Engagement Opportunities in the lead up to WSSD2 2025

The meeting will be held during the 86th session of the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management (Geneva, 8-10 October 2025) and will address challenges related to housing affordability and other topical issues such as sustainability, and energy-efficiency of housing. Ministers will be invited to agree on pledges or practical commitments in this regard.

This meeting brings together city leaders from all the UN regions for facilitating dialogue among cities, member States and international organizations. UNECE had transmitted to the UN Secretary General the outcome statement adopted by the Forum of Mayors at its 4th meeting, « the Cities Summit for the Future » (Geneva, 30 September-1 October 2024), which highlighted the essential role and concrete commitments of local and regional governments in implementing the Pact of the Future, including its action 6. The City leaders recalled inter alia that local and regional governments are guardians of public trust and in the position to ensure equity and resilience through the provision of public services and social protection systems.

Organise or co-convene side events

The meeting is being programed as moment to analyze a position paper prepared by ECLAC on the evolution of inclusive social development in LAC since Copenhagen and to exchange the preparatory documents of the WSSD2 and complement the views among Social Development Ministries as a contribution to the countries' presentations at the Summit

The AI for Good will play a crucial role in shaping the World Social Summit 2025 by leveraging AI to tackle key global challenges, particularly those related to social development.
Modality: Organize joint sessions where AI practitioners and social development experts discuss AI projects targeting social issues.

The WSIS+20 event will significantly contribute to the World Social Summit by focusing on the intersection of digital inclusion, social development, and sustainable progress. Showcase digital tools that can support the tracking, monitoring, and reporting of social development progress.

The Coalition’s Forum is the annual gathering of Coalition partners, providing a space where partners can discuss thematic issues related to social justice, as well as the challenges, opportunities and potential solutions in respect of advancing the Coalition’s objectives. It also allows to exchange knowledge, tools and experiences, and showcase activities and initiatives undertaken in support of social justice.
The Coalition’s Annual Forum will take place during the 113th Session of the International Labour Conference, in Geneva, Switzerland. The plenary will take place in the Palais des Nations (Geneva, Switzerland), and will be live broadcasted. In addition to the plenary, there will be opportunities for Coalition partners to engage and network, such as a "partners' zone" for interactive exchanges on thematic areas, and an "engagement zone" for interviews and social media interactions.

Participation in support of the Global Coalition for Social Justice

This event provides a platform for over 1,000 young people to engage in dialogue with Member States and other stakeholders, sharing their perspectives and actions aimed at transforming the world into a fairer, greener, and more sustainable place. The 2025 Forum will be guided by the theme of ECOSOC and the HLPF: "Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring no one is left behind." The Forum will offer opportunities to discuss concrete actions and recommendations related to SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 8, SDG 14, and SDG 17, which will be examined during the HLPF in July 2025. The 2025 ECOSOC Youth Forum is convened by the President of ECOSOC and organized by DESA in collaboration with the UN Youth Office, the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD), and co-convened by the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY) and the International Coordination Meeting of Youth Organizations (ICMYO), with technical input from youth organizations relevant to the Forum’s theme.
On the final day of the Forum, a plenary session will provide youth with a platform to share their views on social development, addressing key social challenges such as poverty, employment, education, and social inclusion. Panelists will be invited to discuss youth-driven solutions and strategies to advance social development. Young panelists will highlight priorities, challenges, and recommendations for shaping global and national social development policies, as well as preparations for the second World Summit for Social Development. This session is organized by DISD-DESA in collaboration with MGCY.

3rd "peer learning round table" discussion on SDG8, co leading organization with ECE

Multistakeholder meeting to review SDG progress in the UNECE region (Europe, North America, Central Asia, Israel) and exchange on acceleration actions; civil society consultation (1 April): self-organized and inclusive consultation coordinated by the regional civil society engagement mechanism. Both the RFSD and the preparatory civil society consultation will discuss issues closely related to the Second World Summit for Social Development, such as social and economic inclusion as part of the in-depth review of SDGs 3, 5 and 8. Inputs could feed into the summit through various channels, including inputs by member States, UN system and civil society.

Side event on UNESCO's Transformative Actions for Gender Equality, Bridging Gaps, Forging Futures, on the occasion of the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women

Women and girls face unique housing challenges, including lack of secure tenure, heightened vulnerability to gender-based violence, and exclusion from decision-making due to discriminatory laws and norms. UN-Habitat event during CSW will aim to explore innovative, gender-transformative strategies and foster partnerships to address these issues and promote adequate housing for women and girls. The event will serve as a critical milestone to ensure housing remains at the center of discussions during the World Social Summit by highlighting its role as a key factor in achieving gender equality and poverty reduction.

UNRISD to co-convene three side events to foster dialogue among thought leaders, policymakers, and activists. The topics are: financing care societies, gender backlash, climate change, and gender. The events will serve as a platform to highlight research findings and actionable recommendations stemming from UNRISD’s preparatory work on Gender-related issues.

The panel discussion will cover the challenges faced by workers in the informal economy to enjoy their rights to work and to social security, particularly in the context of the changing world of work due to new technologies and climate impact, exploring ways to improve their access to decent job opportunities and decent working conditions, to extend social security coverage to them, and to support transitions to the formal economy, based on the experiences of States, civil society, including trade unions and professional associations, relevant United Nations agencies and other stakeholders; Panel will also discuss the effective ways for the workers in the informal economy to have their concerns heard and to meaningfully participate in the development of legislation and policies relating to their rights to work and social security.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights will prepare a summary note on the discussion, which will inform an analytical report on the realization of the rights to work and to social security in the informal economy, based on the panel discussion, and to be submitted to the Human Rights Council at its sixtieth session.

High level speakers from OHCHR, ILO and other relevant partners will deliver high-level messages that can be linked to WSSD2 and UN advocacy. The 58th session will also include a presentation on the work mandated by the Human Rights Council on care and support economy and systems (RES/54/6).