This seminar set the stage for the newly launched EPC Task Force on ‘Social protection in the 21st century’ by analysing the crucial issue of whether the existing social protection systems should be renovated completely or rather adapted to the current transformation of the economic systems and the labour markets. The presence of a selected number of participants and speakers sharing different expertise and interests in the topic allowed to examine it from a large variety of perspectives, such as the emergence of new forms of work and its impact on the adequacy and sustainability of social protection systems, the evolution of employment relationships from an historical point of view, the role of European and international standards in guaranteeing the enforcement of social and employment rights, together with the rise in inequalities and their implications for redistributive policies.
Speakers included: Christina Behrendt, Head of the Social Policy Unit of the Social Protection Department at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Herwig Immervoll, Senior Economist and Head of Employment-oriented Social Policies at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Stefan Kröpfl, Global Head of Life Business Analysis at Zurich Insurance Company, David Rinaldi, Senior Economic Policy Adviser at the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS), Donald Storrie, Chief researcher and coordinator at Eurofound, and Noel Whiteside, Professor at University of Warwick. The discussion was moderated by Claire Dhéret, Senior Policy Analyst and Head of the Social Europe and Well-being Programme at the European Policy Centre (EPC).