Online event: COVID-19 X SDGs - Inequalities & the Informal Economy

Online discussion: Moving from crisis to long-term resilience

9 June 2020 | 15h00 – 16h30 CEST
Click here to register | Virtual on WebEx

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As the world grapples with the COVID-19, the pandemic has drastically exacerbated the urgent need to address the social, economic and environmental inequalities that prevail within countries and between different regions of the planet.

The SDG Lab is offering policymakers a high-level discussion platform to unpack how COVID-19 is impacting progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and what actors are doing to address immediate needs of their citizens while keeping the 2030 SDG horizon in clear view.

This online event will focus on the many facets of inequalities in responding to the crisis, through the entry point of the informal economy.

Representative of four countries – India, Jordan, Portugal and South Africa – will speak to their efforts to address inequalities while maintaining focus on the 2030 Agenda. Download the event concept note for further details and additional background.

Programme

Part 1 . Setting the scene:

• Opening remarks: Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, UN Geneva

• The many facets of the informal economy crisis: Guy Ryder, Director-General, ILO

• Perspective from the Global South: Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

Part 2. Sharing good practices:

• Jordan: Mr. Mohammad Al Maita, Advisor to the National Commission for Migrant Workers and Refugees (GFJTU)

• Portugal: Pr. Henrique Barros, Head of National Health Council of Portugal and Director of Public Health Department at University of Porto.

• South Africa: Dr. Kate Philip, Head of the Inclusive Growth Pillar of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative 

Part 3. Exchanging views with speakers and participants

Moderator: Nadia Isler, Director, SDG Lab

Suggested ILO resources and reading materials — UPDATED:

Policy Briefs:

• The role of Public Employment Programmes in the early recovery

• Coping with double casualties: How to support the working poor in low-income countries in response to COVID-19

• Social Protection Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Developing Countries: Strengthening Resilience by Building Universal Social Protection

• Social Protection Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis: Country Responses and Policy Considerations

• COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy: Immediate Responses and Policy Challenges

Press Releases:

• Plug social protection gaps in developing countries, ILO says – May 14, 2020

• Helping the “double casualties” of COVID-19 – May 4, 2020

Blogs:

• The case for universal social protection is more self-evident than ever

• The construction sector can help lead the economic recovery – Here’s how

Further ILO resources:

• EIIP’s Response to COVID-19

• The socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in fragile settings: Peace and social cohesion at risk

• ILO policy resource package: Extending social security to workers in the informal economy: Lessons from international experience

• Key developments, role and organization of Public Employment Services

• Public employment services: Joined-up services for people facing labour market disadvantage

• Employment services for youth