Arab Social Protection Compass “Towards Integrated Approaches for Universal Social Protection”

The vision of achieving Universal Social Protection stands as a fundamental aspiration for the Arab states. However, this goal can only be attained through comprehensive whole-government approaches that integrate contributory and non-contributory schemes alongside the alignment of various social protection instruments and simultaneous reforms across critical policy domains.

Recognising the wealth of experiences and knowledge across the Arab Region, as well as the potential for learning and exchange of ideas on pursuing integrated approaches for ensuring universal social protection, the ILO Regional Office for the Arab States, in collaboration with the International Social Security Association (ISSA), is launching a webinar series – the Arab Social Protection Compass. The series is organised with the technical support of socialprotection.org.

This initiative intends to put a spotlight on reforms and programmes geared towards fostering integration within social protection across the region and beyond, while contributing to stir discussion at the national level. Throughout the series, speakers will delve into both the the theoretical underpinnings and practical implementations of specific reforms, aiming to inspire a broad audience of practitioners to replicate or scale up similar interventions. 

The first season of the Arab Social Protection Compass will cover the following episodes:
 

•  Integrating contributory and non-contributory social protection systems for universal protection. A deep-dive on Oman’s recent comprehensive reforms.
• Making social security systems work for women. What inspiration can Arab countries take inspiration from the Nordic countries in Europe?
• Enhancing Humanitarian-Development transition in social protection. Nexus coordination in action in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
• Extending social protection to migrant workers. Barriers and breakthroughs in the Arab region.
• Towards rights-based social protection approaches for persons with disabilities. Lessons learnt one year on with the implementation of the National Disability Allowance in Lebanon.
• Innovating social insurance solutions for workers in the agriculture sector. Insights from good practices in Arab countries.
•  Adapting Arab social protection system to the climate change transition. New perspectives from the World Social Protection Report.
• A behavioural change approach to extending social protection in the informal economy. Results from a nudging experiment with Estidama ++ in Jordan.