financial literacy

MSMEs in the Informal Sector: Formalization Ensure Sustainable Finance and Decent Jobs?

About 2 billion workers, or over 60 percent of the world’s adult labor force, operate in the informal  sector –at least part-time, according to the ILO. The COVID-19 pandemic hit informal workers  particularly hard, especially women. Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME), both formal and  informal, make up over 90% of all firms around the globe and offer employment to one-third of 1.2  billion people in the world who work in the informal sector. They generate services for other sectors  like small and large industries, retail, tourism, transportation, construction, etc., and contribute to over  30% of GDP and more than 70% of all jobs created in developing countries. MSMEs were heavily  impacted by the pandemic and continue to face existential challenges on various fronts including but  not limited to business formalization.

MSMEs, both formal and informal, make up over 90% of all firms around the globe1 and contribute to more than half of the GDP in most countries irrespective of income2. As many countries struggle to cope with the growing debt burdens and limited fiscal space to finance the SDGs, the important role of MSMEs as catalytic forces for achieving the SDGs cannot be stressed enough. Despite formalization gathering pace, MSMEs and those in the informal sector also continue to struggle to access formal finance. Without the appropriate regulatory reforms, social protection measures, access to formal finance, and capacity building in tools such as financial literacy and numeracy tools to help manage finances effectively, inclusive growth and a decent work environment for those in the sector will remain a challenge. As part of the Development Cooperation Strategy 2020-25, the ILO is forging partnerships that advance policy objectives and coherence within the framework of Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) that promote Financing Decent Work. In this panel, the speakers will share global and on-the-ground perspectives and explore steps countries are taking through regulatory reforms, access to finance, and capacity building to ensure sustainable finance and decent work for MSMEs in the informal sector.

Register here!

Speakers:  

  • H.E. Mr. Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the  UN (TBC) 
  • Ms. Chantal Line Carpentier, Chief, UNCTAD New York Office of the Secretary-General
  • Ms. Adriana Marina, Founder of Hecho por Nosotros & animaná, Argentina
  • Mr. Amar G. Prabhu, Principal of Don Bosco Industrial Training Institute Kurla, Mumbai, India
  • Ms. Sandie Ejang Elobu, CEO, Western Silk Road, Ltd., Uganda 
  • Ms. Nana Efua Brown-Orleans, Program Lead, Duapa Workspace, Ghana 
  • Ms. Estella Kabagaya Eldradaa, Founder, Mama Children Village, Uganda

Organizers: NGO Committee on Financing for Development, Virginia  Gildersleeve International Fund (DBA Women First International Fund), Salesian Missions Inc, Africa  Development Interchange Network, Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sisters of Charity Federation

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Financing for Development is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY, please visit ngocsw.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women/Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org.

State of Big Tech: Dismantling Digital Enclosures

IT for Change invites you to the State of Big Tech Dialogue, an online panel discussion to mark the launch of our upcoming report,  State of Big Tech: Dismantling Digital Enclosures on the 21st of November,  from 7:00- 9:00 PM IST / 2:30 to 4:30 PM CET / 8:30 to 10:30 AM EST.

We invite you to come listen to a panel of key voices – including some of the the volume’s contributors – reflect on the report, the state of the contemporary struggle against Big Tech, the stakes around important battle-grounds being formed today, as well as the potential inherent in current forms of resistance and projects for building an alternative digital economy.

Please register here and a personalized zoom link will be emailed to you.

About the State of Big Tech:

Envisioned as an evolving, year-on-year endeavor that will track and unpack the developments in the Big Tech space, our debut edition of the State of Big Tech is a powerful volume of essays that brings together important perspectives on the corporatization of digital technologies from across regions and constituencies, that touch upon themes including data value chains, sectoral deep-dives, regulatory stalemates, the neo-colonial dimension of the digital economy, the state of platform labour, as well modes of resistance and experiments in building progressive models  towards new digital futures.

