Second Round: Professional Training Course on Inequality in Southern Africa
We were pleased to welcome 15 policy makers and practitioners from different partner countries from the 25 to 29 November 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. A high degree of knowledge transfer was ensured through the engagement of 10 trainers from different countries in Africa, who are renowned academics and professionals with distinct expertise in the field of inequalities.
As Sub-Saharan Africa specifically is most affected by inequality (8 out of 10 countries with the highest Gini-coefficient), the training course was designed to deliver regional and country specific best practice examples of policy measures that can contribute to reducing inequality. The course combined interactive lectures, knowledge-sharing sessions and open discussions amongst participants. The topics included types, drivers and consequences of inequality, taxation, social protection and industrial policy. Even though the course focused on the reduction of inequality through regional approaches and strategies, the conclusions drawn are repetitive: existing policies do not have enough impact on inequality reduction. What we need are cross-sectoral approaches. A shared commitment to reducing inequality must be established.
Background
The Professional Training Course on Inequality was organized by GIZ on behalf of BMZ in collaboration with the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (Maastricht University) and the United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT). It was developed to sensitize its participants to the stand-alone and crosscutting Agenda 2030 goal “Reducing Inequalities” (SDG 10).
Final Report of the Professional Training Course on Inequality in Southern Africa (PDF)