Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
05 June 2024
Post No. 355
The Week’s Contents
• Creative Economic Development Month and Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Initiatives) Project 2024
• Matching Organisation-Investor via Charity Shop – Activity 2 (05 to 11/06/2024): Initial Capital
• Goal of the Month: Poverty Reduction through Entrepreneurship
… And much more!
Key Messages
• Creative Economic Development Month and Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Initiatives) Project 2024
The key theme for June 2024 is Creations and Innovations to Reduce Poverty and Enhance Sustainable Development. Within this main theme, there are 3 sub-themes which are Celebration, Transition and Household Spending. Inside these sub-themes, there are codes.
This June 2024 will be special as we are celebrating CENFACS as a Tricennial Creation. Besides this celebration, we will be working on the kinds of creations and innovations we need in order to transition to a climate-resilient future, to reset and change our system of poverty reduction, and to handle squeezed household life-sustaining spending.
The plan for June 2024 includes the initiatives below.
a) Tricennium and Project 30
Tricennium or CENFACS’ Tricennial Year (1994 to 2024), which is a history and creation project, will be the first creation we will deal with this June 2024. Project 30 is an initiative set up to deliver CENFACS’ Pearl Jubilee or Tricennial Year.
Besides the Tricennium, we shall have creations and innovations that we need to transition to a climate-resilient development and to reset and change our system of poverty reduction.
b) Creations and Innovations to transition to a climate-resilient future and to reset and change our poverty reduction system
Forming from nothing ideas or introducing changes to transition towards climate resilient future and continue to move forward together will be the main activity during this month of June 2024. These creative ideas and innovative ways of working will enable to find the means to meet the level of ambition we have for the kind of sustainable development and future we want, which we hope will be climate-resilient and net zero one.
These creative ideas and innovative ways of working together will be used to reset and/or change systems, like our poverty reduction system. This is also part of being resilient against any shocks and stresses that may affect systems, our system of poverty reduction.
Using our experience, skills, knowledge and talents to find techniques, technologies and new methods to deal with the currently pressing and immediate needs of the time of squeezed household spending may not be enough unless we create and innovate to prevent or at least to mitigate future crises. It means there could be another need to bring into existence ideas and introduce changes and new methods to address future crises if they happen when they happen.
c) Creations and Innovations to deal with squeezed household life-sustaining spending
Squeeze on household spending means that one needs to find some creative and innovative ways of dealing with this squeeze if one wants to avoid the deepening of consumption poverty. It also means one may work out to develop an alternative in terms of ideas, skills and new knowledge to meet the basic expenditures of those who are unable to spend enough to avoid consumption poverty.
So, in the context of the Creative Economic Development Month (CEDM), we have 3 sub-themes of creations and innovations to offer which are:
1) Tricennium: CENFACS as a Tricennial Creation
2) Transition: transition to climate-resilient development and the reset and change of our system of poverty reduction
3) Household Expenses: handling squeezed household life-sustaining spending.
During this Month of Creative Economic Development, we are forming responses from nothing and bringing them into existence to deal with the above-mentioned sub-themes. Equally, we are going to introduce new ideas or methods as well as make changes to what has been tried and tested to deliver these kinds of sub-themes.
In this process of forming proposals and introducing new methods, we are going to work with the community – via the project Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Initiatives project) featuring this month – to try to create and innovate so that we are all able to better meet the challenges and cross the hurdles brought by crises or shocks (such as the cost-of-living crisis and falling real household disposable income, natural disaster, humanitarian catastrophe, etc.).
June 2024 is a feature-rich month during which we shall streamline users’ content creation and innovation processes. In this process of creating and innovating, we shall consider some of the creative and innovative ideas, proposals, metrics, experiences and tools that have been so far put forward to help poor people and households reduce poverty and hardships, or at least to deal with squeezed household life-sustaining spending.
Our work will revolve around the kinds of creation and innovation the CENFACS Community (and alike our Africa-based Sister Organisations) needs in order to find ways of Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future.
