Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
24 May 2023
Post No. 301
The Week’s Contents
• Financial Information, Communication, Education, and Technology Project
• All in Development Stories Telling Serial 4: Stories of Positively Transforming Human Relationships with Nature (From Wednesday 24/05/2023)
• Activity 4 of Nature Projects and Nature-based Solutions to Poverty: E-discussion on Bringing Lost Areas of Biodiversity Close to Net Zero (From Week Beginning 22/05/2023)
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Financial Information, Communication, Education, and Technology Project (FICETP)
Our work on integrating financial education, information, communication and technology into a single unit continues with the project proposals for the above-mentioned project. This micro-initiative was first identified or announced when we published the 79th Issue of FACS which concentrates on Financial Education, Information and Communications for and with the Poor.
FICETP is an integrated and progressive way of working with those who do not have access to financial educational knowledge and skills, information tools, communication settings and technologies so that they can access them and start to make jumps or leaps in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Through the four areas of financial empowerment, if the project is successfully implemented, they will be able to gradually make their own way in finding the strengths and capacities to better run their lives.
We have to admit that when we first introduced this project, we did not mention technologies. Yet, technologies (such as distance-working and digital technologies) are important to bridge financial gaps, especially for those people living in remote areas. For example, online and digital technologies used in the finance matter can help to reach the ‘hard to reach’ people from the physical point of view. With the help of online and digital technologies, they will be able to access the financial skills, tools and settings they need. These technologies are included in the proposals for FICETP.
So, FICETP or 4×4 Financial Project is a four-dimensional financial model of working with local people in Africa and/or their representatives that will help to reach those in need of the reduction or end of four-dimensional poverty characterised by the lacks of financial education, information, communication and technologies in Africa.
To gain more insight into FICETP (or 4×4 Financial Project) and its related proposals, please read under the Main Development section of this post.
• All in Development Stories Telling Serial 4: Stories of Positively Transforming Human Relationships with Nature (From Wednesday 24/05/2023)
Human-nature relationship evolves with the time from dependence through conquest to the coordination stage. This relationship can be perceived from various perspectives or fields of study (like evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, social economics and environmentalism) as mentioned by theories of human-nature relationship. These fields explained various ways in which humans are connected with nature. However, a broad perspective about this connectedness is also available. This broad perspective is the one we are interested in and which makes this Serial 4. What is this Serial 4 is about?
• • About Serial 4 of All in Development Stories Telling Programme
In this Serial 4 of our All in Development Stories Telling Programme, it is much about how we can change human-nature relationship so that it is balanced or benefit both humans and nature. Some may call it a positive or new or more connected relationship with nature.
For example, to build a new relationship with nature, Professor Miles Richardson (1) suggests, in his Nature Connectedness Research Blog, five types of activity which are: turning our senses, responding with our emotions, appreciating beauty, celebrating meaning and activating our compassion for nature.
From this new relationship and what Professor Miles Richardson argues, it is possible to identify Stories of Positively Transforming our Relationship with Nature.
• • Stories of Positively Transforming our Relationship with Nature
These are the accounts of a more connected relationship with nature. They include the tales of
√ connectedness with nature, not of visits into nature
√ taking part in engagement campaign on connectedness with nature
√ reconnecting people with nature
√ emotional connections and responses to nature
√ regulating human feeling with nature
√ rebooting human policies and practices to reconnect with nature
√ engaging with nature through facts and figures
√ sensory contact, emotional, beauty, meaning and compassionate connectedness with nature
√ health improvement because of connectedness with nature
√ where both humans and nature are relatively treated in equal and equitable way
etc.
The above are the relationship stories that CENFACS would like to hear from those wanting to give or donate their stories. If you have them, please do not hesitate to donate to CENFACS.
Please also remember, we will be selecting the top three impact stories of poverty reduction of the month and the real true story of poverty reduction of the month from the four series of our All in Development Stories Telling Programme. Don’t miss the opportunity of the month to have your story as the Top Story of the Month. Please tell your story now. Tell it!
• • Stories of Positively Transforming our Relationship with Nature to Improve CENFACS Community Members’ Relationship with Nature
Sharing Stories of Positively Transforming our Relationship with Nature can help to make or keep CENFACS Community a more nature connected. There are benefits in sharing these stories. The benefits include the following:
√ they can motivate our members to take action for nature such as recycling, net zero shopping, volunteering for nature, etc.
