Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
19 April 2023
Post No. 296
The Week’s Contents
• Coming Next Week’s Thursday 27/04/2023: The 13th Edition of CENFACS Reflection Day with a Focus on Protection and Security for Women and Children against Geo-economic Risks and Crises
• Protection Key Note 3 for Week Beginning 17/04/2023: Income Protection by Way of Employers
• Protection of Endangered Fish in Africa: The Case of Small Pelagic in West Africa
…And much more!
Key Messages
• Coming Next Week’s Thursday 27/04/2023: The 13th Edition of CENFACS Reflection Day with a Focus on Protection and Security for Women and Children against Geo-economic Risks and Crises
On our Reflection Day, we will reflect on the risks and crises linked to interstate economic confrontations and rivalries in recent years and how they could lead to geo-economic warfare. These rivalries, if they escalate, can pose concern about protection and security vulnerabilities for many people, especially but not exclusively for women and children living in poverty.
Our Reflection Day will try to look at ways of protecting and securing women and children from increasing geo-economic clashes and the proliferation of instruments of new geo-economic weaponization in the new protection and security contexts.
Additionally, we shall reflect on the effects of the geo-economic conflicts on our network and system of protection in the process of building forward better together greener, cleaner and safer.
More on the Reflection Day (including how to effectively engage with it) has been explained under the Main Development section of this post.
• Protection Key Note 3 for Week Beginning 17/04/2023: Income Protection by Way of Employers
This 3rd key note will be developed around the following items:
∝ What is Income Protection by Employers?
∝ Income Protection by Employers and In-work Poverty
∝ CENFACS’ Financial Guidance on Employee Benefits Provision.
Let us briefly explain these items.
• • What is Income Protection by Employers?
This is the kind of income protection cover offered by employers looking to protect their employees. Generally, employers do it via insurance companies which provide employee benefits in the form of health, wellbeing and financial protection for those working for these employers. To illustrate this, let us take the example of Unum Group (1) which is one of the employee benefits providers. Unum Group states that
“Income protection can be used by employers as an employee benefit, to provide continued income for sick and incapacitated employees, helping to relieve money worries at a difficult time. Having this valuable benefit in place can help to attract as well as retain employees”.
Normally, sensible employees and job seekers would want to choose employers who offer an attractive income protection or occupational sick-pay scheme. Just like anybody else, the in-work poor would want employer’s occupational sick-pay scheme.
• • Income Protection by Employers and In-work Poverty
Income protection is what any worker wants. Those workers in in-work poverty would want it even more since they cannot afford to build their income protection. They would attempt to look for employers that offer employee benefits such as income protection. Indeed, living in in-work poverty is what ‘cipd.co.uk’ (2) explains in the following terms:
“When a working person’s income, after housing costs, is less than 60% of the national average, they don’t earn enough to meet the cost of living – they are living in poverty”.
Likewise, ’nuffieldfoundation.org’ (3) states
“In-work poverty occurs when a working household’s total net income is insufficient to meet their needs”.
Obviously, those living in in-work poverty would prefer employers that are willing to protect them from income wise by offering them some sort of insurance if they are stricken by sickness or incapacity. So, being able to offer to in-work poor income protection could be a good bargaining point in the negotiation relating to job contracts. Some of those in-work poor can find themselves employers offering the kind of income protection insurance they would like to get. Others may find it difficult and may need guidance.
• • CENFACS’ Financial Guidance on Employee Benefits Provision
There is a number of ways that CENFACS can work with the members of its community to enhance their income protection by accessing or improving the way they are trying to access income protection sponsored by employers. Amongst these ways of working with the members of our community to enhance their protection includes financial guidance.
Under this provision of financial guidance, we can support our members in the following ways:
~ Provide them with information about the various options available to them regarding employee benefit provision without specifically recommending them any particular option or employer
~ Signpost them for support to organisations dealing with income protection insurance run by employers
~ Refer them to voluntary organisations dealing with employment and employee income protection matters.
The above are just some of ways CENFACS could support the community regarding income protection benefit run by employers. These support services or products make up our financial guidance service in income protection by way of employers.
Those who need help and support about financial guidance on income protection and/or for any of the matters listed above falling within our capacity, they can contact CENFACS.
