Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are excited to share the latest Alliance newsletter with you. It highlights the activities carried out by members and the Technical Secretariat from March to June 2024.

Numerous projects, initiatives, and events have been organized and attended around the world. This list of activities is not exhaustive; it reflects only some of those that the membership has shared. They include CSW68, the Climate&Care Initiative, the Learning Community on Financing Care, and others. An extraordinary participatory process has also begun to outline the Alliance’s Strategic Priorities for 2025-2030.

We invite you to explore the details of these recent activities and send you our warmest regards.

Click here to view it online ‍‍

We are in the process of renewing this Newsletter. Any suggestion is very welcome!  If you want to share your input, please do write to us at comms@globalallianceforcare.org

WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING

68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)

The annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held its 68th session from March 11th to 22nd, 2024, under the priority theme “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”. The convening presented a key opportunity for the Global Alliance for Care (GAC) members to advocate and draw connections between just care economies and reducing women’s poverty, as well as highlighting the need to invest in care policies).

Over the course of two weeks, 31 members of the Alliance organized and participated in over 30 impactful events. For the first time, an agenda of all the GAC events at CSW was prepared, aiming to share and increase the visibility of the GAC members' work on the care agenda. The session’s outcome document itself highlighted the need to take concerted action and unlock financing for policies that recognize, reduce, and redistribute care work, while rewarding and representing care workers, in order to reduce poverty and advance towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

More information on the Alliance’s events here.

More information on GAC co-organized events here.

Read the CSW68 outcome document here.

112th International Labor Conference

From June 3rd to 14th, 2024, delegates representing national governments, workers and employers met for the 112th session of the International Labor Conference in Geneva. The sixth item on the agenda involved a General Discussion on Decent Work and the Care Economy. Several Alliance members, including Management Committee members such as the International Trade Union Confederation and International Domestic Workers’ Federation, and national governments, participated in negotiations and positioned the need to build care societies and guarantee decent work and social dialogue with care workers. 

A report submitted to the Conference for this discussion described existing care inequalities and highlighted the Global Alliance for Care as a key avenue for meaningful change. The resolution adopted on the matter, likewise, outlined the needed measures and policies to guarantee a care economy with gender equality, decent work and social justice. 

Public Hearings on the Right to Care at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

From March 12th to 14th, 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held public hearings on the Government of Argentina’s request for an Advisory Opinion on the “Content and Scope of the Right to Care and its Interrelation with Other Rights” in San José, Costa Rica. Twenty GAC members, including the Governments of Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Costa Rica, the Latin American Team for Gender and Justice, the International Trade Union Confederation, UN Women, ECLAC, Oxfam, and GI-ESCR took part in the process.

Members argued for the need to recognize care as a fundamental human right and explained its connection with other issues such as labor rights, social security, fiscal justice and disability inclusion, among others.

Watch the hearings here. 

Read the written observations submitted to the court here. 

High-level Dialogue towards a Bi-Regional Pact for Care

Representatives of governments, international organizations, and civil society organizations discussed the foundations for a Bi-regional Pact for Care between Latin America, the Caribbean, and the European Union. The initiative seeks to promote cooperation on public policies and comprehensive care systems between the countries of both regions through the exchange of progress and promising practices in care policies, systems, programs, and benefits; studies and comparative analysis on care-related issues; and sub-regional, regional, and multilateral cooperation, among other goals.

 The event was organized by the EU-LAC Foundation through the EU-LAC International Women’s Network, in close collaboration with UN Women for the Americas and the Caribbean, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the National Institute for Women of Mexico (INMUJERES) and the Global Alliance for Care.

Discussion on Care at the Conference of Montreal 2024

The importance of co-responsibility in care work was highlighted at the 30th anniversary of the Conference of Montreal, hosted by the International Economic Forum of the Americas (IEFA), under the general theme "Leading in an Accelerating World."

In that framework, a roundtable titled “Mainstreaming Care Economy Solutions” was organized. The Alliance's Technical Secretary, Ana Moreno, spoke of on the benefits of private sector investment in care policies and their shared responsibility for guaranteeing a more just social organization of care. Participants also included the International Development Research Center, the Government of San Antonio, Texas, Oxfam Québec, WowMom Kenya, and CoreWoman.

