“South-South Learning on Social Protection“  is a new knowledge centre for social protection practitioners to exchange experiences across regions and countries. IPS has become a news partner of the initiative, contributing relevant news stories from across its global network. Social protection means policies and tools that help to protect the vulnerable including insurance, safety-nets and cash transfers.

The learning gateway has already featured IPS stories from Windhoek, Swaziland and Tshwane, South Africa as well as an article from the United Nations about how Brazilian social protection mechanisms have helped it to reach Millennium Development Goal one. The South-South focus of the gateway chimes with IPS’s own commitment to fostering South-South communication products and channels to accompany the new global geography of power.

Johannesburg, South Africa hosted the public launch of the new website this week, during a workshop on policy, inclusive growth and social protection. The learning gateway is an initiative of the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) in Brasilia, from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Read the IPS story about the event here Hunger Intensifying But Cash Transfers Improving Lives and listen to an interview here http://ipsnews.net/real_news/ChangingLivesAudio/20101015_socialprotection_Zimela.mp3

IPS Africa has identified social protection as a critical issue on the continent and recently partnered with the Regional Hunger & Vulnerability Programme (RHVP) to provide independent, editorial coverage of a policy dialogue on “Eradicating extreme poverty & hunger and the role of social transfers in southern Africa”, that took place in Pretoria in September. Next month they will be working with UNICEF around a workshop in Namibia focused on social protection and children.

To read more IPS stories on South – South cooperation and social protection visit these IPS thematic sites:

Millennium Development Goals

Economy and Trade

South-South Cooperation