Public policies for equality: Towards universal social protection systems

Irrespective of the heterogeneity of their social protection systems, we believe it is important for all countries to enhance knowledge on the design of public policies aimed at constructing universal social protection, in which access to benefits is based on membership of the community, or citizenship. For that reason, the objective of the international seminar “Public Policies for Equality: Towards Universal Social Protection Systems”, which was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 4 and 5 December 2013 , was to foster the debate on and the construction of universal social protection systems in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean; disseminate the good practices currently being applied in those countries and in Norway; and discuss the main challenges faced by social protection.