The 4th Steering Group meeting of the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions took place from 1-2 October 2024 at an important juncture marking the start of the implementation and financing of the GA roadmaps in several countries.
Members discussed the progress made on the three pillars of the Global Accelerator, integrated policy, integrated financing, enhanced multilateral cooperation, and the preliminary milestones achieved in pathfinder countries. The meeting created an opportunity for South-South learning between pathfinder countries, and helped identify the needs for capacity building and technical and financial support for the implementation of the Accelerator.
At the meeting, Germany confirmed its further support to the Global Accelerator by pledging an additional allocation of Euros 20 million to support the implementation of the Global Accelerator, and the World Bank’s Social Protection and Jobs Compass.
The Steering Group Meeting of the Global Accelerator convened over 100 representatives from pathfinder countries’ governments, along with social partners, public development banks, development partners, civil society, and United Nations agencies.
Integrated Policy Approaches
Government representatives from pathfinder countries provided evidence of the relevance of the Global Accelerator for their national development plans, and to support key transformations such as the energy transition in Namibia, the agrifood systems transformation in Malawi, digitalization in Paraguay, social inclusion in Indonesia, and the formalization of employment and enterprises in Uzbekistan.
Key insights emerged from the presentation of pathfinder countries on how integrated policies are being incorporated into their national roadmaps to implement the Global Accelerator. Ms. Verónica López, Vice-minister for Employment and Social Security of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security of Paraguay, explained, for example, how Paraguay's roadmap is integrating employment policies with industrial policies in the context of the transition towards a digital and sustainable economy.
“The implementation of the roadmap will be a milestone in the improvement of our public policies, thanks to which we will be able to strengthen the alignment between local programs for the formalization of employment and access to social protection, key elements to build an inclusive and resilient economy” said Ms. López.
In addition, Ms. Tirta Sutedjo, Director for Poverty Alleviation and Community Empowerment of the Ministry of National Development Planning of Indonesia, emphasized the importance of integrated policies for supporting the most vulnerable, including children, women, young workers, people with disabilities, informal workers and people living in remote areas. “The integration will enhance the capacity of the government to ensure comprehensive and adaptive intervention to the complex needs of the vulnerable groups,” said Ms. Sutedjo.
Integrated Financing
Integrated financing strategies that combine strategies related to public spending, public revenues for social protection and jobs, public and private, domestic and foreign investments with social impact, and conducive macroeconomic frameworks, are another key pillar for the implementation of the Global Accelerator.
Mr. Amirkhon Muydinov, Head of Division of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan, illustrated national ownership of the reforms put forward in the Global Accelerator roadmap and highlighted that Uzbekistan’s Global Accelerator financing strategy will include short-term, medium-term and longer-term interventions. In the short term, the government aims to diversify resources extending from the state budget for social protection and jobs, to seek support from development partners, international financial institutions, and the private sector. In the medium to longer term, the government will implement an important fiscal reform, based on progressive taxation, to ensure that the transformations envisioned in the roadmap are financially sustainable.
Mr. Reinhard Palm, Acting Head of Division, Social protection, sexual and reproductive health and rights of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) emphasized that integrated financing “is critical” to achieve universal social protection and extend employment services. This is the key pillar that BMZ is supporting through the M-GA which supports the implementation of the Global Accelerator, and the World Bank’s Social Protection and Jobs Compass. Mr Palm suggested that countries include the role of national social protection systems among the measures taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to the effects of temperature rises, as part of their nationally determined contributions to achieving the objectives of the COP21 Paris Agreement. This will undoubtedly enable some countries to use climate funds to support the development and strengthening of their social protection systems.
Multi-stakeholder and multilateral cooperation
Representatives from Cabo Verde, Malawi, Namibia, Philippines, Senegal, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the International Organization of Employers (IOE), the Coalition for Social Protection Floors, civil society organizations, and the Council of Europe Development Bank on behalf of the FICS Coalition for Social Investment, shared their experiences and contributions to the ongoing implementation of the Global Accelerator.
Discussions centered on the importance of ensuring that all the national stakeholders are represented and included during the Global Accelerator processes to ensure ownership, transparency and accountability to achieve results that respond to the real needs of people. Representatives of ITUC and IOE stressed the importance of including social partners in all the processes, discussions and structures following the Global Accelerator principle of inclusion and social dialogue, and reinforcing their capacities. “Social partners are critical to the success of the Global Accelerator” emphasized Ms. Akustina Morni, Director of Policy of IOE.
During the two days, in the spirit of South-South learning, pathfinder countries exchanged good practices and examples of how they are taking steps to ensure multi-stakeholder and multilateral cooperation. Ms. Vicki Erenstein ya Toivo, Special Advisor to the Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation of Namibia, shared how the concept of roundtables and panel discussions can improve coordination. On the other hand, Ms. Carmela Torres, Undersecretary, Employment and Human Resource Development Cluster of the Department of Labour and Employment of the Philippines explained how the Global Accelerator is expected to be inserted in an existing inter-agency body ensuring a participative approach to develop the national implementation roadmap.
Engaging diverse stakeholders and building the national mechanisms that facilitate the implementation of the Global Accelerator through a whole government approach that catalyzes national and international commitments and ensures that all the actors are represented is a challenge that requires enhancing coordination and communication from the leading actors. Ms. Aminata Maiga, UN Resident Coordinator of Senegal encouraged Steering Group members, including the UN agencies, to strengthen the efforts to engage the key stakeholders by bridging the communication gaps and advocating broadly on the initiative. “We continue the dialogue, the conversation, the advocacy at the country level to bring more stakeholders ... We need to do more”.
Evidence-based advocacy
Measuring results together and documenting the Global Accelerator’s implementation is vital if we want to advocate for the GA based on evidence. The Steering Group Meeting was an opportunity to present the theory of change and the results framework of the Global Accelerator, giving a preliminary idea of the key results that this global initiative expects to achieve.
Participants also agreed to promote common advocacy messages and highlighted the importance of sharing GA results and impact in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) and the World Summit for Social Development (WSSD) in 2025. Further, the Samarkand global conference on social protection organized at the end of May 2025 by the government of Uzbekistan will be an opportunity to jointly prepare a Declaration highlighting the lessons learned from GA implementation in promoting social development and social investments for achieving universal social protection and decent work.
High-level segment
The two-day event culminated in a session where high-level members of the Steering Group shared their takeaways and recommendations for an effective implementation on the ground, which included an emphasis on multi-stakeholder partnerships and coordinated efforts, funding, capacity building, advocacy and visibility efforts in global fora, qualitative evidence, knowledge sharing and measuring impact.
“The success of this initiative is a shared responsibility” highlighted Ms. Ariane Hildebrandt Director General of Global Health, Equality of Opportunity, Digital Technologies and Food Security of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. This statement was supported by Mr Eric Manzi, Deputy General Secretary of ITUC, who remarked that all stakeholders have a shared responsibility and respective roles to shape the future of people and to leave no one behind.
Overall, the 4th Steering Group meeting served as a powerful platform to learn about the progress and results that pathfinder countries are achieving while providing concrete guidance to all Steering Group members for the successful implementation of this ambitious initiative.