√ they can as well stimulate within our community nature-based solutions to poverty
√ they can finally send a supportive message to our members that it is possible to reduce poverty while having a positive relationship with nature.
Those members of our community who have Stories of Positively Transforming Their Relationships with Nature to tell, they should not hesitate to share them. Any other interested party who may have these stories, they can donate them to CENFACS.
To donate, tell and share your storying gift of Positively Transforming Human Relationships with Nature, please contact CENFACS.
• Activity 4 of Nature Projects and Nature-based Solutions to Poverty: E-discussion on Bringing Lost Areas of Biodiversity Close to Net Zero (From Week Beginning 22/05/2023)
Before giving the aim of this Activity 4 and what we are going to discuss, let us provide the following fact and figure from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). In its 14th edition of the Living Planet Report, WWF (2) finds
“an average 69% decline in the relative abundance of monitored wildlife populations around the world between 1970 and 2018” (p. 4)
The above-mentioned figure is an example of lost areas of biodiversity. This figure indicates as well the challenge ahead in terms of work to be done to bring these lost areas close net zero. This is why we are discussing about what needs to be done.
a) Aim of Activity 4
The aim of this Activity 4 is to help the community to discuss and find way of making zero loss or net loss to stop the decline of nature. Activity 4 is indeed an e-debate on offsets as a conservation tool. Through this e-conversation, participants will learn how to use biodiversity offsets to achieve no net loss or a net gain in biodiversity for deforestation and forest loss.
To facilitate this e-talks, it is better for prospective participants to understand the meaning of no net loss.
According to ‘forest-trends.org'(3),
“No net loss is a goal for a development project, plan or activity in which the impacts on biodiversity it causes are balanced or outweighed by measures taken to avoid and minimise the impacts, to restore affected areas and finally to offset the residual impacts, so that no loss remains”.
Equally, the understanding of net zero will contribute to the e-discussion. From the perspective of ‘weforum.org’ (4),
“The term net zero applies to a situation where global greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are in balance with emissions reductions”.
Knowing the meaning of no net loss and net zero, it makes easy to talk about the content of Activity 4.
b) What the e-Discussion on the Lost Areas of Biodiversity Will Be about
We will be e-debating the following:
∝ the lost biodiversity areas
∝ causes of biodiversity
∝ the Living Planet and Biodiversity Intactness Indexes
∝ how to go nature positive
∝ how to increase our ecological resilience
∝ above all, the steps to be taken to bringing lost areas of biodiversity close to net zero.
The above points, which will make up our discussion, will enable us to share answers to the question of how to bring lost areas of biodiversity close to net zero.
For those who would like to engage with Activity 4 and/or find out about any of the previous activities (Activity 1 to 3), they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
For those who would like to find out more about Nature Projects and Nature-based Solutions to Poverty, they can also communicate with CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Volunteers’ Stories of Actions across All Fronts of Build Forward Better
• Fundraising your Run to Reduce Poverty in Africa during this Event Season
• Africa-based Sister Organisations’ Data-based Stories of Rebuilding Broken Relationships between Humans and Nature in Africa
• Volunteers’ Stories of Actions across All Fronts of Build Forward Better (i.e. Reduced Disadvantages and Inequalities, Dismantled Discrimination Structures, Human Rights for Human Dignity, and Human-Nature Relationships)
These stories could be related to actions generally taken in volunteering capacity to help people and communities in need to Reduce Disadvantages and Inequalities, Dismantle Discrimination Structures, Build on Human Rights for Human Dignity, and Positively Transform Human-Nature Relationships.
They could also be actions in which a volunteer got specifically involved and at the fronts of the four types of Build Forward Better projects/activities like the following ones:
σ Project/Activity to Reduce Disadvantages and Inequalities
σ Project/Activity to Dismantle Discrimination Structures
σ Project/Activity of Building on Human Rights for Human Dignity
σ Project/Activity of Positively Transforming Human-Nature Relationships.
To tell, share and provide opportunity for learning development through your story of volunteers’ actions across all the fronts of build forward better; please contact CENFACS.
• Fundraising your Run to Reduce Poverty in Africa during this Event Season
For those who are running events in the context of Triple Value Initiative of Run to Reduce Poverty in Africa in 2023, they can use the opportunity of the event season to introduce a giving feature in their Run activity. They can ask those who are involved in the run with them to support good causes, including CENFACS‘ noble ones. This ask for support concerns both in-person and virtual runs.