Under the Main Development section of this post, we have provided further information about this first key message.
• Matching Organisation-Investor via Charity Shop – Activity 2 (05 to 11/06/2024): Initial Capital
The second activity of our 4-week Matching Organisation-Investor via Charity Shop is about Matching Charity Shop Founder’s Startup Capital with Charity Shop Investor’s Capital Proposition. In this episode, we are going to delve into the total amount of money or wealth that a charity shop founder is prepared to put in and what charity shop investor is offering.
Both Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisation (ASCO)/charity shop founder and not-for-profit (n-f-p) charity shop investor have decided to move with the matching talks as they scored points each of them during Activity 1. They agreed to move to Activity 2 while finalising the little bits remaining from Activity 1 of the matching negotiations since these negotiations are a backward and forward process.
To summarise what is going to happen during this Activity 2, we have organised our notes around the following headings:
σ ASCO’s initial capital
σ Factors/elements determining initial working capital
σ Ownership control
σ The match or fit test.
Let us look at each of these headings.
• • ASCO’s Initial Capital
ASCO needs to specify how much is putting as initial capital in its charity shop project. As ‘bizjournals.com’ (1) puts it,
“If you are getting money from investors anywhere, except Silicon Valley, they are expecting you to put your own”.
However, ASCO has to be aware about the reality of funding for startups. This reality is explained by ‘upcounsel.com’ (2) which argues that
“Typically, startups go through rounds of funding, and with each successive round, the founder’s ownership percentage shrinks. The process is known as dilution… Depending on the number of funding rounds your startup undergoes, outside investors may end up owning more of the company than your founders”.
The n-f-p investor would like to know where part of ASCO’s initial capital will come from (for example, from banks, venture capitalists, parent charities, crowdfunding, grant makers, charity members, etc.)
ASCO can work out factors that determine the initial working capital.
• • Factors/Elements Determining Initial Working Capital
The initial working capital (IWC) will depend on a number of factors like premises renovation or the building of new shop, the purchasing of fixed assets (such as cash registers, shelving, furniture, etc.), new technologies, shop space, warehouse, insurance, etc. These factors or elements can intervene in expenses decision as one-time and/or ongoing expenses.
In trying to assemble the elements making IWC, ASCO is required to make difference between startup expenses, startup assets and operating expenses. According to ‘bplans.com’ (3),
“Startup expenses (e.g., permits or licences, insurance, and so on) are expenses that happen before you launch and start bringing in any revenue. Startup assets (e.g., equipment, stock of products, etc.) are assets to get your business off the ground. Operating expenses (e.g., rent, utilities, office supplies, etc.) are what it is going to cost to keep your doors open until sales can cover expenses”.
Charity shop n-f-p investor wants to know if ASCO has identified and meticulously categorised startup expenses. And ASCO is likely to get support if it has a well-researched, unambiguous and detailed financial plan.
• • Ownership Control
At this level of talks, ASCO needs to get outside investors (here n-f-p investor) while keeping ownership control of the charity shop. ASCO has few options. It can give a minority stake or give a big (majority) one or simply decide what percentage it wants to control. However, n-f-p investor can adapt its response to the needs or proposals from ASCO, as he/she wants to see a long-term transaction with value delivered at some point in the future. The n-f-p property investor, who is driven by selfless motivations, would invest to reduce poverty. Although he/she is driven by selfless motivations, he/she would like to see the charity shop is a profitable business so that it can achieve its goal of reducing poverty by raising money for it through trading.
To reach a deal at this round of negotiations, they may need a match or fit test.
Briefly, ASCO is prepared to cover some startup costs and investments, but it will need a percent of investments to be provided/covered by the n-f-p investor. At the moment, it is not sure how much investment coverage it really needs. The matching exercise can determine it.
The n-f-p charity shop investor may agree with the level and the structure of ASCOs’ initial capital. However, if there is mismatch or disagreement between the two sides of matching project, there could be a need to organise a match or fit test.
