Day two of the international conference ‘Combating Poverty in a Market-driven World’ proved to be as interesting as the first day, as passionate speakers and strong viewpoints took centrestage.

National and International Policies that Affect the Economically Deprived

At the opening session, Minar Pimple, former CEO of Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA), Mumbai, spoke about the dichotomy of globalisation, saying “there are 1 billion obese people in the world today even as 1 billion people around the world go hungry”. Ashwini Kumar, member of the Central Employment Guarantee Committee, discussed government policies that help the poor, saying: “In Maharashtra, the existing Employment Guarantee Scheme mostly favours rural contractors. Correct implementation of this act can help in stopping the farmer suicides in Vidarbha.”

Working Towards a More Just Market System

Biraj Patnaik, Principal Advisor to the Commissioner, started off this session by talking about the strengths and limitations of government monitoring. Patnaik said that while the outreach of government schemes was good, there was no emphasis on checking outcomes; the focus tends to be more on tracking if the money is spent, not how it is spent. “The most worrying aspect is the ‘outsourcing’ of social auditing to NGOs, who can bid for this at a panchayat for as little as Rs 500,” he said.

Another passionate speaker was Nicholas Hildyard, an activist with The Corner House, UK, who spoke about how private equity funds are used for infrastructure development. Hildyard denounced the market, saying, ”I don’t believe in a system that gives a cat in New York more bargaining power than a slum woman in Mumbai, and I am not interested in making such a system more just.” “Private equity and hedge funds are licking their lips at infrastructure projects in developing countries, but who gets this infrastructure?” he said, adding: “We need to address power relations; corporate and market power needs to be challenged. We need to not just empower the poor but dis-empower the rich.”

The conference ended with a summarising by several panellists from the two days, which was chaired by Dr. Parasuraman, Director of Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

All kinds of people came together to discuss better ways to remove poverty. And Mumbai Smiles was privileged to be a part of it. This is proof that though the world is not perfect, there is optimism that it can be.

Photos: Snehala

Source: Mumbai Smiles

Day one of the international conference Combating Poverty in a Market-driven World got off to a great start yesterday with a spirited argument between the two speakers of the introductory session.

Arguing for Freer domestic and international markets as powerful instruments of poverty alleviation, Suresh Tendulkar, former Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Indian Prime Minister, made the point: “Markets do not recognise caste or religion, only economic skills… And rapid economic growth generates revenues, which results in government money going into social sectors.”

His points were countered by J. Mohan Rao, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts, USA, in a talk titled Is a market-driven world antithetical to poverty alleviation? Rao’s view was that world trade was not a level playing field as developing countries did not enjoy equal privileges. He called for… “A new kind of globalisation that aimed to a) Free labour b) Shackle capital c) Free knowledge d) Create a true world democracy.

People for people: Fair Trade
One of the afternoon sessions tackled the concept of Fair Trade with an overview of the movement by Carola Reintjes, CEO of WFTO, case studies presented by Johny Joseph of Creative Handicrafts and Fredrick Masinde of Undugu Fair Trade, Kenya. The session ended with a critique of the Fair Trade Movement by Ram Bhat, an Options and Solutions Consultant.

A key point raised by the audience was why there was a lack of a domestic market for fair trade, despite the Indian market being mature enough. Some of the solutions suggested were creating a conscious consumer market, marketing the concept of free trade and intervention to control prices.

Profits for people: Use of Corporate and Government Funds to Alleviate Poverty
In a session chaired by Chairman of Mumbai Smiles, Jaume Sanllorente, two speakers shared their experiences of fundraising and donors.

Alan Machin, Head of Fundraising, WaterAid, UK, talked about observing ethics in fundraising, emphasising that it was important to always talk to all kinds of people in order to change behaviours.

Ajit Kanitkar, Program Officer, Ford Foundation, India, discussed the challenges donor agencies face, saying, “Donors have lost patience and communities have lost patience, and people want to see results in one generation.”
Both speakers agreed on the point that we live in a world of instant results, but that this also placed pressure on civil society organisations to work towards real change.

