safeguards. The webinars will create space for open dialogue about what works and what doesn't from design to implementation.

Senior MDB ESG managers, safeguards specialists, field practitioners, implementation experts, and government representatives will share their experiences and lessons learned. Key themes include moving from displacement and compensation toward avoiding harm, ensuring stakeholder meaningful participation, and strengthening institutional capacity within national systems.

This is a peer learning event for practitioners working to bridge the gap between policy requirements and community needs.

• Safeguards and ESG specialists from MDBs and IFIs
• Project Management Units and field implementation teams
• Government representatives from environmental and social regulatory bodies
• Social development practitioners and local consultants
• Implementation partners working on labour standards, resettlement, and community engagement.

The Knowledge Sharing Event consists of three interactive webinars:

• 26 November, 11:00 am CET: Labor Standards and Community Health & Safety in Practice
• 3 December, 11:00 am CET: Land Acquisition and Resettlement: Building Trust Through Meaningful Engagement
• 10 December, 11:00 am CET: Strengthening National Capacity for Sustainable Social Performance

Each 90-minute session combines thematic presentations, field case examples, and interactive peer exchanges where participants share challenges and identify practical solutions.

Applicants are kindly asked to send us a completed online registration form:

https://oarf2.itcilo.org/DSB/E9719237/en

Language: The course will be held in English and French

Course Fees: The event is free for participants from developing countries with cost being fully covered by the ITCILO Development Investment Programme.

Certificate: After successfully participating in all webinars, participants obtain an official ITCILO Certificate of Participation in Digital Credentials Format.

Contact: For further information, please email devinvest@itcilo.org or m.chanoine@itcilo.org directly.