• • The Match or Fit Test
As part of the match or fit test, n-f-p charity shop investor’s view and offer on startup capital must be matched with ASCO’s demand or ask for capital. In other words, ASCO’s explanation of the capital it needs to start a charity shop must be good enough to push n-f-p charity shop investor to invest in the charity shop.
The match can be perfect or close in order to reach an agreement. If there is a huge or glaring difference between the two (i.e., between what the investor wants and what ASCO is saying about startup capital), the probability or chance of having an agreement at this second round of negotiations could be null or uncertain.
However, CENFACS can impact advise ASCOs (charity shop founders) to improve the presentation of their initial capital. CENFACS can as well guide n-f-p charity shop investors with impact to work out their expectations in terms of startup capital to a format that can be acceptable by potential ASCOs. CENFACS’ impact advice for ASCOs and guidance on impact investing for n-f-p charity shop investor, which are impartial, will help each of them (i.e., investee and investor) to make informed decisions and to reduce the likelihood of any significant losses or misunderstandings or mismatches.
The rule of the game is the more charity shop investors are attracted by ASCOs’ (charity shop founders’) initial capital the better for ASCOs. Likewise, the more ASCOs can successfully respond to charitable shop investors’ level of enquiries and queries about initial capital the better for investors. In this respect, the matching game needs to be a win-win one to benefit both players (i.e., founder and investor).
The above is the second activity of the Matching Organisation-Investor via Charity Shop.
Those potential organisations seeking investment to set up a charity shop and n-f-p charity shop investors looking for organisations that are interested in it, they can contact CENFACS to arrange the match or fit test for them. They can have their fit test carried out by CENFACS’ Hub for Testing Hypotheses.
For any queries and/or enquiries about this second activity of Matching Organisation-Investor via Charity Shop and/or the programme itself, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
• Goal of the Month: Poverty Reduction through Entrepreneurship
Our poverty reduction goal for June 2024 is Poverty Reduction through Entrepreneurship. It is part of the Creations and Innovations of the month. To become entrepreneur, it requires a certain level of creation and innovation to bring a new idea or product to the market, here the poverty reduction market. This new idea can be included in this month and can make our goal of the month.
• • About Our Goal of the Month
This goal stems from Wu (4) in its study which addresses the theoretical weaknesses about the relationship between entrepreneurship and poverty reduction. His study was based on China’s Yiwu county. Wu argues that
“There are exogenous (e.g., non-governmental organisations) and endogenous (e.g., people’s own initiative) factors that can give entrepreneurship a push or pull impact on poverty”.
According to Wu, there are both problem-oriented and theory-driven evidences showing that entrepreneurship can help reduce poverty. However, for poverty reduction to happen, it requires aspiring entrepreneur with appropriate resource entrepreneurship opportunities, and institutional environment conducive to entrepreneurship. It also demands entrepreneurs’ motivation with sustainability and the use of social networks.
• • The Implications of Wu’s Research Work for Our Goal of the Month
From Wu’s findings and as part of our goal of the month, it is possible to work with people in need who would like to take entrepreneurship path as a way of navigating their way towards poverty reduction. They may need support in their role of entrepreneurs to boost their motivation. This is our goal for June 2024 – goal of the month.
Those who would like to help to make poverty reduction happen through entrepreneurship, they can be supportive of this goal. We expect our supporters and audiences to support this goal as well.
For further details on this goal including its support, please contact CENFACS.
Extra Messages
• Activity/Task 6 of the Transitions (t) Year/Project: Work with the Needy to Improve Creations and Innovation Linked to Transition
• Systemic Resilience Capacity Rebuilding Project for Households – In Focus from Week Beginning Monday 10/06/2024: Identification of Household Resilience Dimensions and Adaptive Strategies
• Triple Value Initiatives (TVIs)/All Year-round Projects (AYRPs) and the World Environment Day 2024
• Activity/Task 6 of the Transitions (t) Year/Project: Work with The Needy to Improve Creations and Innovation Linked to Transition
In this Year of Transitions within CENFACS, it is possible to improve creations and innovations in the way people can transition. This is related to any aspect of transition: economic or social or financial or energy or climate or other.