Building evidence on care systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

A series of events were held in Cartagena de Indias and Bogotá, Colombia, under the title "Building care systems from the territories in Latin America and the Caribbean: Evidence from the 'Partnerships for Change in the Care Economy' Program." These activities aimed to promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences among regional policymakers, researchers, civil society organizations, and feminist and grassroots movements on constructing and consolidating care policies and systems in the region.

The events focused on sharing the achievements and challenges of care policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a special focus on local experiences and continuing to advance in the construction of evidence on care systems in the region. The events were organized by the Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE), the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC), the Ministry of Equality and Equity of Colombia, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), the Canadian Embassy in Colombia, in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Care.

Learning Community on financing for care policies and systems

The Learning Community on “Realities and Challenges on Financing Policy and Care Systems in the Global South,” organized by the Alliance in collaboration with Oxfam LAC, UN Women, Latindadd, and Mesa de Economía Feminista, convened its 2nd to 4th sessions on Macroeconomic Policies and the Financing of Care, Comprehensive Care Systems and Policy Financing Models, and Investment and Costing of Policies and Systems of Care.

Speakers included experts such as Diego Collado (ECLAC), Juan David Grillo Rillos, Patricia Cossani, Alejandra D’Hyver (UN Women), Luis Miguel Galindo and Karina Caballero, who shared valuable insights and practical tools on investing and returns for care policies.

These sessions, and the previous ones, are available here.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Care and Climate Initiative

The Climate & Care Initiative—Intersections for Systemic Change, developed by the AVINA Foundation, OXFAM Canada, and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), with the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada and in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Care, was announced during CSW68.

This project combines the care and climate action evidence agendas, demonstrating the interlinkages and learning from concrete practices, including those advanced by ecofeminist movements and grassroots organizations.

More information on the C&C Initiative here.

Mexican actors move towards a Care Society

Care specialists and decision-makers participated in the event "Moving Towards a Care Society,” organized by the Foreign Ministry of Mexico, the National Institute for Women (Inmujeres), the Inter-American Conference on Social Security (CISS), the International Cooperation Roundtable for Gender Equality in Mexico (MCIG), in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Care.

The forum, chaired by the Chilean and German embassies in Mexico and UN Women, was an important opportunity to advance the debate on care. It also served as a space to address significant inequalities in the distribution of care work, the challenges to public policy and institutions, and to exchange experiences on care systems at the international, national, and local levels and care networks. 

 Read more here.

MORE FROM OUR MEMBERSHIP

 These initiatives are promoted by one or more members of the Global Alliance for Care. The Technical Secretariat of the Alliance has not participated or provided support in any of the processes of their organization.

UNI Global Union

The Global Initiative: Together We Care was launched. This groundbreaking international campaign, backed by the collaboration of USAID, the Ford Foundation, and the Care Fund, is championing safer, more inclusive workplaces while amplifying the voices and leadership of women in health unions. It represents a pivotal movement towards better representation and acknowledgment of care workers’ crucial roles in our communities.

Discover More: Watch the launch video of Together We Care to see how Jacqueline, Myrna, Ruth, and others are driving positive changes in the care landscape.

Ministry of Equality and Equity of Colombia

Within the framework of the meeting on "Building care systems from the territories in Latin America and the Caribbean: Evidence from the 'Alliances for Change in the Care Economy' Program", the Ministry of Equality and Equity of Colombia organized an event aimed at sharing the progress of the implementation of a pilot program to strengthen organizations leading community care initiatives in peri-urban territories of Cartagena.

This program was developed in articulation with the project Alliances for Change in the Care Economy. The event also provided an opportunity to present the progress of the National Care System of the Colombian Ministry of Equality and Equity.

Government of Spain

The government of Spain has approved the state strategy "Towards a new model of care in the community: a process of deinstitutionalization.” This strategy covers the period 2024-2030 and will promote home care for older persons and people with dissabilities, as well as for homeless people and migrant minors. The strategy aims to promote care at home and in community settings instead of the macro-residential model. It also aims to improve the working conditions and salaries of caregivers.

This strategy will have an initial economic endowment of more than 1,300 million euros, financed with European funds, and will be complemented in its deployment through operational plans.

Find out more here.

