SOCIAL PROTECTION INTERAGENCY BOARD New York, 2nd & 3rd of July 2012 Dr. Cäcilie Schildberg Coordination Gender / Social Justice Global Policy and Development Department Berlin

What is the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)?  non-profit German political foundation committed to the basic values of social democracy  advancement of public policy issues through education, research, and international cooperation  six adult education centers,13 regional offices throughout Germany  branch offices in over 90 countries and activities in more than 100 countries worldwide.  commitment to social policy issues and social protection

Social Protection and Social Policy Issues: a strategic pillar of international cooperation In order to reinforce and establish a more strategic approach to social policy and social protection, in 2009 the FES defined social justice as one of his core objectives within its international development cooperation Lobbying the Social Protection Floor Initiative is a central objective of our activities within the Global Policy and Development Department We run activities on different levels and with different actors - especially involved in this work are our office in Geneva, our global trade union project, our office in Brussels and our globalization project at the headquarters in Berlin

Global Trade Union Project Overall objectives of our work with the trade union movement on the social protection floor:  attain and share knowledge about the SPF  discuss reservations about the concept  prepare and strengthen trade unions for debates at the ILO  Partners: ILO Social Security Department, ITUC (Brussels and regional organizations), Social Watch, (Uruguay), DIE (German Development Institute) etc.  target group: representatives from the national trade union confederations and their regional organizations  conferences held in Senegal, South Africa, Geneva and Berlin

FES Globalization Project – Office Geneva The FES Globalization Project based in Geneva created a Coalition for the Social Protection Floor  NGO Resolution to support the adoption of a strong recommendation of the SPF at the 101 ILC - signed by 59 NGOs  The NGOs are now in the process of forming a long-term „Coalition for a Social Protection Floor“  Objectives:  influencing international debates,  creating a platform for learning and sharing experience  participating in advocating and implementing of SPFs

FES Headquarters Berlin & EU-Office in Brussels EU-Office in Brussels:  international Expert-workshops on the external expectations on EU’s activities in this area (with participants from South Africa, Tunisia and Mexico)  high-level conferences with representatives of EU institutions and Member States, Trade Unions, Brussels based Civil Society Organization  Academies on Social Protection as a core instrument in development cooperation. Headquarters in Berlin:  high-level conferences with top-representatives of relevant institutions and organizations in the SPF Initiative (ILO, ITUC, UNICEF, NGOs) and political decision-makers