South Africa to Host 12th African Regional Meeting

By staff writer

JOHANNESBURG, — The 12th ILO African Regional Meeting will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa on 11-14 October and will gather leaders, policy makers and experts from all 54 African countries to review progress made in achieving the targets set in the Decent Work Agenda for Africa 2007/2015.

The Regional meeting will bring together high-level representatives of governments, employer and worker organizations, the multilateral system including the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the European Union, the African Development Bank, donor countries, development partners and civil society organizations to build consensus and accelerate the pace of implementation of the Decent Work Agenda in Africa; promote effective implementation of Decent Work Country Programmes as national responses to a jobless economic recovery; and build partnerships to ensure achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Key panel sessions will focus on the challenges posed as African countries recover from the global financial and economic crisis, the youth employment crisis, the need for social protection, governance and social dialogue, women’s economic and social empowerment and gender equality, social economy, rural employment, and international labour standards. Delegates will also examine progress in the implementation of Decent Work Country Programmes in more than 30 African ILO Member States.