The “Future Leaders In the World Of Work, South-South University” course kicked off yesterday in the ITCILO Headquarters in Turin, with the participants of more than 100 attendees. The Summer University is a training program for university students and young professionals from the Global South in the territory of South-South and Triangular cooperation (SSTC) initiatives for human-centered development. It combines high-level plenary sessions, elective courses, a study visit to Geneva, and envisioning sessions. The course covers topics such as leveraging SSTC, emerging technologies, climate change, data analytics, and promoting equal access to decent work opportunities. Participants will produce outcome documents for the UN Summit of the Future 2024.
The course commenced with opening remarks by Christophe Perrin, Director of the ITCILO, and Mr. Peter Van Rooij, Director of ILO PARTNERSHIPS department, where they set a positive tone for the event and highlighted the significance of the training for all attendees. Feixia Li, Senior Emerging Partners’ Relations Officer at ILO, along with Joel Alcocer from ITCILO, and Dr. S. K. Sasikumar, then outlined the objectives and framework of the training sessions.
In the session on “Youth in Triangular and South-South Cooperation for Human-Centred Development & South-South Cooperation,” youth employment trends were discussed, followed by a group activity. Participants were divided into 11 tables to discuss SSTC proposals and produce a good practice. The discussion questions included: identifying common traits among selected examples, identifying innovative practices among selected examples, opportunities for youth to act as leaders for their community, and the main challenges youth face to act as leaders for their community.
The “High-Level Panel: The Global Coalition for Social Justice – Focus on Emerging Partners” session, facilitated by Stefano Merante, Manager at Catalyst Initiative-ITCILO, emphasized the benefits of South-South and triangular cooperation in advancing social justice. Annton Rönnholm, Senior Officer of the Global Coalition for Social Justice, highlighted the Coalition’s mission and its role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Stefano Merante invited Anita Amorim, Head of ILO ESPU Unit, which discussed SSTC principles and shared a SSTC case study on the Brazilian Social Justice Program. Hasan Matar, Legal & Labour Specialist at GCC Council of Labour Ministers, contributed by discussing the GCC’s experience with the Coalition and the importance of social justice in the IL.
In the session “Imagining the World of Work Post-2030: A Compass for Future Leaders,” Peter Van Rooij and Fernanda Barreto from ILO Brasilia led a collaborative exercise to visualize a future world of work with social justice and cooperation. Participants addressed questions such as how they imagine a world of work with social justice and cooperation in 2040, the role of emerging partners, and major changes they envision for the world of work by 2050 from a global south perspective.
Through the “Future Leaders In the World Of Work, South-South University”, attendees will acquire a comprehensive exploration of South-South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) emphasizing youth engagement, social justice, and future leadership in the Global South. The course until 9th of August, with attendees being exposed to more plenary sessions, elective courses and a study visit to the ILO Headquarters in Geneva. Click here to check more details about the South-South University.