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Second Edition of the Diploma in Social Protection Co-taught by the OAS Begins in Santiago, Chile

The meeting of the second edition of the Diploma in Social Protection taught by the Organization of American States (OAS)-through the Inter-American Social Protection Network (RIPSO)-and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile began on Monday, May 26 in the Chilean capital.

The Diploma is a central component of RIPSO, a cooperation mechanism created by the mandate of the Heads of State at the Summit of the Americas and by the Ministers of the sector at the Social Development Forum. Its objective is to promote the exchange of information on social policies and programs, in order to strengthen efforts to reduce inequality and social disparities and to reduce extreme poverty.

During the inauguration, Guillermo Marshall, Rector of the Catholic University, said “our commitment is to offer a space for dialogue and training built on debate, respect for diversity and the diffusion of knowledge from a regional perspective and from the practice of those who have responsibilities in the implementation of social programs to contribute to overcoming poverty and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

The Director of the OAS Department of Economic and Social Development of the OAS, Maryse Robert, highlighted that “from our regional perspective, we have seen how in recent years social protection has become an essential element in the struggle against poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in the region, as well as a clear priority in the social development agenda of the countries.” She added that the objective of the Diploma is to “contribute to the debates on social protection, and in that way contribute to the training and implementation of strategies of poverty reduction of the public institutions in the region.”

For his part, Ignacio Irarrázaval, Director of the Catholic University’s Center for Public Policy, stressed the importance of collaboration with the OAS for the development and implementation of the Diploma, and emphasized the value of this type of training in providing a space for exchange between countries where the realities are compared and lessons are obtained. The opening of the meeting also featured a keynote address on indices of Multidimensional Poverty provided by Mauricio Apablaza, researcher and outreach coordinator of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

The second edition of the Diploma includes 29 participants from 11 countries from Latin America, who are representatives of the Ministries and Agencies of Social Development and other government agencies that are key to the implementation of social protection systems in their countries.

The Diploma was implemented through a project funded by the State Department of the United States, and currently has the support of the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) of Argentina, the Initiative, OPHI and the Regional Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR) for Latin America and the Caribbean, located in the CIDE (Center for Economic Research and Teaching) of Mexico.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-211/14