|
On May 10, the International Year of Microcredit 2005 hosted a training and briefing session for UN delegates from all over the world. Representatives from over fifty missions attended including representatives from Burundi, Guatemala, Chile, Romania, Cambodia, Turkey and the Netherlands. Also in attendance were representatives from organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the Food and Agriculture Organization, Habitat and the World Youth Alliance.
The trainings generated excitement and anticipation of the Year's initiatives across the globe. Participants learned how donors, investor and policymakers go about building inclusive financial sectors. They also learned techniques for creating environments conducive to promoting financial services for poor people. Finally, during the briefing, participants received recommendations for managing and evaluating microfinance projects and investments. Nearly half of the attendees reported active International Year of Microcredit 2005 National Committees in their respective countries. Information and advice was provided to other representatives eager to set up National Committees in their home countries.
A briefing session followed the morning training. José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and co-chair of the Coordinating Committee for the International Year of Microcredit, opened the session by emphasizing the critical role microfinance plays in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. His welcoming speech was followed by remarks from Ambassador Verbeke from Belgium, Global Microentrepreneurship Award Winner Fatimata Lonfo, and Chief Technical Advisor to the International Year of Microcredit, Christina Barrineau. The chairs of the meeting reminded attendees that the demand for credit, insurance, remittances and savings products is far from met and much work remains to be done. Ms. Barrineau pointed out that the current supply of financial services reaches only a small fraction of people in the world with most of the services going to wealthy and corporate clients.
Mr. Ocampo applauded the progress made by the "Blue Book on Building Inclusive Financial Sectors for Development", one of the Year's key projects. He highlighted the importance of the Blue Book as a repository of best practices for Microfinance Institutions all over the world. The Blue Book project is an international dialogue between practitioners, policymakers and entrepreneurs that identifies the major constraints and opportunities for the promotion of inclusive financial sectors.
Belgian Ambassador Johan C. Verbeke and Permanent Representative of Belgium chaired the meeting. He reminded attendees of Belgium's dedication to microfinance: "Princess Mathilde of Belgium is very committed to the year of Microcredit. Her Royal Highness has participated in an array of activities including visits to microfinance clients in China, Mali, and India and speaking engagements at universities in Europe, Asia and the United States." Princess Mathilde is an Emissary for the Year and is helping to achieve its goal of building awareness throughout the world.
Ms. Barrineau highlighted the importance of key players including governments, multilateral donors, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations and their roles in building inclusive financial sectors. She called on governments to create enabling legal and fiscal frameworks that encourage microfinance and pressed multilateral donors to view microfinance as a part of the financial sector not as development projects. Finally, she emphasized the need for the private sector to "provide financial services to poor people primarily as a business concern, not as a charitable act". Shifting the paradigm of what financial services are, and who can participate, is key to the Year's success.
Ms. Barrineau went on to present some of the Year's achievements thus far, including the high level of corporate and patron group involvement and support, outreach and commitment to the Year from 90 countries, more than 300 major conferences and events held around the world and the establishment of 30 national websites dedicated to the International Year of Microcredit. She called on delegates to make sure their respective countries had National Committees and to help the National Committees communicate with UN headquarters.
In her concluding remarks, Ms. Barrineau reminded the audience that inclusive financial sectors are crucial for eradicating poverty and that the International Year of Microcredit has great potential to make a difference.
By Marc Sehrt, Visiting Scholar, Columbia University
Provided as a courtesy of the Department of Communication of the Minister of Culture of Brazil
The United Nations is pleased to announce that the Brazilian Minister of Culture, Mr. Gilberto Gil, has accepted an invitation to serve as Patron for the International Year of Microcredit 2005. Through his capacity as an Emissary for the Year and as a world-renowned singer/songwriter, he will raise public awareness of the role of microfinance in poverty alleviation.
