Announcement
Ministers for Social Development and equivalent bodies from Latin America and the Caribbean will meet on Thursday, October 31, 2024 in Bridgetown, Barbados to discuss the challenges associated with implementation of the Regional Agenda for Inclusive Social Development (approved in 2019) along with the messages that the region will take to the Second World Summit for Social Development, due to be held in Qatar in November 2025.
The authorities will participate in the Sixth Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, a subsidiary body of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), which will take place in the framework of the XVI Ministerial Forum for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, co-organized and hosted by the Government of Barbados with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Latin America and the Caribbean and ECLAC (on October 30-November 1, 2024).
On Thursday, October 31, ECLAC will present to the ministers a document entitled Reducing Inequality and Pursuing Inclusive Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges, Priorities and Key Messages in preparation for the Second World Summit for Social Development.
Furthermore, Javiera Toro, the Social Development and Family Minister of Chile – which is the country serving as Chair of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean – will report on progress in implementing the resolution agreed upon at the Fifth Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Santiago in October 2023.
The Presiding Officers, chaired by Chile, is also made up of Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama and Venezuela as vice-chairs.
To date, five sessions of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean have been held: the first in Lima in November 2015; the second in Montevideo in October 2017; the third in Mexico City in October 2019; the fourth, in October 2021, was virtual and chaired by Antigua and Barbuda; and the latest one took place in Chile in 2023.
What: Sixth Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Who:
• José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC.
• Javiera Toro, Social Development and Family Minister of Chile, the country serving as Chair of the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Kirk Humphrey, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs of Barbados.
• Michelle Muschett, Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean of UNDP.
• Wellington Dias, Minister for Social Development and Assistance, Family Affairs and the Fight against Hunger of Brazil.
• Yorleny León Marchena, Minister of Human Development and Social Inclusion of Costa Rica.
When: Thursday, October 31, 2024, 3.30 to 5.30 p.m. local time in Bridgetown, Barbados (GMT-4), 4.30 to 6.30 p.m. local time in Chile (GMT-3).
Where: Wyndham Grand Barbados, Sam Lord’s Castle.