They can make their Run activity cost-effective with a fundraising feature while running with or without others. Once the fundraising element has been inserted, it is wise to evaluate their fundraising drive. To evaluate it, they can proceed with the evaluation steps suggested by ‘classy.org’ (5), steps which include analysis of fundraising data, tracking of numbers and performance, staying focused on the mission of their Run project, evaluation of fundraising results and to be forward thinking.
They can as well journal and develop a story about their Run activity. They can share the contents of their journal and story of run with us and others.
However, they must remember that the aim of the CENFACS’ Run to Reduce Poverty in Africa is to select or find the African best runner of poverty reduction in 2023, rather than raising money.
For those who may be having or are experiencing some problems in installing or inserting a fundraising feature in their runs, there are resources both online and in print on how to organise a fundraising event for a Run Project. Amongst the resources is the one provided by ‘donorbox.org’ (6). It is worthwhile looking at this resource as it provides eight steps to realise your fundraising event.
For those who would like to involve or talk to CENFACS about their Run Project, they can speak to CENFACS.
To discuss your progress regarding your Run Project, the fundraising feature of your Run Project or any other issues relating to All Year Round Projects (Triple Value Initiatives), please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
• Africa-based Sister Organisations’ Data-based Stories of Rebuilding Broken Relationships between Humans and Nature in Africa
Where there is destructive war, there is always a destruction of the environmental life, the destruction of the relationship between the victims of war and their natural environment. Examples of these destroyed lives because of war are what happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Chad, in the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, etc.
As an add-on to our All in Development Stories Telling Sequences, we would like to add the stories of those who have tried or tried to mend destroyed relationships between local people and their natural environment in Africa. We would like their storytelling to be based on data. What is data storytelling?
As Catherine Cote (7) explains it,
“Data storytelling is the ability to effectively communicate insights from a dataset using narratives and visualization”.
Referring to this definition of data storytelling, our Africa-based Sister Organisations can use it to communicate their storylines or narratives with data on how their tried to repair the broken relationships between their locals and their natural environment because of events like wars or man-made natural disasters.
For any of ASOs that would like to submit or donate their data-based stories of mending broken relationships between their locals and nature as a result of wars or any other events, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
Message in French (Message en français)
• Collecte de fonds pour votre course pour réduire la pauvreté en Afrique pendant cette saison d’événements
Pour ceux/celles qui organisent des événements dans le cadre de l’initiative ‘ Courir pour réduire la pauvreté en Afrique en 2023′, ils/elles peuvent profiter de la saison des événements pour introduire une fonctionnalité de don dans leur activité de Courir. Ils/elles peuvent demander à ceux/celles qui sont impliqué(e)s dans la course avec eux/elles de soutenir de bonnes causes, y compris les nobles causes du CENFACS. Demander aux gens de soutenir concerne à la fois les courses en personne et virtuelles.
Soutenir de cette façon peut aider à révolutionner l’activité de la Course avec un élément de collecte de fonds tout en courant avec ou sans les autres. Ils/elles peuvent aussi tenir un journal et développer une histoire sur leur activité de course. Ils/elles peuvent partager le contenu de leur journal et de l’histoire de la course avec nous et d’autres.
Cependant, ils/elles doivent se rappeler que l’objectif de la Course pour réduire la pauvreté en Afrique du CENFACS est de sélectionner ou de trouver le/la meilleur(e) coureur(se) africain (e) de réduction de la pauvreté en 2023, plutôt que de collecter des fonds.
Pour ceux/celles qui peuvent avoir ou ont rencontré des problèmes lors de l’installation ou de l’insertion d’une fonction de collecte de fonds dans leurs courses, il existe des ressources en ligne et imprimées sur la façon d’organiser un événement de collecte de fonds pour un projet de course. Parmi les ressources figure celle fournie par le donorbox.org (6). Il vaut la peine de regarder cette ressource car elle fournit huit étapes à compléter pour réaliser votre événement de collecte de fonds.
Pour ceux/celles qui souhaitent impliquer ou parler au CENFACS de leur projet Course, ils/elles peuvent parler au CENFACS.
Pour discuter de vos progrès concernant votre projet de course, la fonction de collecte de fonds de votre projet de course ou toute autre question relative aux ‘projets tout au long de l’année’ (initiatives à triple valeur), n’hésitez pas à contacter le CENFACS.
Main Development
• Financial Information, Communication, Education, and Technology Project (FICETP)
The following items provide the key information about FICETP:
σ Definition of FICETP
σ The Aim of FICETP
σ FICETP Beneficiaries
σ Types of Financial Skills to be Developed
σ Outcomes
σ FICETP Indicators
σ Project Funding Status
σ Impact Monitoring and Evaluation.
