UNITED NATIONS CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FUND    Microfinance

Issue 3 / May - June 2004

Spotlight

Update on the International Year of Microcredit 2005

Featured Guest

Welcome to the Year of Microcredit from José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary General, UNDESA

News

Microfinance in focus

Voices of Microfinance

Responses to a question posed to experts and practitioners.

Upcoming Events

Conferences, events and trainings.

Links

New websites and publications.

Share your news!

If you have a current news story or know of an upcoming event that would be of interest to the network, please email the Editor, Emily Krasnor.

Spotlight

Dear Colleagues,

A quick up date on the Year of Microcredit 2005:

Launch Event

November 18, 2004 will officially launch the International Year of Microcredit 2005. The secretariat of the Coordinating Committee for the Year is currently planning various events to celebrate the launch of the Year at the United Nations headquarters in New York, as described in more detail below.

Micro-entrepreneur Contest
To launch the Year of Microcredit, an effort has been undertaken by Harvard University Business School students to have microfinance clients ring the bell announcing the opening of stock exchanges around the world. Member States around the world are urged to collaborate in preparation for and observance of this special day, and also undertake their own commemorative events at the national level.

Evening Gala on 17 November 2004
More than 500 high profile people including the heads of UN agencies, government representatives, microfinance partners as well as other key stakeholders of the Year from the private sectors, will be invited to a special evening reception to be held at the Delegates’ Dining Room of the UN Headquarters at the eve of the launch day on 17 November. The gala will serve as an opportunity to reaffirm the strong commitment and continued collaboration to achieve the objectives of the Year.

Musical Performance
In celebration of the launch, the Coordinating Committee has invited a nationally recognized children’s choir to give a special performance in collaboration with various world-renowned musicians. Among them will be Angelique Kidjo of Benin, one of the most electrifying performers in the world today. Mrs. Nana Annan, wife of the UN Secretary General will be invited to make opening remarks. Welcoming words from Year of Microcredit Emissaries from around the world will also be shown as part of a short, screened presentation.

World premier screening of documentary on Micro-Enterprise movement by Director Sterling Van Wagenen
The Year of Microcredit is not only an opportunity to celebrate the potential of microcredit and microfinance as a powerful tool for poverty eradication, but also the social and economic empowerment of microfinance clients. Director and Producer Sterling Van Wagenen will premier his documentary for PBS on the Micro-Enterprise movement, which highlights the impact of microfinance in promoting the social and economic welfare of low-income people. Director Sterling Van Wagenen was the co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival, and, in association with Robert Redford, he was the founding executive director of the Sundance Institute. We hope three of the microfinance clients interviewed in the documentary will make a special appearance during the premier of Director Van Wagenen’s film, and share the client’s perspective.

Afternoon panels
Two substantive panels are scheduled for the afternoon, focusing on constraints faced in building inclusive financial sectors. The panels will launch the discussions on the main issue the Year of Microcredit seeks to address: strengthening the microfinance sector and its contribution to the Millennium Development Goals.

The Year of Microcredit at Upcoming Conferences

At the 7th Annual Conference of Microfinance Institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States (Warsaw, Poland), a presentation and brainstorming session will focus on how those committed to microfinance can get involved and work together to take maximum advantage of the Year.

Group of Patrons for the Year of Microcredit

A small group of high-level individuals has been invited to advocate the goals and objectives of the Year. This group will represent a wide range of actors with a strong commitment to the ideals and principles of the United Nations and the potential of microfinance to build assets and foster social and economic opportunity. According to their specific role and responsibilities, Patrons will be working in one of the three groups: Advisors Group, Emissaries Group, and Spokespeople Group.

Coming in June! Official Year of Microcredit Website

The official website for the Year of Microcredit will include extensive information on the Year, its objectives and activities, contact information for National Committees and a calendar of national, regional and international activities. The site will use a range of simple interactive tools and forums that will invite feedback and inspire lively debate and will incorporate information ranging from quotable facts to more comprehensive distance learning excerpts. In addition, branding tools, such as the logo for the Year, will soon be available for National Committees to designate activities organized specifically in support of the Year. Please email the editor of this newsletter with ideas for additional features or if you want your projects and events in support of the Year recognized on the site at emily.krasnor@undp.org.

“Made by Microentrepreneur” Products

A collection of twelve (12) chosen products, accompanied by "made by Microentrepreneur" labeling, will convey to the public the necessity and immediacy of removing the existing constraints to inclusive financial sectors so that microentrepreneurship may flourish. 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 products will be sold at an "online boutique" and at a kiosk set up in the UN Secretariat. The "story" of the product and the artisan will be articulated in a pamphlet with each product to illustrate the "link" to microfinance. National Committees are also invited to market and sell these products.

Reception hosted by Under-Secretary General Ocampo at Citigroup for Latin American Microfinance Institutions in New York

José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, hosted a reception for ACCION's Latin American Network of MFIs (18 institutions) and senior ACCION management, along with other invited guests including representing from the private sector, donor country Ambassadors, and Ambassadors from Latin America on the occasion of the ACCION International Latin American Directors’ Meeting.

Roundtable on Microfinance in the Least Developed Countries

In June, UNCDF will host a roundtable on domestic investment and savings in LDCs. The roundtable, as part of the ECOSOC High-Level Segment on "Resource mobilization and enabling environments for poverty eradication in the context of the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010", will discuss ways countries can promote the development of a favorable investment and savings climate for more efficient financial sectors.

Serial Drama and Mass Media

Viewers have a high degree of loyalty to soap operas around the world and many of these viewers are poor and low-income people who can benefit from microfinance services. The Year Coordinating Committee is working to graft the theme of microfinance and entrepreneurship onto the storyline of a serial drama to expand outreach to potential clients. It is our hope that this theme, integrated into dramatic writing, would motivate people to shape their own future and, in turn, help a family manage risk and provide a safe and enabling environment for children.