Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

18 December 2024

Post No. 383

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Season of Light 2024-2025

• Festive Giving, Gifting and Lifting

• Community Value Chains, the CENFACS Community

 

… And much more!

 

• 2024 Year-end and 2025 Year-start Calendar

Projects/Campaigns/Festive Resources: State of Running

a) Year-round/Triple Value Initiatives: closed as of 23/12/2024

b) Community Value Chains: active and continuous

c) End-of-year Donation Campaign and Support: active until 31/12/2024

d) Festive Income Boost: active until 31/12/2024

e) Gifts of Peace: active until 31/01/2025

f) Season of Lights: active until 21/03/2025

g) Online Discussion on Volunteering in Winter: active until 05/01/2025

 

• Year-end 2024 Thank You Message

As 2024 draws to a close, CENFACS would like to take a moment to express its gratitude to all of its supporters and each and every one of you for your dedication and commitment to its noble and beautiful cause of poverty reduction.

Thank you to all of you who produced poverty reduction with us and made poverty reduction possible for those in need and for us in 2024.

 

Key Messages

 

• Season of Light 2024-2025

 

On 22 December 2024, we shall move from Autumn Fresh Start to the Season of Light.  As a result, Autumn Fresh Start projects and programmes including campaign will end to signal the start of the Season of Light within CENFACS. 

 

• • End of the Autumn Fresh Start Season and Campaign

 

The Autumn Season will officially end on 22 December 2024.  The momentum we have built from the beginning and throughout Autumn Fresh Start Season continues to galvanise our poverty relief action and is taking our relief journey into the Season of Light, which starts the 21^st of December 2024.

 

• • Start of the Season of Light within CENFACS

 

The Season of Light, which usually starts the 21^st of December of each year and ends around 21 March in the New Year, runs through the Festive Season, which is between 01 December of the ending year (here 2024) and 31 January in the New Year (2025).  The Gifts of Peace, which keep on giving, normally feature the Festive Season.

During the Season of Light, we light up a Blaze of Hope for people and communities suffering from the effects and impacts of destructive wars and natural disasters in Africa.

In the coming weeks and months of the Season of Light, our Blaze of Hope will be extended to those who are continuing to suffer from the lingering effects of other crises (such as the cost-of-living, hunger and security crises).

The Season of Light will come with the Lights Appeal or Campaign, which is a set of poverty reduction projects that features the Season of Light.  

 

• • Two Themes, Two Seasons and Two Gifts

 

The theme for the Season of Light is Hope which we try to bring through a Blaze, while the theme for the Festive Season’s Reliefs is Peace.  During the Festive Season, we try to reduce poverty as a lack of peace via the Gifts of Peace; whereas in the context of the Season of Light we work through Lights Appeals/Gifts to relieve poverty as a lack of hope.  Those who feel themselves hopeless need some hope/lights.  They need some belief to attain the wish or desire of poverty reduction, to persist, to build trust in resources and to share hopes.

Under the Main Development section of this post, there is more information about the Season of Light 2024/2025.

 

 

• Festive Giving, Gifting and Lifting

 

As part of the season of giving and gifting as well as of lifting poor and vulnerable people out of poverty, we are asking supporters to go extra miles in replying to these two fundraising appeals which are: Festive Gift Set and End-of-year Support.  To ease the understanding of these appeals, let us briefly explain Festive Giving, Gifting and Lifting.

 

• • What Is Festive Giving?  What Is Festive Gifting? What Is Festive Lifting?

 

Festive Giving is the act of sharing joy, love and generosity with those in need during the Festive Season.

Festive Gifting is the practice of giving presents or donations to those in need during the Festive Season.

Festive Lifting is the act of lifting the spirits of people in need through gestures of kindness and generosity during the Festive Season.

So, with Festive Giving, Gifting and Lifting; we can express love, appreciation, kindness and generosity towards those in need who are looking for brightness.  We can do it through Festive Gift Set and End-of-year Support.