Complemented with stunning and evocative art work and select expert interviews, the compendium is a critical, inspiring and original contribution that attempts to capture the current phenomenon of digital capitalism.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org

Coloniality of Knowledge in Hegemonic Psychology, II: Confronting Professional Discipline

SPSSI is proud to host a webinar series this semester entitled “Decolonial Perspectives on the Psychological Study of Social Issues,” which has been organized by the Readsura Decolonial Editorial Collective. All webinars in this series are free and open to everyone. Please join us for the fourth webinar in this series, on…

Coloniality of Knowledge in Hegemonic Psychology, II: Confronting Professional Discipline

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iBs_7cA5SEe5kvyhu4uzmQ

Convener/Discussant: Shahnaaz Suffla

Presenters:

  • Stephanie Grant, Stephanie D’Costa, & Kandyce Anderson Amie  |  Decolonizing school psychology research: A systematic literature review
  • Hugo Canham  |  Conundrums in teaching decolonial critical community psychology within the context of neo-liberal market pressures
  • Jesica Siham Fernández  |  “And now we resist”: Three testimonios on the importance of decoloniality within psychology

Read more about the webinar series here: spssi.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=2818

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at tonkin@hartford.edu or fmhult@umbc.edu. 

 

Eliminating Extreme Poverty and Hunger Amongst Older Persons & People with Disabilities by Implementing a Supplementary Income Program: Evidence from Ethiopia

The NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity (COIGENS) proudly invites you to the first meeting in their new series on Social Trauma and Intergenerational Solutions! This inaugural meeting will focus on:

Eliminating Extreme Poverty and Hunger Amongst Older Persons and People with Disabilities by Implementing a Supplementary Income Program: Evidence from a Program in Lalibela, Ethiopia

To attend this exciting virtual event, please contact COIGENS Program Coordinator Kevin Brabazon at NGOcommittee.COIGENS@gmail.com to receive the Zoom access link, which will be sent out prior to the meeting.

About Nov. 11 Meeting:

This first meeting will focus on the traumas of extreme poverty and hunger and will offer a simple approach to eliminating both traumas. The social protection program that is often found in social security systems (in the USA it is referred to as Supplementary Security Income or SSI). This meeting will introduce you to a demonstration project in Lalibela, Ethiopia that is sponsored by COIGENS. The Mayor of Lalibela will introduce five recipients of the supplementary income part of the Lalibela Project and will interview them to show how their lives have changed since joining the program. This will be a live feed so attendees will be able to ask questions in the last 30 minutes of the program.

In the Lalibela Project, Supplementary Income is provided to eligible participants on a monthly basis. The income is set above the Extreme Poverty level and is intended to show the government and international observers that this “social trauma” could be eliminated on a national level by implementing a 1% income tax.

Program:

  • Keynote Speech: Dr. Kurt Johnson, Pioneer in the Knowledge Field of Science and  Religion Interface, “The Three Generational Family Model at the Interface of Social and Economic Sciences and Religion
  • Program Presentation: Abebe Fentaw Sisay, Director of the Lalibela Project, “Honor Your Father and Mother and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself as a Basis for Social Development
  • Mayor Tesefa Habte, Mayor of Lablibela, will introduce and interview five of the elders who have been lifted out of extreme poverty by the supplementary income program in the Lalibela Project

Please note: You do not need to be a member of COIGENS to join the Zoom meeting though we are offering free membership extended from December to run through April of next year. Any time you wish to join, let us know and we will add you to the list of members. If you prefer to follow our meetings as a non-member, we welcome that too. We are interested in building a community of common interests in which we can share ideas and shape the way the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be realized.  –  Dr. Susanne Seperson, Acting Chair, COIGENS; United Nations Representative, Generations United

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing/NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing/Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing/Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family/NY, please visit ngofamilyny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Family/Vienna, please visit viennafamilycommittee.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org

NGO Committee on Financing for Development regular monthly meeting

Join the NGO Committee on Financing for Development for their regular monthly meeting on November 4 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm EST at the Baha’i International Community Office at 866 UN Plaza, with Zoom access capabilities for those who are unable to attend in person. As the conference room can accommodate up to 25 participants, in-person attendance will be on a first come first served basis for those who have registered at this link by 4:00 pm October 31.

To attend virtually, kindly register to receive the Zoom access link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctdu6urD4qGdG5uqTnKvZAqzQHuY_QnaQq
 
The agenda, minutes of the last meeting, and resource material are being uploaded to the meeting folder here.
 
Note to members:
Save the Date for upcoming FfD workshop! The Committee’s annual workshop on FfD, titled “Financing for Development Post COVID” will be held on November 9 from 8:30 am – 10:00 am via Zoom. This workshop is being organized by the Executive Committee.  Interested participants are encouraged to register here.

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on Financing for Development is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development/Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

Parents’ Role in Fostering the Financial Literacy of Their Children

The NGO Committee on the Family invites you to join their first fall event of the year, in which attendees will hear from Susan Beacham and a New York banker about educating parents on how to raise financially responsible children.