To see the programme for Day 2, visit http://povertyconference2011.org/

For live updates on the event, follow the twitter feed at #POVCONF.

Photos: Snehala

Source: Mumbai Smiles

As Head of National Fundraising for WaterAid, UK, Alan Machin has long been using the market for the benefit of the development sector, and know all about bridging the divide between the free market and philanthropy. Here, he talks about his plans for the conference:

Why do you think there is a need for this conference?

There is often a certain amount of mistrust between civil society organisations and companies, particularly multinationals. Whilst understandable, this can mean that opportunities to help the poor are missed or underexploited through our own prejudice. We cannot escape the fact that the world is market-driven and that we need to formulate appropriate strategies and responses. This conference will provide an excellent forum to discuss the issues and share collective learning. By the end of the event we will be in a better able to work within our own organisations to determine our responses to a market driven world

What are your thoughts on how to combat poverty in a market-driven world?

We must find ways of engaging companies to change their behavior towards combating poverty and environmental issue that have an impact on us all. There are many good examples of collaborations between multinationals and NGOs that have shown that behavior change is possible and can bring positive outcomes. If we do not engage, we cannot complain if there is no behavior change, we need to formulate our strategies, be proactive, positive and passionate about what we are trying to achieve and go out and do it.

What will you focus on in your session?

We need to engage companies in an ethical way. WaterAid has 30 years experience of working with companies, and we have developed ethical guidelines that I will share and discuss in my presentation.

Your suggestions on what attendees should look to take back from this event.

We will be coming with different expectations and experiences of working in a market-driven world. I hope that we can all take away some real insights and inspirations that will help us to better navigate our way through the many market related issues that we all face in our daily work.

Alan Machin will present his learning and experiences at WaterAid as an example of the fundraising experience and policies of an INGO. The session is part of a workshop titled The Use of Corporate and Government Funds by Civil Society Groups to Alleviate Poverty.

Date: February 7

Time: 4.30 pm – 6.30 pm

Place: The Residence Hotel, Powai

Visit www.povertyconference2011.org for more information.

Fredrick Masinde has over 25 years experience in the Fair Trade Sector and is currently the Marketing Manager of Undugu Fair Trade Limited, Kenya. A good deal of his work has revolved around grassroots mobilisation of artisans, and, thus, using the market to improve the lives of the deprived.

Why do you think there is a need for this conference?

Faced with escalating levels of poverty all around the world, coupled with unequal distribution of wealth, influenced by market driven economic factors, it is critical for various stakeholders to explore alternative means of addressing mechanisms that can result in an equitable and just distribution of the global wealth.

What do you hope the conference will achieve?

I hope that concrete solutions will come out of the conference that can enable all sector players to jointly engage in influencing the world market policies that are pro poor and gives equal opportunities for eradicating poverty in the world!

What are your thoughts on how to combat poverty in a market-driven world?

• Equal opportunities supported by pro poor policies.
• Elimination of unfair market based barriers.
• Fair and equity distribution of income through the supply chain.

What will you focus on in your session?

Sharing the experiences of the Fair Trade model as a means of combating poverty.

Your suggestions on what attendees should look to take back from this event.

• Learning from what others are doing to combat poverty.
• Picking ideas on how they can expand their engagements in the fight of poverty.
• How they can lobby the decisions makers to influence pro poor policies at national, regional and global level.
• Adopting the Fair Trade model in empowering the marginalized and poor.

Fredrick Masinde will present COFTA (Cooperation for Fair Trade in Africa) as a case study in a workshop titled PEOPLE FOR PEOPLE: Market Related Civil Society Initiatives to Overcome Poverty — Fair Trade Initiatives.

Date: February 7

Time: 2pm – 4pm

Place: The Residence Hotel, Powai.

Visit www.povertyconference2011.org for more information.