Mr. Gil believes in the power of microfinance as a tool to support creative industries. His position as Emissary for the International Year of Microcredit builds on his work as the Minister of Culture of Brazil. As Cultural Minister he is in the forefront in establishing the International Centre for Creative Industries in Brazil. The purpose of the International Centre of Creative Industries (ICCI) is to provide developing countries with information on how to promote self-sustainable creative industries. Its principal objectives are to identify markets, act as an intermediary institution between the market and the creative industry, and to provide an economic development center to give training and exchanging experience.
In a joint initiative with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Centre intends to help developing countries foster the emerging dynamic sector of creative industries; such as the motion picture industry, music production, photography, computer software, book, journal and newspaper publishing, and commercial arts. According to the World Bank, the global market value of creative industries has been increasing from US$831 billion in 2000 to an estimated US$1.3 trillion in 2005, corresponding to an annual growth rate of over 7 percent - thus the sector is growing at a faster rate than the world economy (World Bank Development Outreach 2003). Industrialized countries are currently dominating the creative economy. Of those, the four leaders are the United States, Japan, Germany and Britain respectively, which control over the half of the international trade in cultural products. Minister Gil has emphasized that creative industries present "a singular opportunity for developing countries to establish new economic and trading relations," because they allow developing countries to make use of their rich supply of creativity and cultural assets to generate employment and reduce poverty.
As such, creative industries can provide new opportunities for developing countries and their entrepreneurs to generate new areas of economic development, which at the same time are linked to wider trends of the global economy. According to Gil, "Currently the creative industries represent, not only for Brazil but for many developing countries, the heart of their chances to succeed in a globalized world."
A leader of the Tropicalia musical movement in Brazil, the most important development within Brazilian music since bossa nova, Gilberto Gil has been a cultural icon in his country for many years. A cultural architect, Mr. Gil has influenced many areas of the Brazilian arts including cinema, literature, and, of course, music.
By Perrine Pouget, Student Ambassador for the Year of Microcredit and staff member, Appui au Développement Autonome
Axel De Ville (ADA), Jean-Louis Schiltz (Minister) and Thierry Defense (SOS Faim)
On 11th May, 2005, Jean-Louis Schiltz, Luxembourg's Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, officially launched Luxembourg's participation in the International Year of Microcredit and presented the Luxembourg's Roundtable on Microfinance, before concluding that Luxembourg Development Cooperation's commitment to microfinance will not end on 31st December 2005.
Luxembourg's Cooperation Policy and Role in Microfinance
Luxembourg's policy in terms of cooperation and development aid is based on two principles. The first is that microfinance can provide the impetus for people to get out of poverty, once they have access to basic necessities such as healthcare, clean water and education, the three axes of the Ministry for Cooperation's programme. Second, microfinance has been a policy tool of the Ministry to alleviate poverty for many years. To improve its efficiency, the development aid sector and the private enterprise sector should not ignore each other, but should instead cooperate.
Luxembourg should play a key role in favouring and investing in the worldwide microfinance industry for several reasons. In line with its international commitments, Luxembourg devoted some 0.8% of GDP in 2004 and is on course to reach 1% in the near future. Luxembourg also occupies a key position in the global finance sector and as such is in a unique position to promote and invest in innovative microfinance as an effective tool for global poverty eradication. Luc Frieden, Minister for the Treasury and Budget said: "Microfinance is not just another paradigm about the design of new financial instruments to eradicate poverty; it is a crucial element in the economic, social and political development process of nations. The Luxembourg government stands ready to do what is necessary to further promote this essential development tool and invites its banking community to actively participate in this endeavour.''
The Microfinance Roundtable
Based on these commitments, and in the framework of the International Year of Microcredit and of the Luxembourg's current role as president of the European Union, Luxembourg's Ministry for Development, Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid set up a Roundtable on microfinance, composed of representatives from government, civil society and the private sector representing a broad range of interests and promoting new and innovative synergies.
