IOE at the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly

Learn about IOE’s agenda and key interventions during the United Nations General Assembly 2023.

Below is a summary of IOE’s high-level participation at the United Nations General Assembly and side events. Go to UN TV to view the interventions from the Secretary-General and the President of the Confederation of Ecuador Business and Iberoamerican Business Council.

Fireside Chat: Fostering an enabling environment for inclusive and sustainable small and medium enterprises supply chain finance

Saturday, 16 September from 16:00-18:00 EST (22:00-00:00 CEST)

Live streaming available on UN.TV

This panel will convene during the UNCTAD-ITC session on Bridging the Financing Gap: Unleashing the Potential of SMEs. The discussion will explore how to increase SMEs’ access to finance to unlock their full potential. Panellists include regulators, industry associations, financiers, multinationals, SMEs and technology platform representatives.

María Paz Jervis, President of the Confederation of Ecuador Business and President of the Iberoamerican Business Council will take part in the discussion.

More information here.

SDG Digital Day

Sunday, 17 September

In-person event. By invitation only.

Webcast of the event available on UN.TV

As part of the SDG Action Weekend, SDG Digital focuses on bringing digital SDG solutions to scale, including through new High Impact Initiatives for sustainable, inclusive digital transformation.

Convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with the support of IOE and the other members of the ITU-led SDG Digital Advisory Group, this event aims to take stock of achievements, gaps, and opportunities, catalyse action, and step-up digital support for the 2030 Agenda.

More information here.

Global Accelerator on SDG Acceleration Day

Sunday, 17 September from 15:00-16:30 EST (21:00-22:30 CEST)

In-person event.

The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions will be among the illustrated initiatives presented on SDG Acceleration Day at a dedicated High Impact Initiative session, as part of the SDG Action Weekend.

The session will aim to forge policy coherence and provide an opportunity for UN agencies, development partners, IFIs, and social partners to elucidate their contributions to the Global Accelerator in alignment with their respective mandates.

Roberto Suárez Santos, IOE Secretary-General, will represent the employers' community and deliver a keynote address highlighting the private sector’s contributions.

More information here.

Side event: Scaling blended finance to mobilize private SDG investments in LDCs and other vulnerable countries

Sunday, 17 September from 15:15-16:45 EST (21:15-22:45 CEST)

Live streaming available on UN.TV

This UNCDF side event will examine what it will take to scale up the use of blended finance for SDG investments in LDCs and vulnerable countries, bringing together senior representatives from governments, the UN system and the private sector.

María Paz Jervis, President of the Confederation of Ecuador Business and President of the Iberoamerican Business Council will take part in the discussion.

More information here.

Private Sector Forum

Monday, 18 September from 12:45-14:45 EST (18:45-20:45 CEST)

In-person event. By invitation only.

The welcome remarks, remarks from Governments and the Secretary General will be livestreamed from 13:00-13:40 EST, on the UN Global Compact website.

Hosted by the UN Secretary-General and organised by the UN Global Compact, the International Chamber of Commerce, and UN DESA in collaboration with a number of other supporting partners , the annual Private Sector Forum brings the voice of business to the UN for an interactive luncheon, featuring roundtables and high-level networking opportunities.

Roberto Suárez Santos, IOE Secretary-General, will take part in the forum, offering the employers’ perspective as the results of the 2023 UN Global Compact SDG Stock Take Surveyare presented.

The SDG Stock Take Survey will be one of the main private sector contributions to the SDG Summit, ensuring that business perspectives are accounted for at this critical juncture and helping to inform Summit outcomes across public and private sectors.

More information here.

UN Global Compact Leaders Summit

Tuesday, 19 September from 08:00-16:30 EST (14:00-22:30 CEST)

The summit will be livestreamed on the UN Global Compact website.

This year’s UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit will convene business leaders, UN officials, Government leaders, SDG stakeholders and civil society professionals from across the globe to comprehensively review the private sector’s contribution to advancing the SDGs.

This inclusive day-long event aims to inspire and challenge organisations to move forward faster by setting measurable, credible and ambitious targets aligned with calls to action in five systematic areas — gender equality, climate action, living wage, water resilience, and finance & investment.

Roberto Suárez Santos, IOE Secretary-General, will take part in the summit to intervene on the living wage question.

More information here