Let us summarise each of these items.
• • Definition of FICETP
FICETP, which is a basic financial capacity building micro-initiative, deals with the reduction of four dimensions of poverty linked to the lacks of financial education, information, communication and technologies in Africa. FICETP or 4×4 Financial Project is indeed a four-dimensional financial model of working with local people and/or their representatives; a model of working that will help to reach those who are financially uneducated or less educated, uninformed or less informed and lacking financial communication and technology or with less financial communication and technology.
Through training and skills development to be provided from this micro-project, it is hoped that beneficiaries will improve their financial skills, knowledge and wellbeing. They will also enhance their means of living and enterprise so that they can increase the way they contribute in their community or society.
• • The Aim of FICETP
This basic financial capacity building micro-initiative aims at reducing four-dimensional poverty and hardships due to the lacks of financial education, information, communication and technologies in Africa. This reduction of four-dimensional poverty will be done through financial training, education and basic supply of financial communication technologies and tools to potential project beneficiaries.
• • Potential Beneficiaries of FICETP
Amongst the types of people in need who could benefit from FICETP as defined above are:
√ the unbanked and those relying on cash economy
√ those with inadequate personal finance education
√ the financially uneducated to control their finances
√ those who cannot manage their income and expenses
√ people who need increased awareness of financial communication
√ the financially excluded
√ those with little money which is unstable, unpredictable and hard to manage
√ those without financial technologies or tools or devices (like enabled-finance service mobile phone) to effectively and financially communicate
etc.
In short, most of the types of people mentioned above will need some form of financial capacity building or support to improve either their financial education or financial information or financial communication or financial technology.
• • Types of Financial Skills to be Developed
Basic training and education in the field of finance can enhance beneficiaries’ interpersonal skills. These skills can be broken into or individualised as financial education skills, financial information skills, financial communication skills and financial technology skills.
Let us give few examples of skills to be developed.
∝ On the side of financial education skills, we can number the following to be taught:
√ money saving skills
√ bank account handling skills
√ money management skills
√ skills for making sensible and right decision about money
√ skills for healthy relationship with money
√ skills for budgeting and money management
etc.
∝ Regarding financial information skills, we can mention these ones below:
√ skills to evaluate financial information
√ skills to use relevant and reliable financial information
√ skills to analyse financial information
√ skills to search and access sources of financial information
√ skills to identify or recognise the relevancy of financial information
√ skills to identify the features of a purchase invoice or recognise the balance on a bank statement
√ skills to locate information explaining the consequences of defaulting on loan repayments in a contract
√ skills to recognise financial terminology (e.g., inflation, exchange rate, etc.)
etc.
∝ As to financial communication skills, they are about finding the narratives in support of quantitative data or numbers. These skills include the following:
√ skills to effective listening to understand financial information and numbers
√ skills to feed back what your speaker says
√ skills to effectively and competently talk about financial statements such as household budgets, balance sheets, cash flow statements and income statements
√ skills to effectively pass on financial information from your financial literacy and numeracy skills
√ skills to take the perspectives of others to distil financial information
√ skills to explain how financial metrics impact your household
√ skills to provide context about financial trends and ratios
etc.
∝ Concerning financial technology skills, we can identify the following:
√ skills to competently use a technology (like a mobile phone) to send a text message or email to explain financial matter
√ skills to use digital technologies to communicate
√ skills to handle mobile payment technologies
√ skills to store your invoice or receipt in your phone
√ skills to make online purchase
√ skills to access financial education online
√ skills to store and retrieve financial information using technology
etc.
Through the learning of the above-mentioned skills, we hope to identify changes that users will go through.
• • Outcomes
After the implementation of FICETP, it is expected that project beneficiaries will be able to realise the following:
√ get to know their financial wellbeing
√ to raise awareness and increase confidence in having financial information that allows to effectively run their life
√ to provide a factual information and fair view information regarding the state of their financial conditions
√ to help them make important financial decisions (such as retirement planning) and
√ to lead them to an independent financial lifestyle.
However, to be precise it is better to differentiate outcomes in users from those relating to Africa-based Sister Organisations.