This Roundtable is funded by Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Directorate for Development Cooperation) and Ministry of Finance, and is coordinated by LuxDevelopment in its capacity as the Luxembourg Governments' implementing agency for Development. The Roundtable shall focus on three key themes through its focal partners (NGOs or banking partners):
- Raising awareness of the Luxembourg financial centre. The local partner will be the Agence de Transfert de Technologie Financière (ATTF), who will be in charge of sensitizing the financial and banking institutions about the role they can play in this domain, and for mobilizing specific skills from this sector to transfer this know-how to emerging countries. Luxembourg is ranked third in the world for administering investment funds and has a reputation for quality, as well as the expertise needed to help the microfinance sector to develop its huge potential. To this end, two studies will be conducted: one about the likely advantages of Luxembourg as a favourable place to launch investment funds for microfinance institutions, and another about the impact of rating such funds. The final objective is to create a win-win situation between the financial sector in Luxembourg and the microfinance stakeholders.
- Raising the profile of rural finance in the Southern hemisphere and policy development. This topic will be coordinated by SOS Faim Luxembourg, which will have the task of strengthening the rural initiatives coming from the Southern hemisphere by helping them develop new and innovative products better adapted to their needs, and to create a favourable political environment to facilitate rural finance. Since the majority of poor people live in rural areas and the supply of microfinance is low and is not localised, this theme is aimed at helping microfinance institutions define their services and the demand for them, and develop products better adapted to their environment.
- Promotion of European Dialogue between microfinance bodies working in developing countries with the objective to improve targeted action in the fight against poverty. Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA) will conduct an inventory of the microfinance competencies of each stakeholder in the European Union. The advantages of this will be to create links and facilitate synergies and exchanges between the 25 member countries, particularly given the fact that several microfinance platforms have already emerged throughout Europe. The results of this inventory will be presented during a seminar enabling the participants to share their experiences and find synergies with each other, but also with partners from the Southern hemisphere.
The Week of Microfinance
A week dedicated to microfinance will also take place in Luxembourg beginning 17th October, 2005. Conferences and technical workshops will be organized around these three working groups, gathering the different stakeholders from Luxembourg and partners from developing countries, NGOs from Europe and external experts.
The Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, Jean-Louis Schiltz, concluded: "Luxembourg Development Cooperation's commitment to microfinance will not end on 31st December 2005. We're already planning concrete actions that will follow up on the ideas surfacing during this year. In this context, the government and private sector will have to work together in order to tackle one of the most ambitious tasks which the international community has embarked upon: the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Microfinance offers the possibility to foster this public/private partnership."
For more information, please visit: www.microfinance2005.lu.
On May 12th, 2005, international microcredit researchers and field experts converged in Plovdiv, Bulgaria in a roundtable discussion organized by the Bulgarian Association of Credit Cooperatives (BACCO), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the International Year of Microcredit. The forum was one of a series of initiatives for the Year organized by the Bulgarian National Committee, comprised of a coalition of nine microfinance organizations.
Guest speakers, including Professor Johann Brazda from the University of Vienna and Dr. Tode Todev, Senior Vice President of Osterreichische Volksbanken-AG, imparted their knowledge of innovations in the work of credit cooperatives and presented the roundtable with microcredit policies and initiatives in EU member states. BACCO representatives, heads of Ustoi and Nachala credit cooperatives and others shared their experiences in developing microfinance institutions (MFIs) and organizations in Bulgaria in recent years.
The roundtable entertained various questions about the deficit in easily accessible credit through cooperatives and savings societies including the revival of the idea of cooperatives in Europe and the potential paradox in the transfer of microfinance experiences from developing countries to those that are most developed. One of the mainstays of Bulgaria's economic development, rural credit cooperatives and popular funds, were prevalent in Bulgaria until 1946. Dr. Todev addressed questions about the use for such cooperatives in today's society. He explained that the European Commission has stated that two types of cooperatives should be able to freely develop their activity, both within their community and in other member states. He argued that cooperatives possess significant capacity, yet to be fully utilized, to expedite social and economic development. Dr. Todev concluded that the European Commission's stance is that member states need to develop and pursue government policies to create an environment which encourages the free development of such cooperatives.