This event will be held virtually via Zoom. Register here!

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CoNGO Notes: The NGO Committee on the Family/NY is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on the Family/Vienna, please visit viennafamilycommittee.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights/NY, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

Three Keys to Successful Advocacy: How to Move, Touch and Inspire Anyone at Anytime

Three Keys to Successful Advocacy: How to Move, Touch and Inspire Anyone at Anytime

We are pleased that Adriane Berg, an expert communicator and an Emmy award-winning TV host and podcaster, will join us today. Adriane is communications consultant to many major companies and a member of the NGO Committee on Ageing-NY, Subcommittee on Communications. Erica Dhar, Director, Global Alliances, International Affairs, AARP, will be the respondent, applying Adriane’s presentation to our advocacy work at the NGO CoA.

Be prepared for a lively session on effective advocacy messaging followed by an eye-opening speed coaching session with your fellow attendees.

Programme:

  1. Welcome & Chair’s Update Cynthia Stuen, Chair, NGO Committee on Ageing/NY
  2. Moderator Frances Zainoeddin, Vice Chair, Program Subcommittee Chair
  3. Speaker: Adriane Berg, CEO Generation Bold
  4. Respondent: Erica Dhar, Director, Global Alliances, International Affairs, AARP
  5. Questions and Comments
  6. Closing Remarks

Attendees will discover:

  • How to create a compelling elevator pitch
  • How to appeal to multiple audiences at meetings and events
  • How to create and deliver a compelling call to action
  • How to tell your advocacy story using the unique “U curve” technique

Join here: us02web.zoom.us/j/81697309330

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing/NY, please visit ngocoa-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing/Geneva, please visit ageingcommitteegeneva.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Ageing/Vienna, please visit ngoageingvie.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity, please email the vice chair at susanneseperson@gmail.com.

Transforming Education Summit

Dear ASPBAE Members, Partners, and Asia Pacific Members of CCNGO,

Warm greetings to all! We hope this finds you well.  

We are now three weeks away from the start of the Transforming Education Summit, which will be organized at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 16, 17, and 19 September 2022. 

On 16 September: The Mobilisation Day will be organized and led by youth with the full involvement of a broad variety of stakeholders. Informed by the Summit Youth Declaration, it will serve to convey the collective recommendations of youth on transforming education to decision-makers and policymakers. Additionally, it will emphasize getting the support of the public, youth, educators, civil society, and other stakeholders to support the transformation of education across the world.

On 17 September: The Solutions Day will give partners a platform to rally support for the beginning or expansion of activities linked to the Summit’s Thematic Action Tracks. There will be presentations of coalitions for action and other multi-stakeholder initiatives that will help transform education.

On 19 September: The Leaders Day will be dedicated to the presentation of National Statements of Commitment by Heads of State and Government in the form of Leaders Roundtables. A limited number of thematic sessions will also be held to place a focus on cross-cutting priorities for transforming education. Leaders Day will also feature the presentation of the Summit Youth Declaration and the Secretary-General’s Vision Statement for Transforming Education.

Those interested in participating in the Summit proceedings (16-17 September, 19 September) – including youth and civil society – are invited to fill out the online expression of interest form available on the Summit website using this link: Civil Society Engagements in the Transforming Education Summit Registration. The deadline for registration is 31 August 2022.

National and international commitments to transform education; greater public engagement around and support for transforming education; and a Vision Statement on Transforming Education from the Secretary-General are the Summit’s primary outcomes. The Vision Statement will be formally presented as an input to intergovernmental negotiations on the future of education as part of the preparations for the proposed UN Summit of the Future. To ensure efficient follow-up at all levels, it will also be used as input for the SDG4-Education 2030 High-Level Steering Committee’s work.

For more information, including on the TES-related national consultations, visit the Transforming Education Knowledge Hub. You may also view the TES Information Note and the TES Concept Note and Programme.

Please also keep an eye out for more updates on ASPBAE’s social media channels. Thank you and we look forward to your active participation!

Warm regards from the ASPBAE Secretariat

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Language and Languages, please email the co-chairs at fmhult@umbc.edu or tonkin@hartford.edu.

Enhancing MDBs as Catalyzers of Private Finance

2022 FfD Forum side event: Enhancing MDBs as catalyzers of private finance

Wednesday, 27 April, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm (EDT)

This event is being held as part of the programme for the SDG Investment Fair. For registration, please visit this link.