• • • Outcomes in users
By using FICETP, users will
√ become financially educated, informed, literate and numerate while understanding basic financial principles
√ integrate financial skills as part of their daily routine/life
√ improve their aspiration and motivation
√ become better financial communicators
√ ameliorate their confidence, trust and self-esteem regarding financial services and products offered to them
√ increase their financial communications and financial capacity building skills to understand financial aspects of their their shopping/contract
√ enhance their financial skills and knowledge about financial services
√ reform relationships between financial/nonfinancial service providers and project beneficiaries
√ boost people’s perception, competence and capability about finance
√ make responsible financial decisions and own financial choices
√ provide independence and choice to them instead of solely relying on their families, communities and next of kin for support to understand financial matter
etc.
Briefly, users will have a better opportunity to run their financial matters and improve their financial wellbeing.
• • • Outcomes in Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs)
Work undertaken by ASOs to help reduce poverty linked to the lack of financial capacity building should lead to:
√ adaptation of local needs and the needs of beneficiaries in their financial development agenda
√ better local insights and capacities to create solutions for the needy
√ improvement in the risk financial management insight for the locals and local needs
√ assisting in the innovation of solutions for the needy
√ knowledge of financial risk transfer mechanisms
√ closing of gaps in financial knowledge and skills between the needy and the others
√ capturing financial metrics relating to financial capacity building of the poor
√ increase financial development within beneficiaries’ community
√ reducing economic deprivation because of lack of financial understanding
√ improving financial capability and confidence building in terms of money management
√ reducing mental health problems induced by poor financial education within their communities/locals
etc.
• • FICETP Indicators
The measures below will help find out whether or not the project will reach its desired objectives and progress towards meeting its defined aim:
√ the number of poor people who will embrace financial education, information, communications and technologies
√ the number of poor people who will be financially educated, financially informed, financial communicators and competent in handling financial technologies
√ the rate of penetration of financial technologies in the poor community and households
√ the number of people who become less vulnerable to financial poverty as a result of financial capacity building
√ the performance of the confidence index of financial services and products amongst them
√ the number of surveyed poor people who are happy (optimistic) or unhappy (pessimistic) to FICETP support provided or offered to them
etc.
To conclude, FICETP is an integrative initiative that will enable connection of the poor with the worlds of financial education, information, communication and technology. FICETP will help make a real difference to poor peoples’ life and help shape their future.
The skills, knowledge and capacities to be acquired will help the project beneficiaries to understand finance services and products offered to them, make informed choices regarding their own financial wellbeing and improve financial risk management insights for themselves.
• • Project Funding Status
So far, this project is unfunded. This means we are open to any credible funding proposals or proposition from potential funders or donors. It is known that the lingering impacts of the current cost-of-living crisis, does not make easy for support to other genuine deserving causes. However, those who would like to support this project will be more than welcome.
To fully or partly fund this project, please contact CENFACS.
• • Impact Monitoring and Evaluation
As part of impact monitoring, there will be routine and systematic gathering of information on all aspects of the project. In other words, we will systematically collect and analyse information to keep regular checks and balances on the project.
Likewise, we shall assess what the project will achieve in relation to the overall objectives it was set up. This is to say that evaluation will be conducted regarding the efforts spent on this project to find out whether or not these efforts are value for relief as far as poverty reduction is concerned.
In proceeding in this manner, we will be able to measure the impact or at least the outcomes from this project.
The full project proposals including budget are available on request.
To support or contribute to this project, please contact CENFACS.
For further details including full project proposals and budget about the Financial Information, Communication, Education, and Technology Project; please contact CENFACS.
_________
• References
(1) Richardson, M. (2020), A New Relationship with Nature: what it means and what we can do at https://findingnature.org/2020/04/08/a-new-relationship-with-nature/# (accessed in May 2023)
(2) WWF (2022). Living Planet Report 2022 – Building a nature-positive society. Almond, R.E.A., Grooten, M., Juffe Bignol, D. & Peterson, T. (Eds). WWF, Gland, Switzerland
(3) https://www.forest-trends.org/bbop/bbop-key-concepts/no-net-loss-and-net-gain-of-biodiversity/# (accessed in May 2023)
(4) https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/11/net-zero-emissions-cop26-climate-change/ (accessed in May 2023)
(5) https://www.classy.org/blog/properly-evaluate-fundraising-campaign/# (accessed in May 2023)
(6) https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/organize-a-charity-run (accessed in May 2023)
(7) Cote, C. (2021), Data Storytelling: How to Effectively Tell a Story with Data, Harvard Business School Online at https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/data-storytelling (accessed in May 2023)
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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.
