Engagement Opportunities in the lead up to WSSD2 2025

The Conference was organized by the Ministry of National Territory and Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy of the Government of Morocco, UN-Habitat, GLTN and the Arab Land Initiative, in partnership with the League of Arab States, UNESCWA, UNECA, the World Bank, BMZ, the Netherlands’ RVO, and Morocco land sector stakeholders. Adequate Housing for All is an increasingly prominent concern in peace and security with housing, land and property rights and the destruction of civilian infrastructure being major features in recent conflicts especially in the Arab region. Land disputes and scarcity, as well as insecurity of tenure, are important indicators of inequality and drive conflicts between communities and groups in several contexts. Secure housing, land and property rights are an essential component of peace processes and post-conflict stabilisation. To ensure integration of land issues in the intergovernmental preparatory processes leading up to the Second World Summit on Social Development, UN-Habitat collaborates closely with the Kingdom of Morocco, as the host of the conference, and H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations, as the appointed cofacilitators.

UNRISD organized and co-convened side event entitled "Towards the World Summit for Social Development: Economy of Wellbeing Approach and Social Justice as Investments for Future Generations" to foster dialogue among thought leaders, policymakers, and activists. The event served as a platform to highlight research findings and actionable recommendations stemming from UNRISD’s preparatory work. Partners for side events included UN agencies, UN member states, civil society organizations, and experts.

ESCWA’s Executive Secretary briefed Arab Permanent Representatives on the various regional preparatory processes for WSSD2 during CsocD63.

The 63rd session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD63), held from 5 to 14 February 2025, concluded with productive discussions on key challenges to social progress. The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and highlighted the upcoming Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar, as a crucial opportunity to reset global priorities and strengthen collective action. The Commission also adopted five resolutions on the priority theme, methods of work, NEPAD, youth, and the review modalities of MIPAA.

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in partnership with Social Justice Coalition organized an in-person, tri-partite (including academia) conference. The event focused on ensuring that artificial intelligence benefits the world of work and advances social justice.

The G20 Education Working Group offers a comprehensive view of key education trends, each year with specific focus areas, and valuing peer learning and knowledge sharing. Since the establishment of the G20 Education Working Group in 2018 during Argentina’s G20 Presidency, UNESCO has provided strategic advice and produced outcome documents for the Education Working Group - a key platform for addressing equity, quality in education, skills for life and work, and education financing through multilateral collaboration.

The forthcoming policy brief will include a conceptual discussion and policy proposals on inclusive social development, prepared by ECLAC to feed the views and discussions of the Summit (internal discussions)

This joint document of the five regional commissions will serve as an input for the preparatory process of the Second World Summit for Social Development 2025. The joint document underscores the need to strengthen social policies and tailor them to a risk structure reconfigured by global crises. Alongside high levels of poverty, inequality and informal employment, profound transformations in demographics, climate, technology and the labour market are under way. Complementary actions beyond social policy are also needed, as progress is equally crucial in the economic and environmental dimensions. Regional frameworks and agreements have been instrumental in driving social policy change and must continue to be leveraged, including in the universalization of social protection systems and in the areas of migration, labour inclusion, taxation and resource management, to achieve shared growth and stability.

This report is under preparation by the Presiding Officers countries of the Conference and ECLAC to facilitate the discussions and articulate their messages and proposals to the Summit.

Engaging school children in five countries across the region in WSS2 themes and raising awareness of impact at community level. The challenges facing the Arab region, including conflicts, food shortages, widespread poverty, low rates of education and the consequent problems such as displacement, brain drain, food insecurity and aggravated pollution, among others, have been the main topics of "The ESCWA Stories", Volume 4.

Briefing on the Asia-Pacific preparations for the Second World Summit for Social Development in 2025 during the Eighth Committee on Social Development, 8-10 October 2024. This multi-stakeholder special event provided an overview on the proposed plan for preparations for the World Social Summit 2025 in Asia and the Pacific and discussed social development issues of importance to the region, including on decent work, demographic trends and intergenerational relations, gender equality, the care economy, and social protection.

Online expert group meetings have been carried out in the Africa, Asia, LAC regions and Nordic countries reaching over 80 experts to identify regional priorities and perspectives. A brief for each consultation has been developed and disseminated widely to inform the WSSD consultations. Link to video broadcasts insights shared at the 63rd session of the Commission for Social Development in February 2025.

These dialogues focus on ensuring the Right to Food in conflict settings, proposing actionable solutions. The findings can directly feed into the Summit's focus on addressing food insecurity during crises.

The second meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Housing will provide a significant contribution toward shaping discussions for the World Social Summit in addressing the basic needs and dignity of the approximately 3 billion people who do not have adequate housing. The thematic priorities identified during the first session —such as data collection, multi-level governance, financing for housing and informal settlements, land tenure security, and climate resilience—are directly aligned with the core objectives of the Summit to address inequalities, promote social inclusion, shared prosperity and ensure sustainable development. By providing a dedicated forum for Member States to discuss these critical issues, the Working Group can offer actionable insights and proven solutions that highlight the central role of housing in achieving social development goals. Link to 2024 session available

Organized by FAO, this series explores how the Right to Food can be realized in urban contexts. Outcomes will provide valuable insights for the Summit on addressing food security challenges in urban settings.

This Roundtable on Adequate Housing for All is to build on the outcomes of the fifty-seventh session of the Commission for Social Development and all prior relevant United Nations commitments to address inequalities and challenges to social inclusion through fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and to address how to better implement the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development from a housing perspectives. This Roundtable will examine the global housing crisis, review status of housing, the progress, gaps and challenges in inclusive housing policies and programmes to address homelessness, and global housing shortage, inequality, and particularly the problems faced by disadvantaged groups and discuss policies and means for social protection and access to adequate, safe and affordable housing for all. To strengthen advocacy and alliance, a full report on the outcome of The Roundtable on Adequate Housing for All will be provided to the President of World Social Summit, President of President of the General Assembly, and member states.