Various members of the roundtable were critical of the European Commission's view of credit cooperatives in the region, claiming that they have failed to fully promote the concept in Bulgaria. They asserted that efforts by microcredit and microfinance organizations to create an established legal framework for their activities have been wrought with ambivalence on behalf of the banking and public sectors. The next roundtable discussion, therefore, will focus on the legal environment surrounding credit cooperatives and other microfinance organizations. This highly anticipated forum will be organized by the Bulgarian National Committee on behalf of the International Year of Microcredit and will be held this autumn.
Global interest in the International Year of Microcredit 2005 continues to grow. Many initiatives are underway to help meet the Year's objectives of promoting awareness of microfinance and building inclusive financial sectors. All of the initiatives undertaken by the Year are designed to encourage innovation and strategic partnerships. For more information, contact christina.barrineau@undp.org or visit our website at www.yearofmicrocredit.org.
National Committees
An unprecedented global response to the call for building inclusive financial sectors is now underway, through the establishment of National Committees. Member states were requested to establish national coordinating committees to facilitate activities and to create a dialogue on best practices for building inclusive financial sectors in their country. Each National Committee assesses the challenges that poor people confront in accessing financial services and decides upon activities and initiatives to address these issues. Key factors that are stressed throughout this process include membership diversity and partnership, creativity, effectiveness in communication and outreach, the level of governmental support, private sector engagement, and increased public awareness.
To date over 90 countries in all levels of development have pledged their support to the International Year of Microcredit. National Committees or Focal Points had been established for 46 countries, comprising high-level representatives from 35 governments, 60 United Nations local offices, 41 multinational agencies, 177 microfinance networks, 13 central banks as well as key members of the private sector and civil society.
In each country the National Committee has a high degree of flexibility with the activities and events that are coordinated. Already hundreds of conferences and seminars have been planned throughout the Year and 27 countries have even developed a formal public awareness campaign to reach even the remotest region. Such awareness raising activities focus on introducing quality financial services to the poor and lower income people and are designed to reach a wide-ranging audience. Many governments realizing the benefits of microfinance have initiated innovative ideas at promoting the Year.
Global Microentrepreneurship Awards Program
In November of 2004, the Global Microentrepreneurship Awards (GMA) successfully rallied the world to come together and highlight the achievements of and pay tribute to low-income entrepreneurs. It is in this spirit that the 2005 GMA Programme carries on. The overwhelming success of the 2004 pilot-event has led to a formal collaboration between Citigroup, the United Nations, and student groups from universities across the globe that is known as the GMA Student Alliance. More than 30 countries are participating in this year's award programme, bringing together thousands of microfinance clients, students, private and public sector professionals, senior government officials and UN agency staff. Similar to the 2004 programme, stock exchanges throughout the world have also pledged their support. This year over 30 stock exchanges will invite winning contestants to once again ring the opening bell, sending an even stronger signal to the world that building inclusive financial sectors can play an important role in poverty alleviation.
Country Teams have been created to design and coordinate the awards programme specific to each country. Country Teams consists of in-country and out-of-country individuals from the public and private sectors, UN agencies as well as students. The diversity of each individual team allows the contest to be designed in a manner that takes into consideration the unique nuances of the local business and economic environment.
The Blue Book Project
Initiated by the Year, and led by the United Nations Capital Development Fund and the Office of Financing for Development of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the Blue Book on Building Inclusive Financial Sectors used an international dialogue among a wide variety of financial sector experts to address the question of "why so many bankable people are unbanked." Held throughout the Year, and culminating in a global meeting in May, the result will be presented to the General Assembly of the United Nations in September, and officially launched on November 8, 2005, at the Year Forum on Building Inclusive Financial Sectors.
The Data Project
Although there is a broad consensus that microfinance is widely and increasingly used, there is little hard data about who provides it, in what form it is provided, who receives it and at what cost. In the fall of 2004, the Year brought a small group of expert statisticians and researchers from the Bretton Woods Institutions and the United Nations together with governments and the private sector to address current data gaps, anticipate future needs and build agreement on the best way to move forward. As a result of this pioneering process, the World Bank and the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) have moved forward, along with the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), to develop indicators on the quality of financial access. Preliminary results will be launched on November 8, 2005, at the Year Forum on Building Inclusive Financial Sectors, as a critical first step in assembling this vital information.
