This UN regional commission’s most important biennial meeting will be carried out virtually for the first time in history.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will hold on October 26-28 its thirty-eighth session, the United Nations regional commission’s most important biennial meeting. There, ECLAC will give an account of its activities in the 2018-2020 biennium and participants will address the priorities of the sustainable development agenda in the region in a scenario characterized by the crisis prompted by the pandemic. In addition, policies and proposals for a transformative recovery with growth, equality and sustainability will be presented.

The event, which will be held virtually for the first time in its history, will bring together representatives of ECLAC’s 46 member countries and 14 associate members. It will be inaugurated on Monday, October 26 at 8 a.m. local time in Costa Rica (GMT -6) by Carlos Alvarado, President of Costa Rica, the country currently holding ECLAC’s presidency pro tempore; Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of the Republic of Cuba; António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary; Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); and Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Commission will present the region’s countries with a proposal for recovery and development oriented towards an inclusive welfare State, a technical shift and a productive transformation associated with environmental sustainability, which would strengthen equality and democracy as the most valuable legacy of modernity. This proposal is contained in the position document entitled Building a new future: A transformative recovery with equality and sustainability, which will be unveiled by the Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, on Tuesday, October 27.

In addition, ECLAC will present its activities report on the work carried out in the last two years, including by its subsidiary bodies, and participants will define the mandates that will guide its work over the next biennium (2020-2021). In conjunction with this, a dialogue on the post-COVID-19 economic emergency will take place between foreign ministers and other senior authorities from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The session will also bring together researchers and members of civil society, along with academics and officials from nearly 30 intergovernmental, specialized and United Nations System entities.

ECLAC’s thirty-eighth session will be transmitted online via distinct platforms: the site https://live.cepal.org/ and the United Nations regional commission’s accounts on Twitter (https://twitter.com/cepal_onu) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cepal.onu).

The full programme of the meeting, along with general information, is available on the session’s special website: https://periododesesiones.cepal.org/38/en

What: Thirty-eighth session of ECLAC.

When: Monday, October 26 through Wednesday, October 28, 2020.

Who:

Inauguration, Monday, October 26, 8 a.m. local time in Costa Rica (GMT -6):

• Carlos Alvarado, President of Costa Rica
• Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of the Republic of Cuba
• António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
• Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary
• Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (via video)

Where: virtual connection via several platforms:

• ECLAC’s website: www.cepal.org
• Website: https://live.cepal.org/.
• Official Twitter account: https://twitter.com/cepal_onu
• Official Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/cepal.onu