• Protection of Endangered Fish in Africa: The Case of Small Pelagic in West Africa
On 5 April 2023 when we presented our Plan for the Implementation of Protection for April 2023, we promised that we would consider other areas of protection, in particular the protection of flora and fauna. As part of dealing with these other areas of protection, we are working on the protection of fish in Africa, particularly the case of small pelagic in West Africa.
• • The Case of Small Pelagic in West Africa
A number of advocacy and campaigning works (4) has been going on with regard to species of fish that are facing extinction in West Africa. These initiatives are trying to address the problem of overfishing of small pelagic (like mackerel, sardines and mérous) in waters around Senegal, Gambia, Cameroon and Mauritania.
This case of overfishing raises three concerns which include the threats to existence of small pelagic living in these waters, the decrease of fish consumption for the populations of these concerned African countries and the rising price of fish in West Africa. For example, it is understood that conservationists think that sardines are in danger of being wiped off the planet.
As we are in the month of protection, it is normal that we add our voice so that something can be done to protect small pelagic in this part of waters surrounding Africa. It is possible to stop the overfishing off the West African coast and effects of intensive industrial fishing in West Africa. Protecting fish in the waters of this region of Africa will help to preserve food security and sustenance while beating hunger in the region.
CENFACS supports the ongoing work relating to the protection of small Atlantic fish in West African waters conducted by other organisations working on this issue. CENFACS welcome any efforts done to support small pelagic.
Those members of our community who are interested in advocating with us for the protection of small pelagic, they are welcome to get involved in this advocacy drive. Those African organisations working on the stated countries and have the same concern like ours, they can share with us their experience and work on this matter of protecting small pelagic.
To share your work about the protection of small pelagic, please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• All-year Round Projects Cycle (Triple Value Initiatives Cycle) – Step/Workshop 9: Reviewing Your Play, Run and Vote Projects
• Triple Value Initiatives (TVIs)/All-year Round Projects (AYRPs) Journaling Activity: Write a Journal of Your TVI/AYRP Cycle
• Basic Financial Advice/Guidance/Information to Finance Your Holiday
• All-year Round Projects Cycle (Triple Value Initiatives Cycle) – Step/Workshop 9: Reviewing Your Play, Run and Vote Projects
You can start reviewing Your Play, Run and Vote Projects, while the monitoring of the same projects is still going on. But, what are project reviews?
• • Basic Understanding of Project Reviews
Project reviews can be explained in many ways depending on any approaches taken. Referring to the explanation of ‘fox-plan.com’ (5),
“A project review is an evaluation of the current progress of a project at a specific point of the project (milestone)… A project review will provide you with a thorough knowledge of the current status of your project and if it is on track to meet your success criteria”.
There can be many or staggered reviews in a project depending on a project size, scope, scale, progress, complexity and resource availability. These different reviews can include initial review, completion review, special review and follow-up review. Also, to better review a project it is preferable to design a review process with guidelines, evidence and tools.
• • Example of Reviewing Your All-year Round Projects
Let us consider Voting your 2023 International Development and Poverty Reduction Manager.
In order to review your Vote Project, you will proceed with the following three review tasks:
a) Examine and audit your planned tasks, activities, procedures, events and other work about the project
b) Identify if the amount of work you put in your project responded to your Vote Project requirements
c) Work out additional resources to help you complete the project.
The above is a simple version of project reviews. For those who would like to dive deeper into Reviewing their Play or Run or Vote project, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
• Triple Value Initiatives (TVIs)/All-year Round Projects (AYRPs) Journaling Activity: Write a Journal of Your TVI/AYRP Cycle
You can write and reflect on what you are doing as TVI/AYRP user or beneficiary. Journaling a TVI/AYRP (that is Play, Run and Vote) can have benefits. To get those benefits, one needs to have a goal and plan activities/achievements.
• • Benefits of Journaling Your TVI/AYRP
The journal will help you to capture the moments of your TVI/AYRP via expressive writing and story. It can have other benefits such as setting goals, tracking or measuring your progress on TVI/AYRP, recording and celebrating achievements and gaining both general and specific perspectives of your TVI/AYRP. You can even show your style and express your feeling or character through your writing. Another good thing of journaling your TVI/AYRP is that it makes things easy when it comes to report to CENFACS and others before the deadline of 23 December 2023.
