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This side–event will be held on 6 February 2017, at UN Headquarters in New York, at the occasion of the 55th session of the Commission for Social Development. It is organized by the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN, the International Association of the Schools of Social Work (IASSW), UNRISD and UNESCO's Management of Social Transformations Programme.

Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions represents not only the greatest global challenge but also an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

The quest for mutually supportive transformative policies in this context is essential: poverty eradication ensures a basic standard of living for all and facilitates efforts aimed at preventing environmental degradation and protecting the global environmental commons.

Many countries today are exploring pro-poor social policies with incentives to promote sustainability. Fighting poverty and building the resilience of people living in poverty to economic, social and environmental shocks are key tasks on the road to sustainable development.

The side-event seeks to highlight compatibility of the poverty eradication efforts and environment-friendly policies, as well as existing opportunities and challenges in this regard.

Moderator: Dr. Sergei Zelenev, Executive Director, International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW)

Speakers:
Representative of the Government of Namibia (TBC)
Dr. Paul Ladd, Director, UNRISD
Prof. Lynne Healy, International Association of the Schools of Social Work (IASSW)
Mr. Ronald Wiman, Chief Expert, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland
Dr. Rebecca Davis, Director, Center for Global Social Work, Rutgers University, US
Ms. Cecilie Golden, Programme Specialist, UNESCO