Indeed, one can create and/or innovate resources, models, tools, metrics, etc. to improve and analyse transition for the poor so that they do not lag behind. This will enable to avoid a two-speed transition. One transition for those who can afford and another transition for those who cannot. To avoid difference or inequality or even dissymmetry in transition, it is better to work with those in need to improve creations and innovations linked to transition. In this way, transition will be just, equal, asymmetrical and fair. However, to achieve fairness, equality, symmetry and justice in transition; it may require creations and innovations that respond to the needs of the poor.
The above is what activity/task 6 is about. For those who need any help before embarking on this activity/task, they can speak to CENFACS.
For any other queries and enquiries about the ‘t‘ project and this year’s dedication, please contact CENFACS as well.
• Systemic Resilience Capacity Rebuilding Project for Households – In Focus from Week Beginning Monday 10/06/2024: Identification of Household Resilience Dimensions and Adaptive Strategies
We will be working with low resilience households to find out what dimensions of resilience that need support. Depending on the resilience dimensions identified from them, we shall revisit their adaptive strategies with the purpose of working together to improve these strategies.
Let us briefly explain the identification work and strategies.
• • Identification of Household Resilience Dimensions
It is about conducting resilience needs assessment and getting responses about factors that can help a given household to succeed its resilience. It is also about studying the context-specific resilience frameworks of household and vulnerability factors.
The identification will also enable to find protection tools against vulnerability issues, to find out household’s resilience capabilities, and to analyse household’s resilience data.
This identification will help to obtain primary data about prioritised issue that a given household is experiencing and to specify the way of working together with this household.
Once household resilience dimensions have been identified, we can look at intervention and adaptive strategies.
• • Intervention and Adaptive Strategies
Concerning the intervention in terms of household resilience, it is about assigning measurement indication, conducting both qualitative and quantitative studies, drawing out dimensions of household resilience, identifying the possibility of overlapping or influence between dimensions and looking at drivers of vulnerability and supporters of resilience.
For example, we will be using RIMA (Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis) of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (5), in particular RIMA-II, which estimates household resilience to food insecurity with a comprehensive pack which includes direct measure and indirect measurements as well as long and short term measurement approaches.
With this index, we can
∝ know households in need and the area of focus for investing in households
∝ find out the dimensions of resilience that need to be supported
∝ check if interventions have increased or decreased households resilience.
As to adaptive strategies, they are about working with households so that they can improve their capacity to prepare for, cope with, and adapt to shocks and crises while ensuring that they do not fall deeper into poverty.
For example, we will refer to the fundamental pillars of resilience of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (6) to look at households’ adaptive strategies. These pillars are access to basic services, assets, social safety nets, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. This will enable to check food insecurity resilience capacity, resilience capacity and coping strategy in food security.
The above is the second way of working with households on resilience matter.
For those households that need support regarding their resilience matters and in particular to Identify Their Resilience Dimensions and Adaptive Strategies, they should not hesitate to contact CENFACS.
• Triple Value Initiatives (TVIs)/All Year-round Projects (AYRPs) and the World Environment Day 2024
Today, the World Environment Day (WED) 2024 is focussing on land restoration, desertification and drought resilience. As part of this worldwide event day, those of our members who are working on any of the TVIs/AYRPs can reflect the theme of the WED 2024 in the application of their initiatives/projects. They can integrate the protection of the environment into them.
Those who have included or will include the features of this campaign in the TVIs/AYRPs can let us know their experience of this inclusion.
Telling and sharing your TVI/AYRP story of the inclusion experience will help
√ contribute to land restoration, desertification and drought resilience
√ improve the environmental aspect within TVI/AYRP
√ know what has worked and not worked so far before TVI’s/AYRP’s deadline of 23/12/2024.
