The National Dialogue was organized by the ILO Office in Brazil, together with the Institute of Research on International Relations (IPRI) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Labor and Employment, with support from the Institute of Studies on Labor and Society (IETS). Director-General of the ILO Juan Somavia's keynote presentation, "The Challenges of Globalization" inaugurated the Dialogue.

Day 1 focused on the positive and negative aspects of globalization. On Day 2, two central themes were raised for debate: 1) Proposals for a more inclusive global system; and 2) National policies and the international agenda.

The social and economic situation of Brazil was constantly in the forefront during the course of the interventions: first, in the light of the importance of the Brazilian domestic market – the world's 11th largest in the international scenario; and second, from the standpoint of its highly unequal domestic income distribution. In addition to these indicators, debate also focused on the results of the recent elections and the inauguration of the new government, with its express concern for the social dimensions of the development process, and of governmental policies overall.