Civil society networks and private sector leaders crossed paths in the buzzing corridors of the Qatar National Convention Centre, a reminder that social development is not just debated in meetings rooms – it touches jobs, families and futures.
With nearly 14,000 attendees registered for the Second World Summit for Social Development, currently underway in Doha, the gathering has become a meeting place for governments, global organizations and community voices working to shape what a fairer future might look like.
UN News is on the ground in Doha, following two major events held alongside the Summit on Wednesday: one led by business, the other by civil society.
Business forum: Not charity – smart investment
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The Private Sector Forum, co-hosted by the International Organisation of Employers, 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 technology shifts, climate pressures and changing labour markets.
Opening the event, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock pointed to the narrowing window to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and the financing needed to get there.
“With the annual financing gap for the SDGs currently standing at 4 trillion US dollars, one of the key barriers we face is financing,” she said. “But we know, and you know, that money as such is not the problem. The question rather is how and where it is invested.“
She noted that companies with strong environmental, social and governance performance “report operating margins 10 per cent higher and a cost of capital 20 per cent lower.”
“In simple terms: they are more profitable,” she said.
“We are not asking the private sector to act out of charity. Inclusive business models strengthen societies and [boost] market confidence…and help create the very environment in which business can grow and prosper.”
Later, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Gilbert Houngbo closed the Forum with a call for cooperation, emphasising that “no single country, no single company can navigate current challenges in isolation” and that “universal and lasting peace can only be established based on social justice.”
Civil society forum: People power on the show
A few rooms away, the Civil Society Forum opened with stories of community-led solutions already transforming lives – from Moroccan women’s cooperatives producing argan oil to the “Solar Mamas” of Cameroon installing solar panels in rural villages.
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“We see how far the global social vision has come,” said Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, crediting grassroots groups for keeping governments accountable and making sure social justice and inclusion “weren’t just words on paper.”
“You are proof that social development matters and always will be, because you make it real in communities and in people’s lives every day,” she told participants. “You are our copilots.”
The Forum concludes Thursday (as does the Summit), with discussions shaped around ten themes drawn from the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration – all focused on how to ensure policy translates into real improvements in daily life.
