A regional seminar in Latin America and the Caribbean stressed the importance of strengthening institutions responsible for social policies to combat poverty and inequality and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals.
ECLAC presented a publication, titled ‘Social Institutionality in Latin America and the Caribbean’.
1 September 2017: To avoid reversing progress made in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in combating poverty and inequality and to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), participants during a regional seminar agreed on the importance of strengthening institutions responsible for social policies.
The seminar addressed the theme, ‘Social Protection and Institutionality: Current and Future Challenges to Inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean,’ and convened from 28-29 August, in Santiago, Chile.
ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena highlighted the need for a comprehensive view of social policy and institutionality to make progress on the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs.
Addressing the seminar, Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), underscored the need for a comprehensive view of social policy and institutionality to make progress on the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs. She further urged “a new generation of universal and sustainable social policies” that address challenges such as migration.
Marcos Barraza, Chilean Social Development Minister, highlighted: educational reform efforts in his country, including a progressive plan to ensure free higher education; a bill to reform the pension system; and efforts related to health and youth. He also emphasized that ECLAC’s social inequality matrix has provided an invaluable reference for building and perfecting social protection systems in LAC.
Participants were informed about a database on social institutionality developed by ECLAC in partnership with the German Government, and discussed challenges and opportunities related to new technologies for social inclusion and migration-related challenges. ECLAC also presented a publication titled, ‘Social Institutionality in Latin America and the Caribbean,’ which addresses, inter alia: regulation of the labor market and social protection; pension systems; ‘care’ as a pillar of social protection; youth institutions; and public policies related to Latin Americans of African descent.
The outcomes of the event will be presented at the Second Meeting of the Regional Conference on Social Development in LAC, a subsidiary body of ECLAC, which will convene from 25-27 October 2017 in Montevideo, Uruguay. ECLAC, supported by the German cooperation agency (GIZ), organized the seminar. [ECLAC Press Release] [Seminar Website (in Spanish)] [Database on Social Institutionality (in Spanish)] [Publication: Social Institutionality in LAC (in Spanish)]