WORKSHOP ON SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF FINANCIAL CRISIS

Press Release
REC/48

WORKSHOP ON SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF FINANCIAL CRISIS

BANGKOK, 21 May (United Nations Information Service) --- An interregional workshop on the "Social Implications of the Financial Crisis" and an expert group meeting on the "Agenda for Action on Social Development in the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) region will be held from 25 to 27 May at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok.

The workshop is a joint initiative of ESCAP, the Bangkok Metropolitan Adminstration, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD).

The workshop will address the social implications at the national and local level of the Asian crisis. It is in line with the Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development to provide developing countries with assistance in resolving problems of poverty, unemployment and social exclusion.

The workshop will be held in conjunction with the expert group meeting on the Agenda for Action on Social Development in the ESCAP region. The meeting will focus on the related regional social development priority concerns and recommendations for regional action in the follow-up of the World Summit for Social Development.

The main objectives of the meeting are to enhance exchange of information and experience on innovation approaches and practices of national and local governments and other relevant stakeholders on operational programmes, particularly those for capacity-building in order to overcome social problems arising from financial crisis.

The meeting will also identify critical social policy, planning and programme implications for further study at the regional and international conferences to promote and monitor the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development.

The report of the workshop/meeting will contain brief case studies of successful approaches in responding to the social consequence of the financial

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crisis. The output of the workshop/meeting will be the regional input to the global review of the follow-up to the World Summit for Social Development by the General Assembly at its special session in 2000.

It is expected that over 30 high-level officials and experts on social policy of national and local governments, community organizations, non- governmental organizations as well as representatives from other United Nations bodies and other international organizations will participate in the workshop/meeting.

A press conference on the outcome of the workshop/meeting will be held immediately after the adoption of the final report on Thursday, 27 May, at approximately 12:15 p.m. in conference room 4. The press conference will be jointly held by Adrianus Mooy, Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Pichit Rattakul, Governor of Bangkok, Lai Shian-Lung, Chief Socio-economic Policy and Development Management Branch, DESA, and Josefa S. Edralin, representative, of UNCRD.

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