• • Journaling Goal of TVI/AYRP
The goal is basically to explore and enrich one’s TVI/AYRP activity through creative writing. This goal does not stop users of TVI/AYRP to have their own journaling goal. Besides their journaling goal, they need to add what their journal can help achieve.
• • What One’s TVI/AYRP Journal Can Achieve
It can achieve many things including the following:
∝ Solve problems encountered in the cycle of your TVI/AYRP
∝ Enhance one’s health and wellness via TVI/AYRP
∝ Improve TVI/AYRP outcomes.
For those who are undertaking any of the TVIs/AYRPs and would like to write a journal about their activity, they can do it. There are many online and print resources available on the matter. Please select resources that are concise and have some links with your TVIs/AYRPs.
For those who would like to approach CENFACS for help and support to write a Journal of TVI/AYRP or to select appropriate resources, they are welcome to do so.
• Basic Financial Advice/Guidance/Information (AGI) to Finance Your Holiday
CENFACS can help and support you with basic financial AGI to finance your holiday. Our basic financial AGI to finance your holiday includes the following:
√ Building a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) holiday budget
√ Working with the members of our community to find ways of financing their holiday
√ Guiding them/you to find financial help for holidaying with peace of mind
√ Arranging for them/you to speak to specialists around funding holiday for vulnerable and needy people
√ Signposting them/you to organisations offering holiday funding service to those in need
√ Informing them/you about free activities and free trips during holiday (e.g., Summer holiday)
√ Referring them/you to the local authority if they/you have a need for a holiday arising from disabilities under the provision of holidays
√ Advocating to charities and voluntary organisations that can help around holiday matters such as paying for a holiday via financial support for holidays, finding the right holiday for families with a member with a chronic condition, and finding a break and or respite.
Etc.
If you need helpful and supportive financial advice, information and guidance to finance your holiday, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
Message in French (Message en français)
À venir la semaine prochaine jeudi 27/04/2023: La 13ème édition de la Journée de réflexion du CENFACS avec un accent sur la protection et la sécurité des femmes et des enfants contre les risques et les crises géo-économiques
Lors de notre Journée de réflexion, nous réfléchirons aux risques et aux crises liés aux confrontations et rivalités économiques interétatiques de ces dernières années et à la manière dont elles pourraient conduire à une guerre géo-économique. Ces rivalités, si elles s’intensifient, peuvent susciter des inquiétudes quant aux vulnérabilités en matière de protection et de sécurité pour de nombreuses personnes, en particulier mais pas exclusivement pour les femmes et les enfants vivant dans la pauvreté.
Notre Journée de réflexion tentera d’examiner les moyens de protéger et de sécuriser les femmes et les enfants contre les affrontements géo-économiques croissants et la prolifération des instruments de nouvelle militarisation géo-économique dans les nouveaux contextes de protection et de sécurité.
En outre, nous réfléchirons aux effets des conflits géoéconomiques sur notre réseau et notre système de protection et de sécurité communautaire dans le processus de construction ensemble d’un avenir meilleur, plus vert, plus propre et plus sûr.
Pour soutenir ou participer à la Journée de réflexion sur la protection des femmes et des enfants, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.
Main Development
• Coming Next Week’s Thursday 27/04/2023: The 13th Edition of CENFACS Reflection Day with a Focus on Protection and Security for Women and Children against Geo-economic Risks and Crises
The following notes give a glimpse of the 13th Edition of CENFACS Reflection Day. They also help to plan ahead for those who may be interested in the Reflection Day. The notes are organised around two items:
∝ What is CENFACS’ Reflection Day?
∝ The 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day.
Let us briefly explain each of these items.
• • What is CENFACS’ Reflection Day?
CENFACS’ Reflection Day is a day to acknowledge the conditions of women and children in need, to reflect on attitudes and what can be done to improve the living conditions of women and children in need.
CENFACS’ Reflection Day is also a special eventful day to re-engage our mind set and spirit to deeply think about the fate of poor women and children, and engineer possible new solutions that can lift them out of poverty and hardships they are facing. At this time of the world in multiple crises and risks, they may be facing poverty induced by these crises and risks. One of these crises and risks is geo-economic confrontation.
• • The 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day
The following points will assist in clarifying the 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day:
∝ What is the 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day?
∝ What Will Happen during the 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day?
