From November 28 to December 2, the Focal Points of the Regional Initiative Latin America and the Caribbean free of child labor (IR) will meet in the city of Fortaleza - Brazil to carry out the III Meeting of Focal Points.

The meeting will focus on "Education", one of the eight acceleration factors proposed by the Regional Initiative to advance in reducing child labor. The event will primarily address the issue of secondary education, which connects with the transition from school to work, where young people should have the opportunity to access a decent job and continue their training process. 

For this, the ministries of education of the member countries of the Regional Initiative have been invited, which will allow a deeper analysis and discussion at the inter-institutional level to identify priority actions that allow progress in the fulfillment of national objectives and goals. of the Sustainable Development Agenda to 2030.

In addition, the  27 member countries of the Regional Initiative will  analyze the progress made and will plan the activities for 2017. This meeting is organized by the Technical Secretariat of the Regional Initiative, in charge of the International Labor Organization, with the support of the Government of Brazil.

It is important to highlight that ending child labor by 2025 goes beyond a regional goal, it is a global priority and the Regional Initiative has become the platform for cooperation conducive to articulating and coordinating regional efforts, at the intersectoral, intergovernmental and interinstitutional, around the achievement of  goal 8.7 of the 2030 Agenda .

This meeting will allow the countries to obtain an overview of the existing needs and opportunities based on the reality of child labor in the region, which will guide and strengthen their policy response.