Z Skweyiya: UNESCO International Forum on Social Science - Policy
Nexus

20 February 2006

Minister Daniel Filmus,
Unesco Deputy Director-General, Mr Marcio Barbosa
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

Let me first express my heartfelt appreciation to the governments and
peoples of the Republic of Argentina and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay for
making possible a flagship event of the current phase of the MOST Programme at
UNESCO.

Your invitation to all of us to come and participate in an innovative
dialogue between social science research and social policy elicited a
substantial global response and is a testament to the importance of the task at
hand. It is also a testament to the significance we all attached to the
grounding of this International Forum in the cities of Buenos Aires,
Montevideo, Cordoba and Rosario. We acknowledge your foresight about the urgent
need for rigorous social science research and effective social policies. We
applaud your generosity and as we get down to the business of this Forum, we
will not forget to delight in your hospitality.

The breath of the issues that will be discussed in this Forum specify key
aspects of the challenge of social transformation that we face at the turn of
the 21st century. Personally, I come from a country and continent where the
eradication of poverty, the creation of employment and decent work and the
engendering of social cohesion are an uphill and long term task. The outcomes
of this International Forum are of day-to-day importance for millions of our
people and we therefore approach this Forum with conviction, determination and
hope.

We see our participation in the MOST Programme and in this International
Forum as an opportunity to put issues of extreme poverty at the forefront of
the agenda. Progressive social transformation and social development require
solidarity and we are here in mutual solidarity.

As a premise to the business of this International Forum, we should recall
that both the Lisbon and Vienna Declarations on Social Sciences emphasise the
vital contribution of social science to the social development objectives of
the international community. So collectively, our task is to ensure an adequate
response to the social transformations occurring across the globe. The variety
and depth of these social transformations and the challenge of accomplishing
the goals of the World Summit on Social Development, puts into sharp relief the
worldwide inadequate funding of the social sciences. They also focus our
attention on the value of evidence-based policy, the value of structured
multi-stakeholder consultation processes, and the value of research and policy
networks. These research and policy networks should acknowledge the fact that
economics is a social science. There is an economic logic to all social policy
and all economic policies have social consequences.

I am convinced that the support of the MOST Programme for the activation of
regional networks of Ministers of Social Development has the potential in the
long run to change the landscape and horizon on all these issues. The Network
of Ministers of Social Development in the Latin American and Caribbean region
has been a model for the emerging networks in other parts of the world and we
continue to learn from the innovative practices in this region.

The Network of Ministers in the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) held their first meeting in November 2004 and the Ministers in the
Economic Community of West African States held their first meeting in January
2006. It is our expectation that these Networks of Ministers will further the
agenda and practice of social development in our respective regions and
engender further South-South co-operation.

I am also convinced that the active participation of policy activists from
civil society in this International Forum and its agenda are of similar
importance. The existent and emerging networks of social science researchers
and policy activists across the globe should seize the opportunities created by
this new dynamic on the social policy front.

Let me conclude these brief opening remarks by noting that it is often said
that we have the means at hand to ensure that nearly every country can make
good on the promises of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The actions
flowing from the Buenos Aires Declaration of the International Forum on the
Social-Science - Policy Nexus should contribute to the deployment of these
means and the fulfilment of the promises. I thank all of you for your support
of the International Forum on the Social-Science - Policy Nexus. Going forward,
we must work to open more space for stimulating engagement and sustained,
concerted action.

Issued by: Department of Social Development
20 February 2006