 

 

• • Festive Gift Set

 

Festive Gift Set is a collection of items curated and packaged together to celebrate festive occasion.  These sets are thoroughly designed to bring joy and festivity to the recipients.  They are made of carefully selected items that compliment each other and create a memorable difference and experience for the recipients.

This Festive Gift Set can be given for the remaining thirteen days of this year starting from today as those of the last legacy of the Year 2024 as the ‘Transitions’ Year at CENFACS.

To mark the end of our ‘Transitions’ Year and Campaign, we are appealing to you to support CENFACS’ year 2024 through a ‘Transitions’ (‘t’) Gift or Year 2024 Gift.

Such a gift will help to undertake five changes as follows:

 

a) Change in terms of skills as the beneficiaries of this gift will develop new skills and gain new perspectives, and grow to further reduce poverty (a gift of growth)

b) Change as those in need will become more adaptable, resilient and better equipped to handle future changes and uncertainties (a gift of adaptability)

c) Change as beneficiaries will generate new ideas and approaches to better address poverty and enhance sustainable development (a skill of creativity)

d) Change as members of the CENFACS Community will come together to support each other via change and build stronger bonds (a gift of building community)

e) Change through togetherness as CENFACS users will work together to navigate new challenges, foster a sense of unity (a sense of belonging) and collaboration against poverty and hardships (a gift of togetherness).

 

 

With the ‘T’ Gift plus the Gift of Light plus the Gift of Peace; the three of them give you a Gift Set of £5 or more.  What do these gifts express?

 

 

• • • Expressions from the three gifts (of Transition, Light and Peace)

 

• • • • The Transition Gift represents the 12 Transition Project Episodes of the Year of Transitions Out of Poverty within CENFACS.  It is a gift of transitioning out of poverty with the aim of providing meaningful support and resources that will empower those in need to improve their economic status and achieve long-term self-sufficiency.  The gift will give both immediate relief and creative opportunities for long-term growth and self-reliance.

 

• • • • The Gift of Light is a form of lighting to peoples and communities without access to light.  It symbolises hope, warmth and joy for the victims of multiple crises (i.e., the cost-of-living crisis, wars and natural disasters).  It is also a donation programme that uses practical and meaningful means to meet the unique needs of transitioning from darkness to brightness, to guide or show way of reducing poverty.

 

• • • • The Gifts of Peace are initiatives to promote peace and conflict resolution in war-torn or conflict affected or disaster-stricken places, while providing aid and resources to those affected by changing climate, wars and conflicts while promoting stability in their communities.  These gifts create long lasting relationships in a world without conflicts between humans as well as between humans and the nature (other living beings and things).  At this time of the lingering effects of polycrises, the Gifts of Peace will enable to re-conquer the lost peace and get new form of peace from poverty induced by these effects.  This is without forgetting the lack of peace brought by climate change events.

All these initiatives represent some great ways of helping to reduce poverty at this special time of the year.  They give more opportunities to supporters to do something different for those in need.

By donating £5 or more for this Gift Set, you will help people in need to leave poverty and hardships behind them and may be for ever.

To donate and or enquire about this Gift Set, just contact CENFACS with or without your donation.

 

 

• • End-of-year Support and Appeal

 

End-of-year Support and Appeal are a great way to show appreciation and spread holiday sheer as 2024 is coming to an end.  We would like to ask you to donate as a legacy towards CENFACS’ efforts to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

You can donate to support CENFACS’ anti-poverty mission and to help reduce poverty and hardships this festive season and in the New Year.

Your support can make helpful differences to CENFACS and to those in need, the people and communities that CENFACS serves.

 

• • • Two ways of responding to this appeal

 

1) Make a One-off Festive Donation of £5 or more this festive time…

as a way of helping poor people via CENFACS and / or support CENFACS’ work on poverty relief and sustainable development.

You can also support one of the CENFACS projects and programmes if you wish.

 

2) Make a Monthly Donation of £5 or £10 or £15 or more per month…

as a legacy for CENFACS’ work.

Please make a year-end contribution today to help us continue to deliver the work of CENFACS in the remaining days 2024 and beyond.