For more information about the Fair, visit https://www.un.org/development/desa/financing/events/april-2022-sdg-investment-fair.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org

Digital and Financial Inclusion: Pathways to promote an inclusive Post-COVID-19 socio-economic recovery

Virtual side event during the 2021 ECOSOC FfD Forum on Financing for Development

Date & time: April 12 from 1:15 pm – 2:45 pm EST

Register in advance for this meeting (by 5:00pm EST on April 11): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwpcOGopj4tE9OFujGTOC3FTT_-z2aMJ0Sr

World Bank data (September 2020) indicates that 212 countries have planned, introduced, or put in place 1179 safety net payments and other social protection measures for the most vulnerable populations. But reports also show that digital exclusion and lack of access to a bank account, in the form of a transactional or savings account or a digital wallet, continues to pose immense challenges for those in marginalized communities, especially women youth, refugees, and migrant workers in the informal sector, to recoup benefits from government relief measures such as cash transfers and subsidies, the very measures intended to help tide them over, in a quick and timely manner. Women continue to face widespread barriers to financial inclusion. Globally, of the 1.7 billion people that remain unbanked, meaning they do not hold an account at a bank or a mobile bank provider, approximately 1 billion are women and in developing countries. The 9% gender gap that existed over the last decade continues to persist.

While businesses are increasingly offering consumers the option to transact through online and mobile platforms, two major barriers prevent consumers from adopting these digital options: lack of internet connectivity (digital exclusion) and or lack of a bank account to receive or make payments (financial exclusion). In addition, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) face considerable challenges in accessing digital financial services and credit, inclusive insurance schemes and online payment systems and retail platforms that will be keys for their survival in the post-COVID era.

Digital financial inclusion is ever more critical for marginalized communities, especially women, youth, refugees and informal migrant workers, to recover from the crisis and to ensure the survival and sustainability of MSMEs. Long-term risks and barriers of entry, including lack of access to Smartphone services due to marginalized populations’ inabilities to engage in contracts, complex lending practices, especially among women, poor digital literacy and financial literacy and numeracy skills, and lack of valid identification for refugees forced to leave all personal possessions behind, to name but a few, are significant obstacles that could cause more harm than good if not effectively managed. The Global community must act now to bridge the gaps and barriers restricting the world’s most vulnerable populations from meeting their financial needs.

Implementing appropriate regulatory measures in a timely manner is essential for consumer protection and to ensure the funds reach those whom it is intended for. In the July 1, 2020 Special Series Notes on COVID-19 of the International Monetary Fund, experts noted that while the need for social distancing has put a spotlight on digital financial services, scaling up too fast in times of crisis without appropriate regulatory mechanisms could pose a risk to stability and integrity.

The panel will explore the interlinkages between financial and digital inclusion, innovative advancement in fintech and digital infrastructure to advance last-mile connectivity and address the challenges to financial inclusion faced by marginalized communities and MSMEs, as well as propose measures to address regulatory challenges, and disparities in broadband connectivity.

Panelists:

  • Member State representative (TBC)
  • Ms. Lois, Bruu, Vice President, Humanitarian and Development, Master Card Speaking on innovative initiatives to advance digital financial inclusion for marginalized communities, especially women, and MSMEs and recommendations to address financial, economic, structural, and regulatory barriers to advancing financial inclusion for all
  • Ms. Purva Khera, Economist, International Monetary Fund Interlinkages between digital and financial inclusion, financing challenges and advancement in fintech to address the challenges faced by MSMEs and marginalized communities, including women
  • Mr. Jon Frost, Senior Economist, Innovation and the Digital Economy unit, MED, Bank for International Settlements Risks and emerging concerns around digital finance that could work contrary to goals to help marginalized communities
  • Representative from civil society speaking on an innovative initiative/s to ensure reliable broadband connectivity for advancing digital financial services, including last-mile connectivity (TBC)
  • Ms. Lydia Charles, Founder and Executive Director, Her Initiative, Tanzania Challenges to financial and digital inclusion at the grassroots level, especially for women, and steps to take to address these challenges.

Moderator: Anita Thomas, Representative to the UN, Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund (DBA Women First International Fund); Chair, NGO Committee on Financing for Development

Co-sponsors:

Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund, Sisters of Charity Federation, Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Loreto Generalate, Global Foundation for Democracy and Development, New Humanity for the Focolare Movement, Salesian Missions Inc, Change Management Solutions, Startnoo

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org