Research Meets Policy: UNRISD Keynote Speaker at Asia Policy Dialogue on SSE and the SDGs

Decision makers and social entrepreneurs were the audience for the Keynote Speech given by UNRISD Research Coordinator Ilcheong Yi at the 2017 Asia Policy Dialogue, held in Seoul on 1 June 2017. The Policy Dialogue, organized by the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF) and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, brings together select actors in the field of SSE, giving UNRISD a unique opportunity to direct the future actions of policy makers, elected officials, social entrepreneurs, practitioners and researchers from the Asia Pacific region. Attendance at the Asia Policy Dialogue is by invitation only.

Ilcheong Yi was invited to present on the theme of ‘Effective public policy design for fostering social economy as a leverage for inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic development in Asia’. Drawing on UNRISD research on how to make public policy work to enable SSE, the presentation brought out the potential of SSE to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, but also noted where the challenges lie in scaling-up initiatives without losing the values they are based on.

The Asia Policy Dialogue was held back-to-back with the ILO’s Academy on Social and Solidarity Economy, an interregional training opportunity gathering practitioners and policy makers from all around the world, to share their experiences and meet leading SSE specialists. Ilcheong Yi participated as a resource person in the session on SSE and the Sustainable Development Goals, along with representatives of RIPESS, the ILO and Seoul National University. This was the 8th SSE Academy, which took place in Seoul, South Korea, on 26-30 June 2017 and was organized in collaboration with GSEF on the theme of "Innovative Ecosystem for SSE Public Policies—A Contribution to the Future of Work".