News

Despite a large amount of funding and numerous programs dedicated to improving governance in the Pacific region, the female parliamentary participation rate within the Pacific currently stands at 4.2% – the lowest in the world. Between the years of 1995-2008, Arab states (female participation rate 8.8%) and Sub-Saharan African states (female participation rate 18.6%) increased their female parliamentary participation rates by 5.3 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively, while Pacific participation rates increased by just 1.7 per cent. Addressing the issue of low female parliamentary participation is a complex task, and should involve a multi-layered approach. This briefing note examines: the implications of a lack of commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in the Pacific region; the introduction of temporary special measures; the importance of support networks; and, the need for male champions to help increase female participation. There have also been some positive trends in female local government participation, which has encouraging implications for efforts to improve women’s national participation rates. Click here to read more.

The FDC Pacific Regional Representative will be presenting at the Pacific Island Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO) EU-PACREIP Workshop on the Microfinance Pasifika Network and Microfinance Development in the Pacific in Nadi, Fiji on the 23rd of June 2010 to the PIPSO members from 14 island countries. This is a unique opportunity to share microfinance developments and engage with donors and private sector players from around the Pacific.

FDC and ASPI have released a report entitled “A case for collaboration: Enhancing the development outcomes of Australian resource companies’ operations overseas”. The report traces through the role, influence and impact of the resources sector in developing countries and offers six recommendations for further action. Please find the report here.

FDC’s John Conroy presented at a World Bank discussion on microfinance in Sydney in May. Watch the video here: http://www.worldbank.org/praxis

FDC consultant John Conroy has been given an opportunity to speak at the World Bank Briefing, held in Sydney on the week of May 24th. John will be speaking on the topic of “Microcredit as a variant form of Subprime Lending” (which is FDC Briefing Note 10).

The five small community based initiatives are well underway, with each chosen project manager achieving great progress in raising awareness and conducting training in governance and leadership issues, for their communities. To read more about each initiative, please click here.

The blanket of volcanic ash paralysing much of Western Europe highlights the reality that effective Disaster Risk Management (DRM) is still very much required globally in both advanced and developing economies.

In Australia the need to continually update DRM lessons, procedures and community awareness, was highlighted both in the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission’s Interim Report last August, and the unfolding issues which continue to emerge during ongoing proceedings.

The Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC) – www.fdc.org.au , in conjunction with the CBM-Nossal Institute Partnership for Disability Inclusive Development, will be facilitating a four day DRM workshop in Melbourne from the 11-14th May.

This practical workshop will look at the key range of parameters usually experienced throughout the Disaster Risk Management Cycle (see diagram), with a strong emphasis being placed on both Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Recovery initiatives.

Case studies will be drawn from both overseas and Australia, these focussing in on the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; the 2008 Myanmar/Burma Cyclone Nargis; the 2009 Victorian Bushfires; and the 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

The workshop includes a one day field visit to the some of the Black Saturday bushfire-affected areas to the north of Melbourne, where there will be interaction with both affected community members, and involved local government officials.

This workshop is designed for DRM practitioners, who work either in Australia or overseas, from the not-for profit; government; and private sectors; as well as for returned volunteers and otherwise interested individuals.

The workshop, when accompanied by the optional assignment, is accredited at postgraduate level, for otherwise eligible participants, at five Australian Universities offering off-campus courses in Development Studies, Emergency Management, and International Health.

The workshop will be facilitated by the FDC Senior Training and DRM Coordinator, Mr Chris Piper, assisted by CBM-Nossal staff and other experienced practitioners.

For details of the workshop brochure, this including the optional assignment (see page 4 of the brochure), please follow the link below.
http://www.fdc.org.au/files/training-events/Melbourne%20DRM%202010.pdf

For more information on the DRM workshop, please contact:
Mr Chris Piper, FDC Senior Training & DRM Coordinator, on + 61 (0)41 2497317 or chrispiper@fdc.org.au

For DRM workshop registration, please contact:
Ms Sherry Chen, FDC Administrative Officer, on + 61 (0)7 32172924 or sherrychen@fdc.org.au

The Competition winners and respective prizes are:

• 1st Place (AUD $ 1500) Fitsum Woldegiorgis for his paper on financial inclusion.
• 2nd Place (AUD$ 1000) Coletta Boehl for her paper on renewable energy.
• 3rd Place (AUD$ 500) Arthur Alla for his paper on social enterprises.

Mr. Craig Wilson, FDC’s executive director presented the prizes to the winners at a ceremony at the University of Queensland on March 19th, 2010.

FDC and UQ were satisfied with the quality of the entries. In assessing the winning essays, Dr. Fabrizio Carmignani said “All in all, we have here three very good essays. All of them deal with important issues, all of them provide the reader with stimulating arguments, all of them denote that the authors have a deep interest in the subject and a good understanding of broad development themes. All of them would deserve the top prize, in one respect or another”.

The Foundation for Development Cooperation is an independent, not-for-profit international development organisation. Through alliances and partnerships, FDC undertakes a range of initiatives which seek to improve the lives of poor people in developing countries.

During January, The Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC) released the latest version of the FDC Briefing Note entitled: Financial Services Models in Papua New Guinea: Increasing Access to Finance in Rural Areas. A copy of this issues is available here.

The Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC) has recently been contracted to undertake the second phase of UNIFEM Pacific’s Partnerships to Improve Markets project in Fiji, which will run from January to May 2010. This project seeks to improve the social, economic and physical conditions of women market vendors and to encourage local governments and other bodies tasked with managing markets to adopt a gender responsive approach to marketplace planning, operations and governance. More…