With nearly 14,000 attendees registered for the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, the event has become a hub for governments, global organizations, and community voices to collaborate on shaping a fairer future.
UN News is on the ground in Doha, covering two significant events held alongside the Summit on Wednesday: one organized by business, the other by civil society.
Business forum: Not charity – smart investment
The Private Sector Forum, co-hosted by the International Organisation of Employers, the UN Global Compact, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), discussed how companies can support inclusive growth while adapting to technology shifts, climate pressures, and changing labor markets.
UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock highlighted the narrowing window to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the required financing. She stated, “With the annual financing gap for the SDGs currently standing at 4 trillion US dollars, one of the key barriers we face is financing. But we know, and you know, that money as such is not the problem. The question rather is how and where it is invested.”
She noted that companies with strong environmental, social, and governance performance “report operating margins 10 percent higher and a cost of capital 20 percent lower,” emphasizing their profitability.
“We are not asking the private sector to act out of charity. Inclusive business models strengthen societies and [boost] market confidence… and help create the very environment in which business can grow and prosper.”
Later, ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo closed the Forum with a call for cooperation, emphasizing that “no single country, no single company can navigate current challenges in isolation” and that “universal and lasting peace can only be established based on social justice.”
Participants at the Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) attending the Second World Summit for Social Development.
Civil society forum: People power on the show
In another section, the Civil Society Forum opened with stories of community-led solutions already making an impact—from Moroccan women’s cooperatives producing argan oil to the “Solar Mamas” of Cameroon installing solar panels in rural villages.
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed acknowledged grassroots groups for holding governments accountable and ensuring social justice and inclusion are more than just words on paper. “You are proof that social development matters and always will be, because you make it real in communities and in people’s lives every day,” she told participants. “You are our copilots.”
The Forum concludes Thursday (as does the Summit), focusing on ten themes drawn from the 1995 Copenhagen Declaration—all aimed at translating policy into real improvements in daily life.
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