The International Labour Office (ILO) attended the 18th International Conference on Social Security, organized by the China Association of Social Security (CAOSS). The Conference took place in Guangzhou (Guangdong province) from 7-8 September 2024, hosted by Sun Yat-Sen University, and continued in Beijing until its conclusion on 10 September 2024, hosted by Renmin University of China.
The International Conference on Social Security is an academic conference jointly initiated by prominent Chinese scholars, including Professor Zheng Gongcheng, President of CAOSS, along with renowned social security scholars from Japan and Republic of Korea. Since its inception in 2004, the Conference has been held annually, alternating between China, Japan, and Republic of Korea.
The primary aim of this Conference is to discuss key issues related to social protection both regionally and globally. It provides a platform for international experts to share insights on the main challenges, recent trends, and significant achievements in the field of social protection over the past years.
© ILO
In his opening remarks, Chang-Hee Lee, ILO Director for China and Mongolia, highlighted that today "Universal Social Protection is ever more important than before. It should play a key role as a public policy to cushion the negative effects of those risks threats, ensuring a sustainable socioeconomic development and promoting a Just Transition to a greener economy, where all members of modern societies can benefit from a shared prosperity."
Christina Behrendt, Head of the Social Policy Unit at the Social Protection Department of ILO Headquarters in Geneva, stressed in her keynote speech the importance of social protection policies as a powerful tool to contain the climate crisis, which requires an integrated policy approach, stating that "Universal social protection systems can help realize climate ambitions and facilitate a just transition."
In his speech, Rubén Vicente Andrés, ILO Social Protection Manager for the EU-China Project "Improving China's institutional capacity towards universal social protection (Phase 2)", funded by the European Union, underscored the need to invest in increasing the benefit level provided through the Rural and Urban Residents Pension Scheme to achieve shared prosperity in China. He also discussed the potential use of tax-benefit microsimulation systems to define different scenarios for informed policy adjustments in the near future.
At the 18th International Conference, over 140 scholars and renowned professors from prestigious institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Renmin University of China, Sun Yat-sen University (China), University of Tokyo, Japan Association for Social Policy Studies (Japan), Chung-Ang University, Yonsei University (Republic of Korea), Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy (Germany), University of Antwerp (Belgium), and Université Paris I (France), along with experts from ILO, UNICEF, and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, gathered to discuss key topics and challenges in social security. These included ageing societies, platform work, climate change, and just transition, examined from both global and regional perspectives. The conference also featured a special session titled "Asia-Europe Dialogue: Global Social Security and Socio-economic Sustainable Development."
© CAOSS
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