Your Excellency, Mr Somchai Wongsawat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, and Chairperson of the Thai National Commission for United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

Mr Pierre Sane, Assistant Director General, UNESCO, Paris
Dr Chinnapat Bhumirat, Secretary General of the Thai National Commission for UNESCO
His Excellency, Mr Douglas Gibson, South Africa's High Commission to Thailand
Members of the diplomatic community
Representatives of the United Nations Agencies
Representatives of Research Institutes
Representatives of non governmental organisations
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen

Allow me to express my most sincere gratitude and appreciation to the government of Thailand for the invitation extended to myself and the South African delegation to attend this Dialogue Forum on Social Policies in South East Asia. This gratitude and appreciation extends to the Thai National Commission of United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Ministry of Education.

We are meeting here in the city of Bangkok to share lessons and experiences on human and social development from a regional social policy perspective. We are discussing and engaging one another on these critical global issues as the world celebrates 60 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the history of humankind, this Declaration stands above all other international commitments to a life free from poverty, hunger, disease, discrimination and oppression. Article 25 of the Declaration states that:

"Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was first and foremost addressing human and social needs after the ravages of the Second World War. But most important it is the vision of a free global international community with societies that provide and take care of all their people. This is where social policy and regional co-operation becomes important. This is where the dialogue that we are taking part in the next two days is relevant.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Human and social development in the world after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights took different direction and paths in the different regions of the world. In the post Second World War period, many societies in the developed world invested in human and social development. Great achievements have been made in human development, the achievement of unprecedented long life expectancy, low infant mortality rates, high levels of literacy, the eradication of common diseases and Growth Domestic Product per capita. These achievements in the developed world remain an elusive vision in the poor regions and underdeveloped countries of the world.

Today, countries in the developing world face the challenges of globalisation. Capital intensive production, the drastic reduction in the number of quality secure jobs, the erosion of traditional employment related benefits through flexible labour markets and casualisation mean that there are social and economic changes and transformations that have to be studied, understood and responses against them formulated. This is where the researching of and the management of social transformations has a role to play. This is where social policy as a tool of analysis and practice in policy formulation comes in. This is the area where research and social policy come together to provide lasting solutions against the many challenges brought about by the international economic and political arrangements in a globalised world.

Our responses to the human and social development challenges of multi-dimensional poverty characterised by unemployment, illiteracy, lack of skills, shortage of quality housing, inadequate quality healthcare and the many other manifestations of poverty in the developing world cannot be at the national level only. We cannot tackle these challenges as single countries isolated from our neighbours in the different regions of the world. It is true and valid that local responses against poverty are important. But lessons and experiences have shown us that responses against poverty are strengthened and made permanent through common regional approaches and practices.

We have witnessed in many parts of the world that political instability and economic collapse in one country affects neighbouring countries as economic and political refugees become a regional social challenge to be dealt with. We have seen that the provision of social security and social services such as quality healthcare attracts citizens of neighbouring countries where these do not exist.

Ladies and gentlemen,

When the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) programme was launched in 1994, under the auspices of the Social and Human Sciences Sector of UNESCO, the chief objective that directed the work of the programme was the creation of a research programme with the aim to produce reliable and relevant knowledge for policymakers. This mandate established a strong commitment to the promotion of research that was comparative, international, and interdisciplinary and policy relevant.

The objective of the programme extended to the organisation and promotion of international research networks. This was to give attention to capacity building and to establish a clearing house of knowledge in the social science field. International research networks that were initiated and established continue to this day. The dialogue we are engaging in here today bears testimony to the work of both UNESCO and the MOST programme.

The fact is that in our societies and our different regions of the world we deal with a shifting global landscape with new and different social transformations taking place. This brought about new challenges and saw the review of the mandate and objectives of the MOST programme. Important lessons and experience gained during the first phase of the MOST programme were taken into consideration as the second phase of the MOST programme was launched.

The guiding theme of the current phase is the building of efficient bridges between research, policy and practice and the promotion of a culture of evidence-based policy making at the national, regional and international levels.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the promotion of evidence-based policy making, it is important to bring to the fore the important role played by our academic and research institutions as well as the crucial role played by our non-governmental organisations. The academic and researcher at a university, the policy maker within government and the member of an NGO and other civil society formations are all key actors in the production of knowledge and evidence for policy. A policy process that excludes any of these actors weakens the chances of success of an implemented policy. Local knowledge combined with national, regional and international research are important aspects of the policy making process that the policy maker must take into consideration.

When we launched the International Forum on the Social Science-Policy Nexus in Argentina and Uruguay, we were clear about the ongoing need to provide platforms for dialogue between governments, research groups, educational institutions and the NGO sector. The dialogue forum today and tomorrow brings these actors from the South East Asia region.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In March this year I had the pleasure of sharing a platform with South Asian Ministers of Social Development. The theme was "Transparency, Right to Information and Social Development". In the address to that gathering I mention the point that when we deliberate on the pertinent issues that shape and influence social development, we need to be clear in our thinking and in our practices of the type of global human society we want to create. We can no longer shape our national agendas and our economic and social development goals in isolation from our neighbours in our regions and our partners in the global world. We must start at the regional level and build our strengths as regional economic blocks and also collaborate on matters that pertain to the fight against poverty and the advancement of comprehensive social development.

I went on to say that as Ministers of Social Development in our different regions we carry an important responsibility. This responsibility is at the very heart and centre of building and advancing human dignity, social justice and equitable societies. When we speak about real human and social development and the eradiation of poverty, our goal must be informed by the vision and principles of an international global community as contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other important international instruments such as the International Convention on Cultural, Social and Economic Rights.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me turn my attention to the advantages and benefits of regional collaboration. The people and societies in the different regions of the world often face the same human and social development challenges. In many regions of the world we find that historical experiences are either the same or converge in significant ways. We also find that in many instances, neighbouring countries in the different regions of the world follow similar economic policies. What we see is that the similarities are many and the differences few. We also have evidence of common approaches in Scandinavian countries. The European Union today is a common economic market and the countries follow very similar social protection systems. Latin America provides us with similar examples. In Africa, Asia and the Caribbean we find the commitment to common economic and social policy approaches as countries in the regions of the world tackle the same development challenges.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Allow me to congratulate and join me in acknowledging the work of His Excellency, Mr Somchai Wongsawat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, and Chairperson of the Thai National Commission for UNESCO and Dr Chinnapat Bhumirat, Secretary General of the Thai National Commission for UNESCO in bringing together these important actors in the research and policy enterprise and in the important ongoing dialogue on regional social policy.

I wish all of us fruitful deliberations in our attempts to advance the goal of a world free from poverty

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Social Development
20 August 2008