To tell and share your TVI/AYRP story of environmental inclusion and particularly of the inclusion of the theme of WED 2024 , please contact CENFACS.
Message in French (Message en français)
• Objectif du mois: Réduction de la pauvreté par l’entrepreneuriat
Notre objectif de réduction de la pauvreté pour juin 2024 est la réduction de la pauvreté par l’entrepreneuriat. Il fait partie des Créations et Innovations du mois. Pour devenir entrepreneur/se, il faut un certain niveau de création et d’innovation pour apporter une nouvelle idée sur le marché, ici le marché de la réduction de la pauvreté.
• • À propos de notre objectif du mois
Cet objectif découle de ce que Wu (4) a fait savoir dans son étude qui aborde les faiblesses théoriques de la relation entre l’entrepreneuriat et la réduction de la pauvreté. Son étude était basée sur le comté chinois de Yiwu. Wu soutient que
«Il existe des facteurs exogènes (par exemple, les organisations non gouvernementales) et endogènes (par exemple, l’initiative des gens) qui peuvent donner à l’entrepreneuriat un impact sur la pauvreté».
Selon Wu, il existe des preuves à la fois axées sur les problèmes et sur la théorie qui montrent que l’entrepreneuriat peut aider à réduire la pauvreté. Cependant, pour que la réduction de la pauvreté se produise, il faut un(e) entrepreneur(se) en herbe avec des opportunités d’entrepreneuriat appropriées et un environnement institutionnel propice à l’entrepreneuriat. Cela exige la motivation des entrepreneurs(ses) en matière de durabilité et l’utilisation des réseaux sociaux.
• • Les implications du travail de recherche de Wu pour notre objectif du mois
D’après les conclusions de Wu et dans le cadre de notre objectif du mois, il est possible de travailler avec des personnes dans le besoin qui souhaitent emprunter la voie de l’entrepreneuriat comme moyen de naviguer vers la réduction de la pauvreté. Elles peuvent avoir besoin d’un soutien dans leur rôle d’entrepreneur(se) pour stimuler leur motivation.
Ceux ou celles qui souhaitent contribuer à la réduction de la pauvreté grâce à l’entrepreneuriat peuvent soutenir cet objectif. Nous attendons de nos supporters et de notre public qu’ils soutiennent également cet objectif.
Pour plus de détails sur cet objectif, y compris son soutien, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.
Main Development
• Creative Economic Development Month and Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Initiatives) Project 2024
The following points make up the Main Development section of this post:
∝ Basic understanding of the creative economic development
∝ What 2024 June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Creative Initiatives (Jmesci) project will be about
∝ Theme and Sub-themes of Creative Economic Development Month 2024
∝ The kinds of creative economic development projects we will be dealing with
∝ The method of delivering the Creative Economic Development Month
∝ The calendar and contents of the Creative Economic Development Month
∝ Execution of CEDM 2024 Sub-themes: First Codes (from Week Beginning Monday 03/06/2024)
∝ Creative Economic Development Projects
∝ Featuring other environmental activities or events outside but closer to CENFACS’ work.
Let us look at these points one by one.
• • Basic Understanding of the Creative Economic Development (CEDM)
To grasp the creative economic development is better to start with the understanding of the creative economy.
• • • Basic understanding of the creative economy
There are many definitions of creative economy. In this communication, we have selected two of them.
The first definition comes from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). UNCTAD (7) argues that a creative economy
“Essentially… is the knowledge-based economic activities upon which the ‘creative industries’ are based”.
The UNCTAD goes on by claiming that
“The creative industries – which include advertising, architecture, arts and crafts, design, fashion, film, video, photography, music, performing arts, publishing, research and development, software, computer games, electronic publishing, and TV/radio – are the lifeblood of the creative economy”.
The second definition, which is from ‘rasmussen.edu’ (8), is
“The creative economy is the income-earning potential of creative activities and ideas”.
