BRICS Emerging Technologies and New Frontiers for Employment for Just Transitions

Developed within the context of the “Future of Work” South-South and Triangular Cooperation University Network established in 2024 as a result of cooperation efforts between the International Labour Organization Multilateral Partnerships and Development Cooperation Department (ILO PARTNERSHIPS), the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO), and the Turin School of Development (TSD), the “BRICS Emerging Technologies and New Frontiers for Employment for Just Transitions - DEVTECH / PARTNERSHIPS South-South Knowledge-Sharing Event” was a South-South knowledge-sharing event on technology for development, and for creating development dividends leaving no one behind in the rural economies of BRICS+ countries.

The event brought together government representatives, international development practitioners (e.g., consultants, independent researchers), private sector and academics (e.g., university-affiliated researchers, associate professors, full professors) from the Global South, with particular attention paid to BRICS+ countries. Together, invited stakeholders exchanged good practices, knowledge, experiences, and methodologies applied in (and applicable to) the Global South to improve the livelihoods and create employment opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized populations, with a special focus on innovative and digital solutions reshaping rural economies.

OBJECTIVES

The overall aims of the event included but were not limited to: (a) enabling participants to end the three-day Knowledge-Sharing Event having produced different action plans on engendering processes for the creation of human-centred, technologically-driven initiatives; (b) engage participants in a thorough exploration of their imagined future for digital just transitions; of factors identified as disruptive to said development; and of potential solutions existing (explored in groups and with the help of invited speakers); (d) motivating participants to create South-South twinning arrangements in conclusion to the Event or in its aftermath to bring about the employment changes they wish to see in their respective rural economies.

CONTENT

As a result of the DEVTECH / PARTNERSHIPS South-South Knowledge-Sharing Event, participants from the Global South (with a focus on BRICS+ countries) have:

• Defined their ideal future scenarios for generating employment in their respective rural economic contexts;

• Identified which emerging technologies they’ll be able to leverage in support of their aims for generating employment in their rural economies;

• Located at least 3 macro-trends who hold the potential of acting as disruptors of technologically-driven just transitions (particularly as it relates to employment-generating opportunities);

• Illustrated what could be effective countermeasures (in their respective contexts) against the aforementioned 3 macro-trends, so as to minimize or eliminate their impact on efforts aimed at generating employment in rural economies;

• Explored effective measures as already implemented by other BRICS+ development partners or by funds and programmes from the UN ecosystem (e.g., ILO, WFP, IFAD, FAO);

• Sketched solutions they’d want to see implemented into their relevant contexts, also considering how these can be supported by South-South Cooperation modalities and initiatives;

• Developed an action plan for next steps, also envisioning South-South twinning initiatives to launch after programme completion.