Academy on Social Security

Academy on Social Security
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Academy on Social Security

Advanced Learning for Social Protection Leaders

7–18 Setembro 2026
O curso está disponível em English, Français

Behind every effective social protection system is someone who had to make it work: balancing fiscal constraints, political realities, and the everyday needs of the people it serves. 

The Academy on Social Security is built for those people: a place where technical rigour meets practical judgement, and the latest evidence becomes something you can actually put to use.

Rather than a fixed curriculum, the Academy adapts to you: it is a space to dig into what matters most for your work, and learn alongside practitioners tackling the same challenges across the globe.

Key features
20 elective courses

Craft a tailored learning journey by selecting the topics most relevant to your work, from pension reform to universal health coverage.

Global peer network

Join 100+ participants from government ministries, social security institutions, UN agencies, and NGOs around the world.

Recognised credential

Earn a Certificate of Achievement eligible toward both the Diploma for Social Protection Managers and the Diploma for Social Protection Analysts.

Apresentação do curso

The Academy on Social Security is a comprehensive training package that provides the core expertise and skills for the analysis and design of social protection systems. Over two weeks, the learning programme provides a thorough grounding in the knowledge needed for the assessment of social protection instruments and design options. With over 100 participants joining the course every year and 20 elective courses to choose from, the Academy provides a unique space to craft a tailored learning journey while exchanging knowledge and experience with social protection practitioners from across the globe. Successful participants will obtain a Certificate of Achievement that is eligible for both the Diploma for Social Protection Managers and the Diploma for Social Protection Analysts.

Perfil dos participantes

The course is designed for officials committed to furthering the design and implementation of social protection with innovative, practical methods and techniques. Typical participants would be professionals from government ministries, social security institutions, social partners, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, research institutes and consultancy firms.

Participants to the 2026 Academy on Social Security
Ph. Margherita Borsano
What will I learn?

Through plenary sessions and elective courses the Academy covers topics including:

  • Global trends and international best practices: global data, best practices and international social security law.
  • Extension of coverage: building social protection floors and increasing the reach of contributory schemes to the informal sector.
  • Financing social protection: identifying fiscal space, and undertaking actuarial planning. 
  • Impacts of social protection: the latest evidence and key techniques to assessing impact.
  • Hot topics: Pension reform, universal health coverage, effective targeting, food security and rural poverty reduction.
  • Effective management and administration: Good governance, coordination, M&E and capacity development.
  • Political acceptability: Social dialogue and engaging with the political economy.
What will I be able to do?
  • Assess the performance of national social protection systems keeping in mind global trends and benchmarks, country experiences, and international labour standards
  • Identify priority approaches and innovations for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of social protection systems, making use of well-established analytical tools  and methodologies
  • Evaluate the feasibility of social protection system development from a range of perspectives, including technical correctness, political supportability and organizational implementation.
Opening Ceremony of the 2025 Academy on Social Security
Ph. Margherita Borsano
Why should I join?
  • Learn from and exchange with some of the world’s leading thinkers on social protection.
  • Participants join and interact with a diverse network of professionals working on social protection across the globe.
  • The course uses a mix of training methods: lectures, plenary discussions, good practices, electives, case studies, group work, and individual exercises
  • Take a step towards achieving the ITCILO Diploma for Social Protection, a prestigious accreditation for the next generation of social protection practitioners.
How

The course consists of 100 total hours of learning, broken up into three phases:

  1. Pre-course (10 hours): Self-guided study through the online eCampus platform. Includes a pre-course assessment.
  2. Residential week (90 hours): 10-days of intensive training at the ITCILO in Turin, including assessment for each of four elective courses completed.
  3. Post-course resources: Course materials are accessible on the course eCampus after completion.
Ms Shahra Razavi, ILO, at the 2026 Academy on Social Security
Staff of the 2026 Academy on Social Security
Participants to the 2026 Academy on Social Security
Participants to the 2026 Academy on Social Security
Participants to the 2026 Academy on Social Security
Participants to the 2026 Academy on Social Security
Campus life

A community of people from around the world

  • Three organizations from the United Nations system
    on campus.
  • More than 300 training courses and activities in a
    stimulating international environment.
  • Thousands of participants from all over the world.

Grab a campus bicycle and explore the city of Turin: Located in a leafy park on the banks of the river Po, it’s a great place for study and collaboration. Experience innovative learning and training methods in modern classrooms equipped with simultaneous translation services. 

Housing, dining and more: Comprising more than 280 private dormitories, the Turin Campus provides a broad range of services for course participants and partners, including a free-flow restaurant, travel agency, laundromat, post office, gym, medical services and a reception desk open 24/7.  

Community engagement and diversity: Participants can enjoy social events organized by theTurin Centre as well as by their course facilitators. Whetheron or off campus, people from different cultural backgrounds have the opportunity to listen to live music together, cook and share traditional foods, or team up to play games and network.

Participants to the 2026 Academy on Social Security
Ph. Margherita Borsano
Join the Academy

Submit your application or contact us for further information through the links available on this page. Please note that visa requirements may take longer than expected; act quickly to secure your participation in this unique event.

In partnership with
Banner of the ITCILO social protection courses
Prove your skills with a Diploma

This course is part of one Diploma programme:

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