UNESCO and the Indian Council of Social Science Research, supported by the Social Protection in Asia network, Institute for Human Development, New Delhi and the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi held a Research Meeting on Social Protection Policies in South Asia on 18-19 March 2010 in New Delhi. The objective of the meeting was to provide support material and expertise in view of the next Forum of Ministers in charge of Social Development from South Asia on Social Protection and Safety Nets in South Asia, expected to take place in Bangladesh in May 2010. Presentations were made giving a background and overview of the status of social protection in the countries of South Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. For further details see below:

Concept Note of conference

Conference programme

All Conference Related Documents

SPA Research Partners Progress Review Meeting, February 1-3 2010, Bangkok, Thailand – The meeting took stock of the progress and identified a future course of action vis a vis the SPA Policy research and networking programme. Project wise progress review was also undertaken.

National Workshop on
National Rural Employment Gurantee in India – Lessons from Implementation
"As part of ongoing networking, advocacy and dissemination efforts of the Social Protection in Asia programme, ISST and IHD, New Delhi organized a two day National Workshop on at the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore during September 8-9, 2009. The workshop brought together over 60 scholars and practitioners from across South Indian states, who shared their field experiences of the NREGS and helped in identifying recommendations for its effective implementation. Participants discussed progress of the NREGS and highlighted issues and concerns for better delivery of scheme benefits. Findings of field research studies carried out by IHD and ISST were also discussed at the workshop. Additionally over 15 papers were presented which discussed process dimensions, state-wise issues and problems of implementation and thematic aspects like reaching poor women, Dalits and innovative experiences of social audit. A brief summary of conference proceedings will be shared soon. For further details on conference programme, participants and presentations, see http://www.socialprotectionasia.org/Conference1.asp

Conference programme

SPA Annual Policy Conference and Research Workshop, 1-5th June 2009, Hanoi
The annual policy and research conference of the Social Protection in Asia programme was held in Hanoi, Vietnam on June 1-5, 2009. Organised by the Insitute for Human Development, New Delhi and Insitute of Development Studies, Sussex, the conference brought together policy makers and researchers to share understanding, experiences, lessons, and barriers to the extension of social protection policies across the globe - Latin America, Southern Africa and through diverse regions of Asia. A panel of experts from Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa discussed the implications of the economic crisis for social protection needs and responses in these regions. Country specific challenges were raised, and common trends and concerns in extension of social protection across regions were identified. The conference included key note presentations from Vietnamese officials, providing an informative overview of Vietnam’s social protection challenges and policy responses. The context of the discussions also revolved around the global economic crisis and the implications for poverty, vulnerability and the future direction of social protection policies. The conference allowed for developing of a broader social protection agenda, through different learnings and experiences.

Conference programme

Workshop on Shelter Security and Social Protection for the Urban Poor and the Migrants in Asia February 11-13, 2009 - at Ahmedabad, India
The thematic workshop titled ‘Shelter Security and Social Protection for the Urban Poor and the Migrants in Asia’ was held at CEPT University and organized by CEPT University and the MHT SEWA under the SPA programme. The papers presented and discussions at this workshop explored the links between shelter security and access to various urban services, namely water supply, sanitation, transport, health care, education, social security, social assistance and livelihood security. Besides the research partners from India, China, and Vietnam, participants from the South Asian region attended the workshop.

News Clippings

Ten Years of War against Poverty: What Have We Learned since 2000? What Should We Do 2010-2020? University of Manchester; 8-10 September 2010. The Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC) will celebrate ten years of poverty research with an international conference hosted by the Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI) at the University of Manchester. This event will bring together leading poverty researchers and actors for poverty reduction to: (1) review the ‘state of the art’ in poverty reduction; (2) showcase CPRC’s key research findings on chronic poverty; (3) set the research and policy agenda on poverty research for the next 10 years (2010-2020). The conference will take place just two weeks before the UN General Assembly convenes to review progress towards achieving the MDGs. For further details, please visit the conference website:

Ministerial Conference on Social Protection; May 2010, Dhaka, Bangladesh -UNESCO will co-organise this conference with the Ministry of Social Welfare of Bangladesh and within the framework of its Management of Social Transformations programme (MOST). This ministerial conference will be the third meeting to be organized in the context of UNESCO Forum of Ministers on Social Development from South Asia, launched in 2006 in Pakistan. The Forum is intended to offer a platform for social dialogue and exchange of information on social policies in South Asia, among different stakeholders, such as researchers, policy makers, activists and to facilitate social policies based on research and sound evidence.

International Conference on Dynamics of Rural Transformation in Emerging Economies – April 14-16, 2010. Hosted by Planning Commission of India and Institute for Human Development, the conference was targeted to stimulate the emergence of new frameworks, approaches and strategies for dealing with the major challenges posed by the dynamics of rural transformation in emerging economies driven by domestic and international trends. For more details, see http://www.ruraltransformation.in

Jobs for a Globalizing World: Labor Market Policy is a two week course, held in Washington, D.C. from March 29-April 9, 2010, offering a unique learning experience on how employment is being transformed in today's rapidly changing, globalizing environment. The course identifies key labor market challenges within the context of overall poverty reduction and other economic and social development goals, and explores what policy makers and others can do about them. The content of the course will focus specially on developing and transition countries. For more details, see

Organized by ILO, UNICEF, FAO and UNDP and hosted by the Government of Kazakhstan, the conference will focus on the social impact of the global financial and economic crisis in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. It will bring together the Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs and senior officials from the Ministries of Labour, Finance/Economy and Agriculture of the 13 countries, as well as high-level representatives of the United Nations system, international and regional financial institutions (IFIs), regional organizations, bilateral cooperation agencies, international employers' and workers' organizations, civil society and regional academia. The conference will focus on the areas of employment and labour market development, social protection and food security and agricultural development and will provide a good opportunity to take stock of and share experience on effective anti-crisis polices, and the lessons learned. It will also provide a platform for refocusing the debate on how to stimulate recovery and shape longer-term strategies that can assist countries to move towards their optimal development paths. For more details see

The Impact of the Global Economic Slowdown on Poverty and Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific - A high level conference discussing implications of the global economic slowdown on the people in Asia and the Pacific, especially the poor and vulnerable, was held in Hanoi, Viet Nam on September 28-30, 2009. The event was jointly organized by the State Council Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation and Development of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Government of Viet Nam, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the ASEAN Secretariat, and was supported by a number of partner organizations. The conference also served as the 3rd China-ASEAN Forum on Social Development and Poverty Reduction and the 4th ASEAN+3 High-Level Seminar on Poverty Reduction. This was attended by Dr. Naila Kabeer, one of the directors of the Social Protection in Asia progamme. Details of the programme, participants, background papers and conference presentations are available on the ADB website
http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2009/Poverty-Social-Development/default.asp

SAARC Social Charter – The Republic of Maldives has initiated the process of suggesting the development of a Regional Strategy on Social Protection to the Secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), by reviewing the SAARC Social Charter with renewed emphasis on social protection policies and programmes and proposing a commitment on the part of all SAARC member states to provide minimum and standardized social protection benefits to all citizens by 2020.