"Made by Microentrepreneur" Products
A collection of 25 products, labeled with the logo of the Year, will convey to the public the importance of microentrepreneurs and will be sold through an "online boutique" on the website www.shopmicro.org. The chosen products will represent various world regions, male and female entrepreneurs, young and older craftspeople, various media as well as different market segments. The story of the product and artisan will be told in a pamphlet with the purchase of each product to illustrate the link to microfinance. National Committees and partner organizations are also invited to market and sell these products.
The online store currently has products from Macedonia, Colombia, Rwanda and Bangladesh. The store seeks involvement from microfinance institutional leaders, corporate partners and celebrities who will promote the products.
Newsletter
Microfinance Matters is a monthly web publication from UN Capital Development Fund that was started by the Secretariat in January 2004. The newsletter now reaches over 6,000 direct subscribers and expects to have a circulation of more than 10,000 by the end of 2005. In addition to our subscription list, the newsletter is also distributed through various microfinance outlets, reaching an estimated additional readership of well over 50,000 people worldwide. Microfinance Matters takes advantage of the Year to promote innovative partnerships, raise public awareness, and share effective practices and expertise on building inclusive financial sectors. By inviting reader opinions, the newsletter is developing into a platform for discussion and debate. Contributors to date range from Central Bank Governors to Ambassadors to microfinance clients.
Film Projects and Public Service Announcements
The film short: "Microfinance: In Their Own Voices," a collection of client stories produced by Sterling Van Wagenen for the International Year of Microcredit, has been distributed to UN Information Centers and target broadcasters. The film is in demand from many parties, including National Committees, conference organizers, universities and others to promote microfinance messages. In addition, the Secretariat has offered input into a number of documentary film and television productions on microfinance. Films on microfinance produced for the Year will be made available on the Year website.
Public Service Announcements for the Year have been filmed featuring Aishwarya Rai, Anggun, Souad Maasi, and Karina. Anggun's PSAs aired at the Pavarotti and Friends Concert in Johannesburg, South Africa on April 2 to an audience of 20,000. The PSAs were produced by Citigroup and are available in English, French, Spanish and Indonesian. Citigroup has agreed to distribute the PSAs internationally with its advertising package. The PSAs will also be distributed through the Year website, microfinance providers, and National Committees throughout the world. Plans are underway for an additional promotion campaign through posters, postcards and decals and to secure additional mainstream celebrities to promote the objectives of the Year.
Patrons Group
The Emissary and Spokespersons Groups raised awareness of the objectives of the Year starting with the launch event last fall in New York. Princess Mathilde of Belgium has participated in an array of activities including visits to microfinance clients in China, Mali, and India and speaking engagements at universities in Europe, Asia and the United States. Princess Maxima of the Netherlands recently visited entrepreneurs, MFIs and government and Central Bank officials in Uganda and Kenya. Anggun has engaged in promotional trips to Indonesia, performed in benefit concerts, and has promoted the logo of the Year on her most recent album.
Year of Microcredit Website
The official website of the Year (www.yearofmicrocredit.org) provides extensive information about the Year, its objectives and activities, National Committee contact information and a calendar of national, regional and international events. The site serves newcomers to microfinance, industry practitioners, UN country teams and agencies, and donors. Organizations may link to the website (guidelines on how to do this are available on the site). The site also includes multiple languages to support our international audiences. Key areas include an events calendar, media resources, an interactive microfinance education area, an experts forum, international contact information for all Year country teams, and information about key sponsors and patrons group.
Special Events
Hundreds of microfinance meetings, conferences, forums and other events are being organized and scheduled to celebrate the Year and raise debate on how to improve financial services for those people living in poverty. Please see the official Year website (www.yearofmicrocredit.org) for an updated calendar of events and activities.
|