Clearly, this second definition focusses on the income generation aspect of creative industries and activities.
However, CENFACS looks at the creative economy from the perspective of development or sustainable development.
• • • Creative economy from the perspective of sustainable development
From this perspective, one needs to include the definition of sustainable development as given by World Commission on Environment and Development (9), definition which is:
“Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
So, the knowledge-based economic activities – upon which the creative industries are supported – need to be sustainable; that is capable of being continued over the long term without adverse effects. Since, we are pursuing CENFACS’ Programme of ‘Building Forward Better Together to a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Inclusive and Climate-Resilient Future’; these activities need to be inclusive, clean, green (or net zero), climate-resilient and safe.
• • What June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Initiatives 2024 Is about
Individual and collective creations in the ways of improving lives through the conception of fresh ideas and the implementation of practical ideas to escape from poverty and hardships as well as foster a better environment and sustainability, are CENFACS’ area of interest. We create all over the year and life; however June is the month for us to remember and acknowledge our environmental and sustainable makings.
June is the month of Creative Economic Development at CENFACS with creation and innovation on the main menu: creation for researching and developing fresh ideas to reduce poverty, particularly extreme poverty; innovation for making these ideas or dreams come true, transformable into practical environmental and sustainable initiatives and actions.
Put it simply, Jmesci (June Month of Environmental and Sustainable Creative Initiatives) is just about finding out ways of engineering creations relating to the environment and sustainability in order to further reduce poverty and improve the quality of life. In practical terms, it is the project that features or carries the Creative Economic Development Month (CEDM).
This year’s Jmesci will be about 3 Types of Creations and Innovations:
a) Creations and Innovations to transition towards a climate-resilient future
b) Creations and Innovations to reset and change our poverty reduction system
c) Creations and Innovations to deal with squeezed household life-sustaining spending.
• • Theme and Sub-themes of CEDM 2024
The key theme of CEDM 2024 is Creations and Innovations to Reduce Poverty and Enhance Sustainable Development. Within this main theme, we have 3 sub-themes of creations and innovations to offer, which are:
1) Tricennium: CENFACS as a Tricennial Creation
2) Transition: transition to a climate-resilient development and the reset and change of our system of poverty reduction
3) Household Expenses: handling squeezed household life-sustaining spending.
Let us briefly highlight each of the sub-themes.
• • • Tricennium: CENFACS as a Tricennial Creation
2024 has been dedicated as a Transition Year within CENFACS. 2024 is also a Tricennial Year for the idea of CENFACS as 2024 is the year during which we are celebrating the establishment of CENFACS as a Tricennial Creation. In other words, it is now 30 years since the idea of CENFACS was born.
This Tricennial Celebration or the Tricennium kicked off last March 2024. It is a celebration of the remarkable journey of CENFACS as an idea for good. We are remembering CENFACS for its four existential features, which are:
a) CENFACS as a Sustainable Creation
b) CENFACS as a Unique Creation
c) CENFACS as an Inspiring and Transformative Creation
d) CENFACS as a Creation for Hope and Future.
Through Project 30, we will be progressively sharing with our supporters, followers and audiences some information about CENFACS milestones so that they can (re)learn a bit more about CENFACS. We would like as well those who have recently joined us and those who may want to join us, to learn something about CENFACS on the occasion of this Pearl Jubilee.
• • • Creations and Innovations to transition towards a climate-resilient development and to reset and change of our system of poverty reduction
To transition to climate-resilient future, one may need a plan. What is a climate transition plan?
According to ‘epa.gov’ (10),
“A climate transition plan is an action plan where an organisation describes its strategy to transition its processes, operations, and business models to meet its public commitments within a specified timeframe”.
This definition can also be relativized and applied to individuals/people and households. So, creations and innovations to transition to a climate-resilient future will be those related to
σ people’s/households’ transition strategy
σ people’s/households’ transition processes
σ people’s/households’ transition operations
σ people’s/households’ transition model.
