10-21 May 2010

International Training Centre of the ILO in Turin (Italy)

Objectives

The main objective of this course was to provide participants with the necessary knowledge, tools and best practices to enhance their skills in the design and implementation of innovative and green LED strategies.

At the end of the course participants were able to: 

• Recognise the linkage between globalisation, environment in general and climate change in particular, and sustainable local economic development; 
• Appraise best practices of green development strategies and their potential for decent job and enterprise creation;
• Identify key economic sectors in their local economies with sustainable employment potential;
• Engage in social dialogue and partnership building for sustainable local economic development strategies.

Contents and methodology

This course built on the experience of the participants and their interaction with experts throughout their 2-week learning experience. 

The format of the course varied, including classroom and conference style sessions and experiential learning during study visits. In particular, the course focused on 3 axes: 

• LED – principles, stakeholders, process and initiatives; 
• Green jobs – what opportunities and best practices to create “green jobs” in response to current employment and environment challenges?
• What can I do to green my local economy?

The seminar included a special “Local Dialogue Day” when the participants engaged in interactive discussion with representatives of workers, employers and governments at the local level. The discussion put emphasis on the role of social dialogue at the local level in the context of the current global crisis and the growing employment potential of green jobs.

Study visits

This course included study visits to innovative LED experiences giving participants the opportunity to exchange with local stakeholders directly involved in the initiatives. 

Specialists

The ILO’s LED course was hosting LED specialists and practitioners both with academic and practitioners’ background with important experience in the field of LED and green jobs in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

Thoughout the course, the participants met, interacted and exchanged with high level experts working in the:

LED Programme at the London School of Economics,

LEED Programme of the OECD,

LED and Green Jobs Programme of the ILO,

LED Programmeof UNCDF,

Cluster and networks development programme of UNIDO,

Systemic Design Programme of the Politecnic University of Turin,

LED Programme of SENAC Sao Paolo,

Latin American LED network RED-DETE,

African LED network LEDNA,

Green Jobs Initiative in the Italian micro and small business association CNA, Mesopartner, etc.

Who should participate? 

This course was aimed at all those involved in the decision-making, design and implementation of development strategies at the local level, including: 

• Local, regional and national officials concerned with economic development or planning and environmental policies; 
• Experts from international organisations, NGOs, Chambers of Commerce and other bodies dealing with territorial development, environment, etc; 
• Representatives of workers, employers, local business organisations, cooperatives and other member based organisations;
• Economists and other social scientist, environmental experts.

Background

In recent years regional and local economies have had to face increasing challenges. On the one hand, the process of globalisation altered the economic status quo rapidly in the last decade presenting both new economic opportunities and risks for cities, regions and nations. On the other hand, the recent economic and financial crisis has caused unprecedented levels of unemployment all over the world.

In addition there is growing concern today about different environmental challenges, such as global warming, degradation of natural resources and the impact on the quality of life for present and future generations. In this context the transition towards a greener, low-carbon sustainable economy is ever more urgent.

Many policies required to achieve a green economy, will be taken at the international (i.e. Kyoto Protocol) and national level. However it will be at the local level where mechanisms and measures need to be developed and implemented to realise their goals.

At the same time, such a transition provides enormous opportunities for the creation of green jobs for local economies and enterprises across key economic sectors such as renewable energy, building and construction, transportation, basic industries, agriculture and forestry. To discover these opportunities there is a need for forward-thinking policies and strategies at the national and local level to facilitate and guide the process of greening businesses and economies.

Some of the questions that were addressed during the course included:

• What social and economic opportunities can arise from greener local systems?
• What are the key drivers of green employment?
• How can local communities invest to improve the quality of their environment and generate decent jobs at the local level?
• How can they benefit from these investments?
• Is it possible to increase the competitiveness of local systems by reducing their environmental impacts?
• What participatory mechanisms can be used to foster sustainable social, economic, environmental and institutional development at the local, provincial or regional level?

Languages

The course was offered in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Interaction among the three language groups was foreseen to stimulate knowledge sharing.

Information:

www.itcilo.org/delnet
led@itcilo.org
www.ledknowledge.org