POLICY INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROMOTION “We, the democratically elected Heads of State and Government of the Americas, (..) have adopted a Plan of Action to strengthen representative democracy, promote good governance and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. We seek to create greater prosperity and expand economic opportunities while fostering social justice and the realization of human potential” (Declaration of Quebec, 2001). 1. The changes 2. The opinion of the people 3. The great challenge 4. A possible answer Virgilio Levaggi

THE CHANGES Three facts of the current reality in the Americas, in the “Global Village”, since the 90s: 1. Expansion of democratic governments 2. An increase in the expectations for well-being among the citizens of our 34 democracies 3. Growth without employment CONCLUSION: Elusive development

THE OPINION OF THE PEOPLE Source: LATINOBAROMETRO 2002

THE OPINION OF THE PEOPLE Source: LATINOBAROMETRO 2002

Fuente: LATINOBAROMETRO 2002 “DEMOCRACY DOES NOT FEED” “IF THINGS ARE GOING SO WELL IN THE COUNTRY, WHY ARE THINGS GOING BADLY FOR ME” “DEMOCRACY IS THE BEST WAY TO ESTABLISH AND IMPLEMENT A DEVELOPMENT AGENDA”

“The accelerated pace of the current world transformation tends to exceed the ability of institutions to adapt (…). So many things are changing simultaneously that no organization on its own can keep up with all of them, especially because the changes generally disrupt the traditional boundaries between academic disciplines.” (Millennium Summit). “Everything is happening fast, increasingly faster. History itself is accelerating its pace; at full throttle towards a necessary and inevitable uncertain future” (Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize for Peace). “THE TOTAL IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF THE PARTS” THE GREAT CHALLENGE KNOWLEDGE IS NOT IN INFORMATION BUT RATHER IN THE CAPACITY TO CONNECT ITS ELEMENTS

CONVERGENCE: from the “Gutemberg Galaxy” to the “Internet Galaxy” “Given the increased global dependency among countries, in the case of specific issues, and the strong links between the issues, the traditionally fragmented focus in analyzing policies has not brought about the integrated policies that this new situation requires. A limited focus on only one sector or issue would probably create less than optimum results, given the growing magnitude of the secondary effects or repercussions on other important issues. This has two disadvantages: first, it impedes reaching important objectives; and secondly, synergies and potential complementary elements are lost” (J. Somavia). INTEGRATED THINKING MANAGEMENT THAT INTEGRATES SYNERGY BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS THE GREAT CHALLENGE

A POSSIBLE ANSWER Work, despite being at the heart of politics, is not taken sufficiently into consideration in analysing the economic reality or in adopting measures to orient it. Thus, in order to put the labour policy at the heart of public and private economic decision making, it is crucial to place people at the centre and economy.

A POSSIBLE ANSWER The primary goal of the ILO is to promote decent work; within this the institutional mission is updated. With this goal four great strategic objectives are proposed that define the action of the ILO: a) Promoting the fundamental Principles and Rights at work; coined by Ambassador Somavía as “the historical mandate of the ILO”. b) Creating jobs: defined as “the political mandate, the same as that which comes from the streets, from the people”. c) Social protection; understood as “the ethical mandate”. D) Social dialogue, voiced as “the organizational principle of the ILO”.