Cuido60

The 6th Report "Knowledge and use of information and communication technologies by the elderly in Cuba: lessons learned and lessons from a training experience", prepared by researcher Claudia Bernal, has been published. 

The report addresses the barriers that older people usually face in accessing and using ICTs, which have increased in the Cuban case. It also raises several challenges: the increase of this population group on the island, the critical economic and social situation that has worsened in recent years, and the need for digital literacy and adaptation to new technologies.

Families and extraordinary challenges

Familias y Retos Extraordinarios launched an exploratory survey on the perception of care and support needs of infants and young people with psychosocial, intellectual, and multiple disabilities in Mexico. This initiative, in alliance with Angelman Syndrome Mexico, the TSC Alliance Mexico, Educación sin Barreras, Cuidadoras Potosinas, and #YoCuido Mexico, invites the community to spread the word about the survey, which will be open until August 31.

They also called on community-based organizations (composed of caregivers of infants and young people with psychosocial, intellectual, and multiple disabilities) to join as co-conveners by sending an email to contacto@familiasyretosextraordinarios.org 

UNRISD

 During CSW68, the Chilean government and UNRISD organized the event “The Care Society: The Intersection of Poverty Eradication and Economic Justice for All Women and Girls.” It was an opportunity to advocate for care systems as transformative public policies.

The event emphasized reducing poverty by addressing the lack of decent work and historical inequalities faced by women, promoting a transition to a care society based on social co-responsibility and guided by an intersectional gender perspective and human rights principles.

Government of Moldova

 The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Moldova announced the piloting of the first six family-type creches (the first of the 28 planned for 2024) in collaboration with the International Labour Organization in Moldova, Street Child UK, and UBS Optimus Foundation. The initiative, “Alternative childcare services provision in Moldova as a way to empower economic participation of young families,” is part of the National Programme on Childcare Services (2023-2026). It offers future service providers the opportunity to launch a creche for up to five children in their homes.

The aim of the National Programme on Childcare Services is to create and provide quality childcare services that enable children to enjoy holistic development and education, promote equity from an early age, and support the economic integration of families with children under three years of age.

International Domestic Workers Federation - IDWF

In March 2024, the IDWF participated in the CSW68, convening the parallel event "Centering Decent Work for Domestic Workers in the Care Economy" and participating in around 50 events. The aim was to raise awareness of domestic workers as the backbone of the care economy. 

From June 3 to 14, the IDWF participated in the 112th Session of the International Labour Conference with an 18-leader multiregional delegation. In that space, IDWF brought the voices of domestic workers to the General Discussion on Decent Work and the Care Economy within the global care agenda. For more details, visit here. 

Don’t miss IDWF’s commemorative video on International Domestic Workers’ Day. To discover the latest content on care by the global domestic workers movement, visit IDWF’s newly launched blog.

Documenta

On March 13, Documenta participated in the second day of the Public Hearings on the Request for an Advisory Opinion to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

It was within the framework of the request for an Advisory Opinion made by the Argentine State, positioning the importance of the agenda of persons with disabilities, persons deprived of liberty, and their families in their right to receive and exercise care and support. 

PUBLICATIONS

INDOORS

Strategic priorities 2025-2030

The Technical Secretariat has launched the Participatory Process to develop the Strategic Priorities 2025-2030 of the Global Alliance for Care with the General Assembly. 

 This participatory process has generated the interest of over 150 members, who have signed up for sessions and/or provided inputs for the process. Members are currently meeting to formulate the Strategic Priorities that will guide the Alliance's work in the areas of Multilateral care advocacy, knowledge, collective learning, and capacity-building on care, communications for care (Outreach, partnerships, and transforming narratives), and Strengthening the Global Alliance for Care.

The Global Digital Community on Care is growing

It is with great joy that we share the news of the growth of the Global Digital Community on Care: we now have 374 resources, including videos, publications, campaigns, podcasts, portals, images, and more.

We encourage all members to keep sharing their publications, campaigns, podcasts, reports, videos, or other material related to care produced by them. We will ensure these resources receive maximum exposure through our Digital Community.

Find information on care here.

The Alliance keeps expanding!

First GAC Virtual Coffee Catch-Up

UPCOMING

http://globalallianceforcare.org

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