APCOM joins Plan International and International Trade Union Confederation – Asia Pacific (ITUC-AP) for a session at the 56th ADB Annual Meeting on ‘Voice and Inclusion: Building Agency and Opportunities for Marginalized People’ taking place 4 May 2023.
Midnight, APCOM’s Executive Director presented that as the region is slowly building back from the effects of COVID-19, it is imperative for the ADB to include vulnerable populations in the discussions on recovery, particularly in its portfolios on health, education, and social protection. How LGBTQI communities are disproportionately affected by impacts of the pandemic, and the cost of exclusion of LGBTQI. He also highlighted the need for the ADB to collaborate with LGBTQI CSOs in the region to ensure that they are included in the reviews and updates of the ADB’s Safeguard Policy Statement.
Plan International show cased young people’s experiences that have taken place at community levels in two of the largest urban contexts in the region –Jakarta and Manila—focusing on creating an enabling environment for the voice of young people –especially young women, building resilience to disasters and enhancing local preparedness to reduce the impact of disasters, and strengthening social mobilization.
ITUC-AP discussed a new social contract for quality jobs, social protection, social dialogue, just transition, equality and inclusion for ‘Rebounding Asia; Recovery, Reconnect, Reform’ based on decent work to ensure connecting People, preserving Planet and sharing Prosperity. In particular, young workers have been likely excluded from workers’ rights, social protection and social protection; the main pillars of decent work and just transition. They have been even further marginalized during the pandemic.
Bruno Carrasco, Director General, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department of the ADB commented presentations and provided ADB’s perspectives and initiatives to ensure social inclusion in its policies and operations.
The session was moderated by Anna Saxby, Executive at Humanitarian Action Group, Australia.
adb.org/annual-meeting/2023/events/voice-inclusion-building-agency-opportunity-marginalized-people
