Engagement Opportunities in the lead up to WSSD2 2025

Host side events and stakeholder discussions

organize outreach activities and share research insights emphasizing the critical role of care in achieving social development. These efforts will contribute to the WSSD by promoting dialogue and action on genderinclusive policies for sustainable progress.

Conference and music concerts towards sustainable development.

Organise or co-convene side events

Side-event

Organize a side event addressing women’s pathways to social development

Online expert group meetings have been carried out in the Africa, Asia, LAC regions and Nordic countries reaching over 80 experts to identify regional priorities and perspectives.  A brief for each consultation has been developed and disseminated widely to inform the WSSD consultations. Link to video broadcasts insights shared at the 63rd session of the Commission for Social Development in February 2025.

UNRISD to organize or co-convene side events to foster dialogue among thought leaders, policymakers, and activists. The event(s) will serve as a platform to highlight research findings and actionable recommendations stemming from UNRISD’s preparatory work.

The next Prep Com meeting held on 10 to 14 February. iii) advocacy and stakeholder engagement iv) link between financing for development, role of international cooperation, financial reform and sustainable development crucial for WSSD2.

UNRISD will participate in promoting regional social development challenges.

Participation in support of the Global Coalition for Social Justice

Side-event

World Social Work Day at the UN in Geneva 2025 aims to make a contribution to the Second World Summit for Social Development exploring pathways to expand social rights for persons living with disabilities and to create a caring society. Globally, an estimated 1.3 billion people experience disabilities (WHO 2023), a situation that is further exacerbated for people exposed to multiple marginalizations based on class, gender and sexual orientation, age, race, ethnicity or religion, migrant or employment status or location.
Engaging with networks of social workers to raise awareness about the WSSD2 and address challenges for persons with disabilities.

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.

On Women’s Day, UNRISD will organize outreach activities and share research insights emphasizing the critical role of gender equality in achieving social development. These efforts will contribute to the WSSD by promoting dialogue and action on gender inclusive policies for sustainable progress.

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.