∝ How the 13th Edition of Our Reflection Day Will Be Run
∝ What Areas of Thoughts Our Reflection Day Will Touch upon.
The above-mentioned points are explained below.
• • • What is the 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day?
The 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day is a continuity of the theme about self-protection by women and children and/or protection of women and children by others against future risks or crises or polycrises (like food, fuel and cost crises). In this case, the risk or crisis is geo-economic confrontation.
The 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day is a day to think of the struggle these women and children have in face of geo-economic risk of confrontation. Before going any further, let us try to understand geo-economic risk.
• • • • Understanding geo-economic risk
To comprehend geo-economic risk, we are going to recall what the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (6) states in one of its papers, which is
“Geo-economic risk denotes the risks associated with economics being used by states for power political objectives. This not only affects US and Chinese companies, but reverberates throughout the networked global economy”.
To this basic understanding of geo-economic risk, we can add what Daniela Schwarzer (7) explains about geo-economics which is:
“What is at stake is securing influence outside of one’s own territory by using geo-economic instruments to reinforce one’s own power position. To this end, governments are attempted to control data streams, financial and energy flows, and trade in industrial goods and other technologies”.
Taking the same line of reasoning, the World Economic Forum (8) recognises that
“Economic warfare is becoming a norm, with increasing clashes between global powers and state intervention in markets over the next two years”. (p. 7)
From the survey conducted by the same World Economic Forum, geo-economic confrontation is ranked third amongst the global risks ranked by severity over the short term; that is over a 2-year period.
Given this understanding of geo-economic risks and what is said about the geo-economic nature of globalisation, there could be a need to protect or think ways of protecting people, especially but not exclusively women and children in need, against any emerging damaging effects (such as risks of distrust and decoupling) from the intensive geo-economic weaponization. Put it simply, a geo-economic risk or crisis can also affect the security of women and children in need. One can think of how the interstate conflict or geo-military confrontation between Russia and Ukraine has harmful economic ramifications in the world to even reach and threaten economic security in Africa. In this respect, our Reflection Day is also a day of economic security.
• • • • What is economic security?
Economic security here has to be interpreted like what the International Committee of the Red Cross (9) argues about it as
“The ability of individuals, households or communities to cover their essential needs sustainably and with dignity. This can vary according to an individual’s physical needs, the environment and prevailing cultural standards. Food, basic shelter, clothing and hygiene qualify as essential need, as does the related expenditure; the essential assets needed to earn a living and the costs associated with health care and education also qualify”.
In our Reflection Day, we shall think of how the intensive use of geo-economic instruments in power competition can affect economic security of those in need, particularly but not exclusively women and children in need.
• • • What Will Happen during the 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day?
During the 13th Edition of CENFACS’ Reflection Day, we will reflect on what can be done to improve the living conditions of women and children in the contexts of increasing clashes between global powers and state intervention in markets over the next two years.
The day is also about finding solutions to economic insecurity through inspirations, new thoughts and ideas to mitigate harmful consequences of geo-economic weaponization.
• • • How the 13th Edition of Our Reflection Day Will Be Run
This year, the 13th Edition of our Reflection Day will be run in hybrid fashion (that; it will be organised in-person and virtual).
There will be a physical gathering for those who want it. There will also be a virtual reflection. In the case of virtual reflection, every participant will be reflecting from the location which is suitable for them (that is, like a virtual reality or remotely).
• • • What Areas of Thoughts Our Reflection Day Will Touch upon
During our reflection, we will try to think of following matters:
√ Effects of defensive economic policies on the welfare and wellbeing of women and children
√ Ways of building and improving self-sufficiency from geo-economic threats
√ Security vulnerabilities posed by economic interdependency to poor women and children
√ Impacts of inefficient production and rising prices on women and children as a result of geo-economic warfare
√ Ways of developing defensive geo-economic capabilities for women and children
√ Effects of geo-economic measures (like unilateral enforcement of trade tariff obligations, the stoppage of the dissemination of strategic knowledge, etc.) on educational and training opportunities for women and children of victimised countries
√ Learning lessons and development experiences about multi-domain conflicts and asymmetric economic welfare in terms of their effects on women and children in need
Etc.
