DOHA, Nov 12 2025 (IPS) - Qatar hosted the Second World Summit for Social Development from 4–6 November. According to the United Nations, more than 40 Heads of State and Government, 230 ministers and senior officials, and nearly 14,000 attendees took part. Beyond plenaries and roundtables, more than 250 “solution sessions” identified practical ways to advance universal rights to food, housing, decent work, social protection or social security, education, health, care systems and other public services, international labor standards, and the fight against poverty and inequality.

 Intervention by Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch, at the Opening Session of the Civil Society Forum of the Second World Summit for Social Development

Doha, Qatar, November 5, 2025

Excellencies, friends and colleagues from civil society, Let me start on a personal note and some backstage information.
32 years ago, I was in Oaxaca, Mexico, attending a civil society meeting on how we were going to fight the World Bank-led structural adjustment policies. At the same time there was a big UN meeting in Oaxaca on poverty. Chilean Ambassador to the UN, Juan Somavía, who is here with us, had just been appointed as chair of the preparatory process of the 1995 Social Summit, and he came to our little hotel to convince civil society leaders that the Social Summit could become a valid channel for our concerns and could amplify them. We heard his invitation and appreciated it.

Join us in the Solutions Session (Side-Event) "Decent work and employment opportunities: Action-oriented approaches to empower future generations of women and girls" at the second UN World Summit for Social Development, Doha Qatar (November 4-6, 2025)
Date: November 6, 2025 - 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm (Doha Time)
Venue: Room 1 (Exhibition Hall 5), Qatar National Convention Centre

Speakers:

Moderator/Opening remarks: Dr. Despoina Afroditi Milaki, UN Representative, International
Presentation Association

- H.E. Valérie Berset Bircher, State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Switzerland

- H.E. Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, ILO Special Representative to the UN, New York

- Mr. Konstantinos Papadakis, Principal Social Affairs Officer, UN Department of Economic and
Social Affairs

- Mr. Roberto Bissio, Coordinator, Social Watch