As part of the 64th session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development, which worked at the UN Headquarters in New York from February 2 to 10, 2026, an side event was held on February 6 to discuss issues of social quality – "The Social Quality Approach: A Holistic Framework for Fair Development", organized on the initiative of the International Diplomatic Institute (Italy, Instituto Diplomatico Internazionale). At this event, a presentation on "Social Quality as the Foundation for Post-War Reconstruction and the Renewal of the Societal Contract in Ukraine" was delivered by Academician-Secretary of the Department of Economics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Director of the State Organization "Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine", Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Valeriy Heyets.
In his speech V. Heyets emphasized that full-scale aggression against Ukraine created a reality where traditional tools of social policy have reached their limits. A deep deformation of the entire internal social space of the state is observed. Under these extremely difficult conditions, Ukraine is forced to become a pioneer in the implementation of a new social model based on the principles of social quality.
The experience of Ukraine during the war disaster convincingly shows that the only way to move forward is a human-centered approach. This approach should become decisive for the period of post-war reconstruction of our state. In this connection, the scientist proposed to establish the criterion of social quality as a mandatory audit standard for all international investments in Ukraine’s recovery. The scientist is firmly convinced that every dollar invested in post-war reconstruction should strengthen the social trust and human capital of the Ukrainian state.
The report received favorable reviews from other participants of the event.
It is important that the scientific contribution and approaches of Ukrainian scientists regarding the prioritization of the criterion of social quality for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction were supported in the following speeches by the event’s initiators at the UN site: Director of the International Association of Social Quality (IASQ) Laurent J.G. van der Maesen and General Secretary of the European Institute of Political, Economic and Social Research (EURISPES) Marco Ricceri.
Information about the event can be found on the Facebook page of its authorized organizer – International Diplomatic Institute (Italy)