Tripartite Global Engagement and the Future of Work (in Indiana and Around the World)

Overview

The Indiana Council on World Affairs will host Mr. Kevin Cassidy, Director and Representative to the Bretton Woods and Multilateral Agencies at the International Labour Organization (ILO), USA Office for an engaging virtual dialogue. Mr. Cassidy will provide an overview of the ILO’s global work and its relevance to the American public, with emphasis on many of the industries that are of vital importance to the Indiana economy such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and services, manufacturing, logistics and transportation, higher education, and more. As COVID-19 continues to impact individuals and the world of work, the 187 member countries of the ILO are focused on ensuring that employees, employers, and governments are all on the same page when it comes to addressing the economic and social impacts of the pandemic. Mr. Cassidy will share some of the methods that other countries are utilizing to address the urgent and immediate challenges of the pandemic in the world of work and on the responses that are proving effective, as well as the discussions being had at the multilateral level on processes for building back better.

About the ILO

Founded in 1919, the ILO became the first specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) in 1946. The unique tripartite structure of the ILO gives an equal voice to workers, employers and governments to ensure that the views of the social partners are closely reflected in labor standards and in shaping policies and programs. The ILO provides technical advice and support to 187 countries, the G20, the G7 and the UN to help strengthen the global economy and promote rights at work. Given its nearly universal country membership, nearly all labor legislation globally for the past 60 years has been directly influenced by the ILO legal advice and conventions, which ensure that its technical advice and research provided to governments is referenced in the formulation of national labor legislation.

About the Speaker

Kevin Cassidy, with over 33 years of international development experience, is currently the Director and Representative to the Bretton Woods and Multilateral Organizations for the ILO Office for the United States. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Cassidy served as the Senior Communications and Economic and Social Affairs Officer for 11 years in the ILO Office for the UN with additional responsibility for partnerships in North America. During this time, Mr. Cassidy worked with member States to organize Heads of State/Government and Ministerial level events highlighting decent work as well as introducing policy language on key development issues into the resolutions and outcomes documents of the United Nations.

Before his assignment to New York, Mr. Cassidy was the Chief Technical Adviser for the ILO’s Global Campaign on Promoting Fundamental Rights at Work. During that time, he developed numerous communication initiatives in over 40 countries such as interactive radio and television programs as well as training journalists on communicating locally on decent work, child labor, forced labor, discrimination and the freedom of association.

Prior to joining the ILO, Mr. Cassidy worked for the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF-UK) in London as the Operations, Communications and Partnership Director. His work with the AKF-UK focused on rural and community-based development in Central and South Asia.

Mr. Cassidy has worked in several UN offices during his career including the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) on the issue of landmines, the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), the Executive Office of Secretaries-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Ban Ki-moon, the UN Department of Public Information and the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS), New York.

Mr. Cassidy holds a Masters of Economic and Political Development from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.