Additionally, we shall have creations and innovations to reset and change our poverty reduction system. This is because any reset and change in our system for poverty reduction do not occur by chance, unless one creates and/or innovates to make them happen.
• • • Creations and Innovations to handle squeezed household life-sustaining spending
Under this sub-theme, we shall deal with the creations and innovations linked to the following:
σ spending appraisal
σ meeting basic spending needs
σ organisations and institutions of spending protection
σ consumer protection.
• • Kinds of Creative Economic Development Projects Dealt with
The types of creative economic development projects that will be considered will be those helping people in need to reduce or end poverty while enhancing sustainable development. In other words, for any creations and innovations to meet the objectives of the creation and innovation month, they need to address poverty while contributing to the principles of sustainable development; that is development that is inclusive, clean, green (or net zero), climate-resilient and safe.
From the idea or conception to the implementation of these projects, their contents need to have the values of poverty reduction and sustainability (particularly the inclusive, clean, green or net zero, climate-resilient and safe aspects of sustainability). As we continue to unveil these projects throughout this month, these values will become clear, apparent and self-explanatory. This will as well determine the manner in which the Creative Economic Development Month will be approached and delivered throughout the month.
• • The Method of Delivering the Creative Economic Development Month
The Creative Economic Development Month will be delivered through the composition of notes and a number of activities (such as workshop, focus group or discussion, advocacy or campaign and appeal).
• • The Calendar and Contents of the Creative Economic Development Month
To deliver on what we have argued so far, we have organised the Creative Economic Development Month (CEDM) as indicated in the figure below.
As shown in the above figure, Sub-theme 2 include both Creations and Innovations to transition to a climate-resilient future as well as Creations and Innovations to reset and/or change our systems, our system of poverty reduction.
• • Execution of CEDM 2024 Sub-themes: First Codes (from Week Beginning Monday 03/06/2024)
Our CEDM Working Weeks and Plan starts with the codes for each sub-theme, which are
√ CENFACS as Sustainable Creation
√ Creations and innovations that are related to people’s/households’ transition strategy for a climate-resilient future
√ Creations and innovations to reset our poverty reduction system
√ Creations and innovations linked to spending appraisal.
Those who would like to engage with the CEDM 2024 can choose amongst the above-mentioned codes and contact CENFACS.
For example, if one wants to know more about CENFACS as a Sustainable Creation, they can contact. CENFACS will explain them what it means and discuss with them on how they can learn more about it and participate or support any events linked to CENFACS as a Sustainable Creation.
Likewise, to transition to a climate-resilient future, it requires creations and innovations in terms of transition strategy. Those who would like to work with CENFACS on their transition strategy, they can let CENFACS know.
Equally, to reset our system for poverty reduction, it demands creations and innovations. Those who will be interested in working with us to reset our/their system for poverty reduction through creations and innovations, they should not hesitate to communicate with CENFACS.
Finally, to improve the way any household appraises its spending to protect itself from squeezed life-sustaining needs, certain creations and innovations may be needed. Those households that would like to work with us on creations and innovations to improve their spending appraisal, they can as well contact us/CENFACS.
The above is the first execution of our CEDM 2024 Working Weeks and Plan. For those who may be interested in any of the first codes of each sub-theme of this plan, they can contact CENFACS. For those would like to learn more about CEDM 2024, they can also communicate with CENFACS.
• • Creative Economic Development Projects
There are areas of creative economic industries upon which we (together with those in need) draw inspiration to develop projects to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development. These areas include: advertising, arts and crafts, design, video, research and development.
To be more specific, let us look at one example, one activity and one competition relating to creative economic development projects.
• • • Example of Creative Economic Development Project: Art and Design for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development
CENFACS’ creative economic development projects (like Art and Design for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development) can help users to handle squeezed household life-sustaining spending.
