With nearly 14,000 participants registered for the second World Summit on Social Development currently underway in Doha, the gathering has become a meeting place for governments, global organizations and community voices working to shape a more just future.
UN news will be in Doha following a major event on Wednesday in conjunction with two summits: one led by the movement and the other by civil society.
Business forum: Not a charity – a smart investment
The Private Sector Forum, hosted by the International Employers’ Organization, the UN Global Compact and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), focused on how companies can support inclusive growth while adapting to technological changes, climate pressures and changing labor markets.
At the opening of the event, the President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, referred to the narrowing window for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) – and the necessary funding.
“With the annual funding gap for the SDGs currently at US$4 trillion, one of the most important obstacles we face is funding,” he said. “But we know, and you know it money in itself is not the problem. It is rather a matter of how and where it is invested.“
He noted that companies with strong environmental, social and governance performance “report 10 percent higher operating margins and 20 percent lower cost of capital.”
“Simply put: they are more profitable,” he said.
“We are not asking the private sector to act out of charity. Inclusive business models strengthen societies and (increase) market confidence…and helps to create exactly the kind of environment where business can grow and succeed.”
Later, the Director-General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Gilbert Houngbo, closed the forum with a call for cooperation, stressing that “no country, no company can cope with the current challenges in isolation“and that “universal and lasting peace can only be created on the basis of social justice”.
Participants at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) attend the second Social Development Summit.
Civil society forum: People power in performance
A few rooms away, a civil society forum opened with stories of community-led solutions that are already changing lives—from Moroccan women’s cooperatives producing argan oil to Cameroonian “Solar Mamas” installing solar panels in rural villages.
“We see how far the global social vision has come,” said Assistant Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, praising grassroots groups for holding governments accountable and ensuring that social justice and inclusion “were not just words on paper.”
“You are proof that social development matters and always will, because you make it a reality in communities and people’s lives every day,” he told the participants. “You are our mates.”
The forum will conclude on Thursday (as will the summit), with discussions taking shape around ten themes stemming from the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration – all focusing on how to ensure policy translates into real improvements in everyday life.