FDC News and Events

Briefing Note 11 – Governance and Leadership in the Pacific: Options to Increase Female Participation

FDC — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:21:54 +0000

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.

FDC FY09 Consolidated Annual Report

FDC — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:58:15 +0000

FDC is pleased to release its consolidated FY09 annual report. It is accessible (here).

July AARTG

FDC — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:51:09 +0000

For the latest July AARTG please visit here.

Partners Improving Marketplaces Project

FDC — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 02:32:56 +0000

FDC recently held a training session for women market vendors in Suva, Fiji as part of the UNIFEM funded Partner’s Improving Marketplaces Project. FDC project manager Carly Stephan, and Pacific Regional Representative Luse Kinivuwai trained women from Suva, Nausori and Sigatoka markets in team building and how to form associations. It is hoped that as a result of this training, the participants will go on to form their own women market vendors associations and that women’s issues in these respective marketplaces will gain a higher profile and lead to improvements. Here are some photos from the training. More photos from the training session can be found here.

Asia Clean Energy Form 2010

FDC — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 23:25:12 +0000

Updates from the Asia Clean Energy Forum 2010 – including news, interviews, videos and photos – are now available at the newly revised www.cleanenergyasia.net. The Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF) is Asia’s premier event for policymakers, technical experts and project developers to share knowledge and up-to-date developments in clean energy in the region.

ACEF 2010 was held on June 23-25 in Manila, attracting over 600 clean energy practitioners. To view day-by-day updates from ACEF 2010, as well as participants’ observations, photos and a Twitter feed, go to http://www.cleanenergyasia.net/events/asia-clean-energy-forum-2010-manila-philippines. Presentations from ACEF 2010 will be available on www.cleanenergyasia.net by July 15, 2010.

ACEF is organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with assistance from the World Resources Institute (WRI), and sponsorship from the governments of Australia, Japan, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

Pacific Island Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO) Workshop

FDC — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:52:47 +0000

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 RSS Feed

FDC — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:19:04 +0000

The FDC website now supports RSS Feeds, broadcasting news headlines to all readers. To add the FDC RSS Feed to your reader, please press on the RSS button (orange) next to ‘FDC Headlines’ on the homepage (above).

Pacific Renewable Energy and Microfinance Project (PREM)

FDC — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:26:21 +0000

70% of the Pacific Island Countries (PIC) population are “unelectrified” and do not have access to modern energy services. Access to basic modern energy has been defined as essential in the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) as it leads to improvements in education, health, gender, communication and income generating prospects. The low population and geographic nature of PICs means that the distribution of electricity is extremely challenging financially and technically and leaves them highly dependent on fossil fuels to meet electricity needs.

FDC is currently working in partnership with Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) on the Pacific Renewable Energy and Microfinance Project (PREM). The PREM project addresses the accessibility of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) through working with microfinance institutions to promote RE and EE and to identify the needs of their clients and develop innovative microfinance loan products for their clients. Microfinance Institutions in Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa serve over 35,000 low income earning clients. These clients and their families are the target group of this initiative. This project is funded by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), and international multi-stakeholder partnership which aim to accelerate the market for renewable energy and energy efficiency. www.reeep.org or www.reegle.info

FDC & Australian Strategic Policy Institute Paper on the Resource Sector

FDC — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 02:28:51 +0000

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.

World Bank Praxis Discussion Series: Microfinancing

FDC — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:57:48 +0000

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