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Event Agenda
The following agenda describes the thematic content of each session.
Click here for a more detailed agenda with a list of speakers.
DAY ONE 1 July 2008
REGISTRATION AND BUFFET LUNCH
WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
SESSION 1
Globalization and managing change in the world of work
What is the role of the social partners?
With the transforming impact of accelerating trade and capital flows on the European economy, questions about labour market adjustment continue to be of great policy and practical importance.
The European Community has long promoted the role of social dialogue as an important driving force behind economic and social reform. Negotiations among social partners are in fact considered the most suitable way forward on questions related to modernization and the management of change.
The objective of this session will be to consider what role the social partners can play to anticipate, prepare for and manage change at the enterprise, sectoral, country and community levels. It will also reflect on the effectiveness of country and EU tools and strategies for coping with change such as the new European Globalization Adjustment Fund.
BREAK-OUT GROUP SESSIONS
GROUP FEEDBACK
OPTIONAL SIGHTSEEING TOUR OF HISTORIC TURIN
WELCOME DINNER
DAY TWO 2 July 2008
Flexicurity. Putting theory into practice
Often debated and just as often misunderstood, flexicurity is a policy approach that has emerged at the centre of the Lisbon Agenda as a response to the challenges posed by globalization, technological change and an ageing population in Europe. While considered by some as the most suitable strategy to address current labour market problems, others view flexicurity as a path to instability and insecurity.
The objective of this session will be to further explore flexicurity in all its dimensions and particularly from the practical point of view of the social partners. Finding the right balance between flexibility and security is an important issue for social dialogue, as policy-makers and the social partners should agree on institutional and even enterprise reforms that are acceptable to all parties concerned.
To ensure that this session directly addresses the concerns of participants and does not imitate the same well-worn path of previous debates, it will take a slightly different approach. Prior to the start of the event, participants will be asked to submit their own questions and comments on flexicurity through the event webpage. These responses will be used to shape the expert interventions and subsequent group debates looking in particular at the different attitudes of the social partners towards flexicurity in the EU 15 and the new member states.
BREAK-OUT GROUP SESSIONS
GROUP FEEDBACK
LUNCH
Modernizing the EU Social Model for Sustainability
The future of the European model in the face of globalization
The European social model is commonly described as based on good economic performance, a high level of social protection, education and social dialogue. Maintaining and indeed strengthening each of these elements in an environment of global competition is seen as a strategic policy challenge. The EU’s overall policy response to the challenges and opportunities of globalization is its renewed Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs.
Does modernization mean that the social agenda will be compromised or do economic, employment and social policy truly form a mutually reinforcing policy ‘triangle’? The objective of this session will be to consider the direction and measure the success of modernization of the European social model and in particular to understand better the actual and potential contributions of the social partners to this process.
PLENARY DISCUSSION
GALA DINNER AT HISTORIC 18TH CENTURY VILLA
DAY THREE 3 July 2008
Global Perspectives on Decent Work Agenda and the European Social Model: Moving Forward.
VIDEO REPORT OF PREVIOUS DAYS’ SESSIONS
The International Labour Organization launched the Decent Work Agenda as a vital foundation for shaping a fair globalization. For its part, the European Union has, since its beginning, incorporated a social dimension in the process of economic integration. From a global perspective, each country and perhaps region has no doubt its own “social model” to respond to the effects of globalization.
With this in mind, the final session of the event will bring together Ministers of Labour and select employer and worker representatives from prominent EU and non-EU countries to provide diverse and global perspectives on the ILO's Decent Work Agenda and the EU social model.
The session will be divided in two parts. In the first part, the distinguished panelists will be invited to give their views on decent work and the European social model in light of their own national and regional experiences. The second part will consist of a dialogue between the panelists building on the earlier presentations. The entire session will be chaired by the Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Mr. Juan Somavia.
CLOSING REMARKS
LUNCHEON