The above is the main menu of our Reflection Day. Besides this main menu, we shall have a side menu which is Reflection on the Effects of Geo-economic Confrontation on our Network for Protection and Community Security in the process of building forward better together greener, cleaner and safer.
To support or join the Reflection Day on the Protection of Women and Children, please contact CENFACS.
After the References section of this post, we have appended a timeline about CENFACS’ Reflection Day for your information.
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• References
(1) https://www.unum.co.uk/employer/group-income-protection-insurance# (Accessed in April 2023)
(2) https://cipd.co.uk/knowldege/culture/well-being/employee-financial-well-being/in-work-poverty/introduction# (Accessed in April 2023)
(3) https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Hick%20and%20Lanau%20_%20In-Work%20Poverty%20in%20the%20UK.pdf (Accessed in April 2023)
(4) https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-africa-stateless/2021/05/a69ef97c-nourrir-lemonstre-fr-final-small.pdf (Accessed in April 2023)
(5) https://fox-plan.com/docs/project-review/ (Accessed in April 2023)
(6) https://www.fiia.fi/en/publication/recognizing-geoeconomic-risk?read (Accessed in April 2023)
(7) https://berlinpolicyjournal.com/weaponizing-the-economy (Accessed in April 2023)
(8) https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-risks-report-2023/ (Accessed in April 2023)
(9) https://www.icrc.org/en/document/introduction-economic-security (Accessed in April 2023)
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• Appendix
• • Reflection Day Timeline
The Reflection Day is a day of thoughts by bringing together the two pillars of our network and protection programme, which are 3W and PPS. Although they started in 2003, we only introduced a Reflection Day (RD) in them in 2011.
In 2016, we amalgamated 3W and PPS to become Women and Children projects as we noticed in some situations it was difficult to separate women’s and children’s needs. Where their needs are separable or differentiated one to the other, we run either of the two brands (that is 3W and PPS) individually. This is why these two brands of our network and protection are still alive despite their amalgamation.
The Reflection Day is a day of introspection to think in depth the ways forward for our systems of support network and protection for poverty relief and sustainable development in face of the current, new and emerging challenges ahead as well as the ever changing development landscape.
Since its inception, the following is the timeline of 3W and PPS
2011: Making Networking and Protection Even Better in 2011
2012: Raising Standards in Poverty Reduction for Improving Lives
2013: Place of Women and Children in the Post-2015 Development World (Part I)
2014: Women and Children in the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda (Part II) – A Stock Taking Reflection Event
2015: Doing Business to Lift Women and Children out of Poverty
2016: Improving Digital Protection for the Extremely Digitally Poor Women and Children
2017: Reducing Information and Communication Poverty for Multi-dimensionally Poor Women and Children
2018: Making Transitional Economy Work for Poor Families
2019: Protection of Women and Children in War-torn Zones and Natural Disaster-stricken Areas
2020: Protection of Women and Children in Times of Health or Sanitary Crisis like Covid-19
2021: Ring-fencing Protection for Women and Children to Become More Resilient and Vigilant in face of Future Risks and Crises
2022: Protection for Women and Children from Energy Crisis
For your information,
3W & PPS = Support Network and Protection for Poverty Relief and Development
Women and Children projects = amalgamation of 3W and PPS in 2016
3W (What Women Want) = a CENFACS support network scheme to enhance the lives of multi-dimensional deprived women and families
PPS (Peace, Protection & Sustainability) = a CENFACS child and environmental protection programme to support multi-dimensional vulnerable children, young people and families
KNA (Keep the Net Alive) = a motto that helps to keep our networking for protection running.
For more information on 3W and PPS or Women and Children projects, please contact CENFACS.
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• Help CENFACS keep the Poverty Relief work going this year
We do our work on a very small budget and on a voluntary basis. Making a donation will show us you value our work and support CENFACS’ work, which is currently offered as a free service.
One could also consider a recurring donation to CENFACS in the future.
Additionally, we would like to inform you that planned gifting is always an option for giving at CENFACS. Likewise, CENFACS accepts matching gifts from companies running a gift-matching programme.
Donate to support CENFACS!
FOR ONLY £1, YOU CAN SUPPORT CENFACS AND CENFACS’ NOBLE CAUSES OF POVERTY REDUCTION.
JUST GO TO: Support Causes – (cenfacs.org.uk)
Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2023 and beyond.
With many thanks.
