Press information

Press releases

• Regional Meeting adopts Decent Work Agenda in Africa 2007-15
  Sets ambitious targets to be achieved by 2015
  27 April 2007 - Faced with a continental challenge of growth that is failing to create enough better quality jobs to stop rising unemployment and an increasing number of people living in poverty, top worker, employer and government representatives of the ILO's African member States today adopted a sweeping new Decent Work Agenda in Africa 2007-15." - (ILO/07/17)
• 11th African Regional Meeting opens with calls for continent-wide mobilization for decent work
  10,000 African women and men added each day to growing ranks of extreme working poor
  24 April 2007 - Noting that "growth with few good jobs is not politically sustainable", ILO Director-General Juan Somavia today called for a new development approach in Africa which "puts people at the centre of development and judges the success of economic and social policy according to what happens to people at work." - (ILO/07/14)
• Despite upturn, African economies still lack enough decent jobs
  Governments, employers and workers to discuss new "policy portfolio" for reducing poverty, creating decent work
  24 April 2007 - Widespread economic growth and increased productivity in Africa has been insufficient to reduce the growing numbers of unemployed and working poor, according to new analyses prepared by the International Labour Office (ILO). - (ILO/07/13)

Feature stories

• Africa: Community-based micro-insurance for universal health coverage
  24 April 2007 - Almost 90 per cent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is not insured against the risk of illness or accident. In order to help the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups cope with life's contingencies, social protection is a powerful means of reducing poverty, emphasizes the report prepared for the Eleventh African Regional Meeting.
• From child soldier to entrepreneur
  20 April 2007 - Potentially one of the richest countries in Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo is currently one of the poorest. Eighty per cent of the population live on less than a dollar a day. Anarchy and violence that swept across the east of the country between 1996 and 2003 had turned at least 30,000 children into soldiers, and caused millions to flee their homes.
• The power of dialogue: When words combine with actions
  20 April 2007 - The old adage goes "actions speak louder than words", but when it comes to governance, words are essential. A new report prepared for the ILO's African Regional Meeting on 24-27 April, shows how an ILO project targeting seven enterprises in two areas with high unemployment and HIV/AIDS combined skills development with social dialogue to improve performance and meet the challenge of growing textile imports.

Videos

• Closure of the 11th African Regional Meeting, April 27, 2007 - Duration: 00:03:12 (25.2 MB)
  - Closing plenary session with remarks from ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.
• 11th ILO African Regional Meeting - Daily Video Highlights for Friday, April 27, 2007 - Duration: 00:02:20 (17.6 MB)
  - Pins are distributed to conference participants to commemorate World Safety Day, April 28th, 2007. Interview with ILO experts Michael Cichon on social protection and Azita Berar Awad on the informal sector.
• 11th ILO African Regional Meeting - Daily Video Highlights (2) for Thursday, April 26, 2007 - Duration: 00:01:43 (13 MB)
  - A presentation by Michele Jankanish on child labour and youth employment. An interview with ILO expert Hopolang Phororo on the linkage between child labour and youth unemployment/underemployment in Africa.
• 11th ILO African Regional Meeting - Daily Video Highlights for Thursday (1), April 26, 2007 - Duration: 00:02:46 (20 MB)
  - Empowerment of women- An interview with Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament and trade unionists from Nigeria and Morocco on the roles of African women in the region's economy.
• 11th ILO African Regional Meeting - Daily Video Highlights for Wednesday (2), April 25, 2007 - Duration: 00:01:14 (9 MB)
  - Interview with Ms. Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan-African Parliament on the challenges of organizing and supporting the informal sector to create decent work and jobs.
• 11th ILO African Regional Meeting - Daily Video Highlights (1) for Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - Duration: 00:01:12 (9 MB)
  - Mr. Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator, addresses the 11th ILO African Regional Meeting on the importance of African regional cooperation in a global economy. Interview with Mr. Dervis on the importance of new technologies and dialogue in achieving decent work.
• 11th ILO African Regional Meeting - Daily Video Highlights for Tuesday, April 24, 2007 - Duration: 00:02:39 (19 MB)
  - Delegates waiting for the conference to start; ILO Regional Director Regina Amadi Njoku calls the 11th ILO African Regional Meeting to order. H.E. President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, and Prime Minister Ato Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia enter plenary room. Close-up of H.E. President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia, excerpt from speech. H.E. President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of United Republic of Tanzania, excerpt from speech. H.E. President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, excerpt from speech.
• 11th ILO African Regional Meeting - Daily Video Highlights for Monday, April 23, 2007 - Duration: 00:01:54 (3.82 MB)
  - Delegates convene in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the 11th International Labour Org. African Regional Meeting at the United Nations center in Addis Ababa. ILO delegates register for the meeting. The Pan-African Employer's Confederation organize a high-level panel discussion on the private sector in Africa called "Building partnerships for Africa's renaissance" with the participation of ILO Director-General Juan Somavia and H.E. President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania.
• Tanzania: sowing the seeds of women's rights - Duration: 00:02:28 (3.82 MB)
  - Harvesting flowers for Valentine's Day is not always a bed of roses for those who work in the cut flower industry, but in Tanzania, employers and unions are working together to improve conditions on commercial flower farms.
• Zambia: fighting AIDS on commercial farms - Duration: 00:02:42 (4.45 MB)
  - Whether it’s organising a football match or marching through the streets, Nurse Janet Mvula and a team of trained farm workers are raising awareness about AIDS on their farm and among the local community.
• Burkina Faso: a new life for trafficked children - Duration: 00:02:11 (3.96 MB)
  - In Burkina Faso, the focus is on bus stations and bus drivers to help prevent children from being trafficked. Rescued children are given apprenticeships to ensure they won't be trafficked again.
• Burkina Faso: protecting the environment by profiting from garbage - Duration: 00:02:17 (4.23 MB)
  - Burkina Faso's first plastic recycling centre is giving women in Ouagadougou new opportunities for income and the environment a chance to recover.
• Uganda tea plantation child labour - Duration: 00:01:54 (3.54 MB)
  - In Western Uganda trade unions, employers and local radio stations are working together to encourage children to stop working in the tea plantations and go to school.
• Street children back to school in Morocco - Duration: 00:02:40 (4.49 MB)
  - A footbal pitch and a circus tent lure children off the streets, out of child labour and back to school in Morocco.
• HIV/AIDS prevention in Cameroon - Duration: 00:01:24 (2.46 MB)
  - An HIV/AIDS workplace prevention program in Cameroon is becoming a model for the country and the region.
• Child soldiers in Uganda - Duration: 00:02:07 (3.87 MB)
  - Stories of children who have been forced to serve as child soldiers in Uganda.
• Making a living under the sun in Kenya - Duration: 00:02:06 (3.83 MB)
  - Employers are linking up with the informal economy in Kenya.
• Uganda: security guard - Duration: 00:02:46 (5.02 MB)
  - Women security guards used to be as unusual as having maternity leave at this company in Uganda, but no more.
• Microhealth insurance in Senegal - Duration: 00:02:29 (4.54 MB)
  - Creating micro-health insurance for the fishing industry in Senegal.