The World of Work Summit 2023: Social Justice for All is a high-level forum for global voices to address the need for increased, coordinated and coherent action in support of social justice. It will provide an opportunity to discuss and inform the proposal to forge a Global Coalition for Social Justice, which was welcomed by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office at its 347th Session (March 2023).
The 2-day Summit will highlight the key role of social justice in creating a more sustainable and equitable world and will discuss strategies for increased and better-aligned joint action to advance social justice and ensure policy coherence. It will provide a forum for participants to share their vision of, and priorities for, social justice and to showcase the actions they are taking and they commit to take to advance social justice. It is expected that the outcomes of the Summit will inform discussions in other multilateral forums of the centrality of and strategies to achieve greater social justice, such as, in 2023, the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, the G20 and the summits of the BRICS countries.
The Summit will be held over two days and will feature:
- Addresses by Heads of State and Government, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the ILO Director-General and high-level representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations
- Four panel discussions with high-level representatives of governments and employers’ and workers’ organizations, UN entities and other international organizations to identify and amplify actions towards social justice across the multilateral system and commit to a joint, coherent and coordinated engagement.
Addresses by Heads of State - Panel on Fostering equal opportunities and full, freely chosen and productive employment for all through education, lifelong learning and skills development
Over 244 million children and young people are still out of school, including one third of children in child labour and an estimated seven out of ten children in low- and middle-income countries who cannot read and understand a simple text at age ten.
In developed countries, significant education disparities remain, which are often based on income, race and gender, and they are particularly acute in crisis contexts. All regions of the world need more teachers, especially those countries that have rapidly growing school-aged populations. To this end, countries need well-coordinated systems and policies, supported by a whole-of-government approach, and engage in social dialogue with the social partners.
The panel will hear from Governments, employers and workers and UN agencies from all regions about global and national responses to these challenges, as well as concrete, coordinated and coherent actions needed to accelerate the advancement of social justice.