For example, we normally run Art and Design for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development as a creative economic development or creative economy project. Through this project, participants can unlock their creative aspirations to build and develop poverty reduction content-creating objects or materials. This exercise will provide them with poverty reduction building experiences via objects/materials.
• • • Creative Economic Development Activity of the Month: Construct and Post e-cards or e-objects
One of the activities related to this project for this year will be to construct and post e-cards or e-objects expressing the theme of “Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience”. The construction will echo the World Environmental Day’s (11) celebratory theme of today 05/06/2024.
One can as well construct and post the similar cards as expressions or ways of dealing with drought to resonate the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (12) on 17/06/2024. The theme of 2024 Desertification and Drought Day is “United for Land. Our Legacy. Our Future”.
So, those who wish and want can design and post an e-card or e-object to feature the theme of “Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience” relating to World Environment Day, and/or the theme of “United for Land. Our Legacy. Our Future” linked to the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
To support and or enquire about Art and Design for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development, please contact CENFACS.
• • • Creative Economic Development Competition of the Month: The Creative Mind of Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development
The Creative Mind of Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development is a one-month’s project of challenge created and run by CENFACS that will enable creators and innovators of the month to showcase their creations and innovations in and for the community; creations and innovations relating to poverty reduction and sustainable development.
As a creator or innovator of poverty reduction and/or sustainable development you can tell and/or share with CENFACS your creation and/or innovation project or experience of creative and/or innovative poverty reduction and/or sustainable development. Your creation and/or innovation project or experience will be part of this month’s challenge to find the Creative Mind of Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development.
To tell and/or share your creation and/or innovation project or experience, please contact CENFACS this month.
• • Featuring other environmental activities or events outside but closer to CENFACS’ work
Our month of creation (of thinking up new things) and innovation (of converting our thoughts into tangible outcomes) revolves around global, national, and local environmental and sustainable issues and events of the month as well.
Examples of June world environmental events and days of the month include the following events (we have already mentioned some of them):
∝ Croydon Climate Action (13) with ‘Restore Nature Now March’ to be held Saturday 22 June 2024
∝ The United Nations World Environment Day which is being held today 05/06/2024 under the theme of ‘Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience’
∝ The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2024 to be held on 17/06/2024 under the theme of ‘United for Land. Our Legacy. Our Future’.
The above notes are for CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development Month.
To support and or engage with CENFACS’ Creative Economic Development Month and or the project Jmesci 2024, please contact CENFACS.
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• References
(1) https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/funding/2015/10/10-reasons-to-bring-in-investors.html (accessed in June 2024)
(2) https://www.upcounsel.com/how-to-determine-percentage-pf-ownership-in-a-company# (accessed in June 2024)
(3) https://www.bplans.com/start-a-business/finances/startup-costs/calculate/ (accessed in June 2024)
(4) Wu, J., Si, S. Poverty reduction through entrepreneurship: incentives, social networks, and sustainability. Asian Bus Manage 17, 243-259 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1057/s41291-018-0039-5 (accessed in June 2024)
(5) https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitsreams/0b55901e-7961-4b87-b31a-4a45a9306bf6/content (accessed in June 2024)
(6) https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/c61.a9a8c-feb4-4199-8cb1-7085c84908c8/content (accessed in June 2024)
(7) https://unctad.org/en/Pages/DITC/CreativeEconomy/Creative-Economy-Programme.aspx (accessed in May 2023)
(8) https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/design/blog/what-is-the-creative-economy/ (accessed in June 2023)
(9) Brundtland et al. (1987), Our Common Future, World Commission on Environment and Development (The Brundtland Report), Oxford University Press, London
(10) https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/climate-transition-planning# (accessed in June 2024),
(11) https://www.worldenvironmentday.global (accessed in June 2024)
(12) https://www.unccd.int/events/desertification-drought-day/2024 (accessed in June 2024)
(13) https://www.croydonclimateaction.com/about-5 (accessed in June 2024)
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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 AND BEAUTIFUL 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 2024 and beyond.
With many thanks.
