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Cynthia Sunu and Patricia Blankson Akakpo, Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) During the World Summit for Social Development in Doha, discussions unfolded with a mix of hope, urgency, and unease. Hope, because the conversations were bold, practical, and solution-oriented. Urgency, because there is no time left for polite consensus-building when people’s lives are […]

Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand The second World Summit for Social Development was a spectacular event. At a moment when the very idea of multilateralism feels increasingly precarious, the summit brought together an estimated 14,000 people from across the globe. World leaders reaffirmed their commitment to eradicate poverty, drive inclusive and […]

Political will does not emerge on its own. Pressure, incentives, and citizen action shape it. (Image credit: issafrica.org) The Second World Summit of Social Development (WSSD) took place in Doha between 4th to 6th November 2025, leading to adoption of the Doha Political Declaration of the “World Social Summit.”  In the sessions I attended, delegates […]

Executive Director-Widows and Orphans Movement Steering Committee member of NETRIGHT The Second World Summit for Social Development took place from the 4th to the 6th of November 2025, in Doha, Qatar. As the norm would have it, the gathering brought together heads of state, Governments and high representatives. Of course, civil society invited itself and […]

The Copenhagen Summit of 1995 was marked by optimism and unprecedented civil society participation in global social policy debates. (Image redit: social.desa.un.org) By all accounts, the first World Summit on Social Development in 1995 unfolded with a sense of possibility that is difficult to imagine from today’s vantage point of multiple crises and political fissures. […]