Annual Forum of the Global Coalition 12 June 2025, Palais des Nations, Geneva
Voices of the Forum
Opening session, 09:15 – 10:30, Room XX
The opening session, chaired by the President of the International Labour Conference (ILC), will feature high-level addresses and serve as a key moment to reflect on the achievements of the Global Coalition for Social Justice throughout 2024 highlighting its transition into a fully operational platform ready to deploy its key interventions in close collaboration with its partners.
Interpretation will be provided in English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese and international sign language.
Parallel sessions
Key intervention’s Spotlight: Living Wages, a driver of social and economic development
10:45 – 12:15, Room XX
This panel will discuss the role that living wages can play in addressing broader systemic challenges including in-work poverty and income inequalities. It will also explore their potential to create more resilient local economies and the need to address the root causes of low pay. With increasing global attention to living wages, the session will showcase the initiative’s efforts to promote alignment with ILO principles for estimating and operationalizing living wages. This includes strengthening social dialogue and empowering wage-setting institutions. Partners will share their experiences and ambitions. Their contributions will reinforce sustainable development and social justice.
Interpretation will be provided in English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and international sign language.
The panel will be moderated by Sharanjit Leyl.
Partners’ conversations: Fostering a just transition through social dialogue
10:45 – 12:15, Room XXIII
The transition to environmentally sustainable, resilient economies is a defining challenge of this decade. Success depends not only on climate ambition, but on how transitions are governed and financed. Global efforts to address the climate crisis and build resilient economies rely on just transitions that promote inclusive growth, business development, and job creation ensuring that no one is left behind. Social dialogue is vital for building consensus and enabling trust and shaping fair solutions rooted in decent work. Despite its proven value, it remains underused in climate policies, finance mechanisms, and global cooperation. This session draws on recent initiatives and provides a platform to assess progress and strengthen social dialogue in climate and development frameworks.
Interpretation available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French
Interactive thematic dialogue: Empowering youth for social justice
10:45 – 12:15, Partners’ zone
Despite progress in the global youth unemployment rate, inequalities and decent work deficits continue to limit young people's opportunities in the labour market. One in five young people worldwide is not in employment, education, or training, and many are disengaging entirely. Two-thirds of these NEETs are women, pointing to the urgent need to address gender disparities. This thematic interactive dialogue will harness ILO constituents' expertise to promote more and better jobs for young people. It will also spotlight innovation, encourage intergenerational dialogue, and develop commitments for decent work. Outcomes will contribute to broader youth-focused efforts, including the ILO Global Youth Employment Forum in 2025.
This discussion will be facilitated by ITC and will be in English only.
Key intervention’s Spotlight: Responsible business for inclusive and sustainable societies
14:00 – 15:30, Room XX
The Responsible Business Conduct agenda has become increasingly important in promoting an inclusive and comprehensive approach to sustainability across enterprises of all sizes. At the same time, there is growing recognition of the need to strengthen the social dimension of sustainable finance frameworks, including ESG criteria, and to foster models that balance social, environmental, and economic goals. This session will highlight how the private sector contributes to better jobs, inclusive growth, and social justice. It will examine the role of governments and social partners in creating an enabling environment for responsible business.
Interpretation will be provided in English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Russian, Arabic and international sign language.
Moderated by Sharanjit Leyl.
Partners’ conversations: Human Rights Economy
14:00 – 15:30, Room XXIII
The Human Rights Economy (HRE) offers both a guiding framework and an operational approach for embedding human- and related labour rights - into economic and social policymaking. It promotes equitable access to resources, addresses inequality and discrimination, and calls for inclusive institutions, social protection and supports systems that uphold the rights of both service providers and recipients. It supports international commitments, informs global policy discussions, and develops tools to integrate rights into fiscal and governance systems. Aligned with the 2030 Agenda, the HRE offers a vision of justice, sustainability, and inclusion. It serves as a key instrument for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through rights-based, transformative change.
Interpretation available in English, Spanish and French
Interactive thematic dialogue: Leading change: AI for Social Impact
14:00 – 15:30, Partners’ zone
The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) holds transformative potential for societies, especially the world of work. Realizing this potential means balancing opportunities for job creation, innovation, and productivity with challenges related to job quality, working conditions, and employment relations. Addressing the “AI divide” within and between countries - driven by disparities in infrastructure, finance, and skills - is essential to ensure AI supports decent work and social justice. AI must contribute to more productive economies, resilient businesses, and empowered individuals. This session builds on outcomes from the February 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris, where partners launched the Network of Observatories on AI and Work. It reaffirms a shared commitment to strengthening this agenda. By exploring real-world AI use cases, the session will highlight both the opportunities and challenges of AI adoption.
This discussion will be facilitated by ITC and will be in English only.
Closing session 15:45 – 17:00, Room XX
The closing session of the Global Coalition for Social Justice, will be chaired by the President of the International Labour Conference and will serve to reflect on the outcomes of the Forum, featuring high-level addresses and providing a space for partners to reaffirm their commitments, outline concrete next steps and reinforce the Coalition’s collective ambition to advance social justice through impact-driven interventions at national, regional and global level.
Interpretation will be provided in English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese and international sign language.
Inaugural Forum 2024
On June 13, 2024, world leaders and partners of the Global Coalition for Social Justice gathered at the inaugural forum to call for stronger, more collective action in advancing social justice and to welcome the establishment of the Coalition as a key vehicle for achieving this goal.
Held on the sidelines of the ILO’s 112th Session of the International Labour Conference, the Coalition’s forum aimed to give a space for partners to exchange knowledge and experiences and to highlight concrete actions undertaken in support of social justice.
Never has social justice been so crucial for humanity
More than 1,200 representatives- head of States, partners, ILO constituents, tripartite delegations-participated to the Forum that intends to become an annual gathering. This year, the high-level dialogue was built upon the thematic areas that have been discussed with our partners in closed consultations such as building the resilience of societies; improving the coherence between economic and social policies; and fostering social dialogue for shared prosperity.
“Never has social justice been so crucial for humanity,” said Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, who was the keynote speaker at the Inaugural Forum, as co-chair of the Global Coalition for Social Justice Coordinating Group.
“No country can resolve the dilemmas that affect the international society on its own. We need to look for best practices and experiences wherever they are. The Global Coalition will be a central tool for building a transition with social justice, decent work, and poverty eradication,” he explained.
Established in November 2023, the Global Coalition has now more than 300 members- States, workers organization, employers, civil society, academia- a very diverse-yet unified-set of partners.
Ramchandra Paudel, President of Nepal, stated that taking part to the Global Coalition was a way “to reaffirm our commitment to social justice, to reaffirm our faith in multilateralism.”
A clear roadmap to act
Speaking at the Forum, ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, called the Inaugural Forum, “the kick-off of a long journey, a journey that will bring all of us toward more and better social justice in the world.”
Moreover, the Director-General stressed the importance of transforming commitments to social justice into concrete actions, to bring tangible, positive and sustainable changes to people’s lives.
“The fruitful discussions we have had today must translate into action. And as we move forward, let us remember that our efforts are not just for us but for the generations to come,” Houngbo said. “Our roadmap is clear. We must act, and we must act at the country level.”
Coalition Forum 2025
The next edition of the Global coalition Forum will be held 12 June 2025 and will showcase the concrete transformative actions taken by our partners to build a world better tailored for social justice.
The exact date will be announced in due course and invitations will be send to all partners and interested parties.