This Year-end Support is an inclusive relief sending a never-ending message from the giver that they are part of what we have achieved in 2024 and will do in the coming years.

To make a donation and or enquire about this End-of-year Ask or Support, just contact CENFACS with or without your donation.

 

 

• Community Value Chains, the CENFACS Community

 

CENFACS as a Community that Supports Its Members to Transition out of Poverty, which is the Closing Act of the 2024 Year, is being prepared and trended.

 

• • What Is CENFACS’ Community Value Chains (CVC)?

 

1) It is a community value control, inspirational and motivational project of year-end celebration introduced by CENFACS in 2009.  The project is based on a basic idea of development which is as follows:

“What a member of our community best does which well works for them can have an underlying good value.  If there is a good value, it is desirable to share such value so that other members of our community could be aware of it and build a sort of chains of beliefs and community spirit/principles within our support network”.

 

2) It is all about improving lives and outcomes of community members as well as enlivening capacities by sharing good practices, values, achievements and hopes about shared goals for the future; while learning from past mistakes.

In doing so, we can pull together as one community, strengthen our links and bonds, learn our differences and harness transformative changes we all want amongst us and beyond our self-interests.

 

3) It is finally about sharing and celebrating our wins or impact as a community.

 

To sum up, CENFACS’ CVC or the CENFACS Community is our voluntary local and non-profit making arm inside which all our projects and activities carried out in the UK are grouped and delivered; the other two domains being CENFACS International and CENFACS Fund for Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development.

 

• • What Are Those Shared Values?

 

Good practices and good values do not need to be big or exceptional or even spectacular.  They are the simple good little things we do every day, which may have worked for us and could work for others as well.  These good little things could have a bigger impact on us as a community.

They could be life and work learning experiences, lifestyles, helpful differences, social responsibilities and principles that underpin them.  At this time of the high costs of living, they could be all the little initiatives one has taken to care for each other in order to have access to economic means of copying and survival.

 

• • Sharing and Celebrating Our Wins or Impact via CVC 2024

 

CENFACS as a Community that Supports Its Members to Transition out of Poverty (or the Closing Act of the Transitions Year) will feature our Year-end Giving Campaign.

This celebratory theme for CVC’s 15^th Celebration of CENFACS as a Community is and will be the Closing Act of the Transitions Year and Project.  This celebration or end-of-year sharing will be open to those who would like to share hopes about shared goals for a better future.

 

• • The 15^th Celebration of CENFACS Community as Way of Looking both Back and Forward

 

• • • Looking back on 2024

 

It will be about

 

~ how we mobilised support and resources to meet the community’s transition needs.

~ the work we carried out with the members of our community and Africa-based Sister Organisations via transitionary skills, styles and models to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development

~ how we approached crises and challenging situations to get the best outcomes for poverty reduction via transition skills, styles and models

~ how we used the fundamental principles of transition to work with users and project beneficiaries so that they could transition out of poverty

~ reflecting on beneficiaries’ journey out of poverty and how far they come to get valuable insights in terms of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

 

• • • Looking forward to 2025

 

It revolves around

 

~ making use of the findings from what we did not know and we now know about the needs and aspirations of the people in need making our community to build a better community

~ planning appropriate responses or new ways of working together with project beneficiaries in 2025 to meet unmet needs and demands

~ setting new realistic goals for 2025 and an action plan to achieve those goals.

 

For instance, we shall undertake planning for projects relating to land restoration and boosting drought resilience in Africa as well as poverty reduction projects linked to other aspects of desertification and drought.   We shall as well develop projects of shared prosperity.

Regarding shared prosperity, the World Bank Group (1) argues that

“The pace of improvement in shared prosperity has slowed and (…) inequality remains high in Latin America, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa” (p. 105)

In this respect, looking forward will be about thinking of the direction and shape that the evolution of the community needs and aspirations may take in 2025 and how we can effectively and efficiently work with our members in 2025 in terms of improved course of action in the New Year.

Briefly, the 15^th Celebration of CENFACS Community will be a hybrid sharing of our transition work and knowledge on how the 2024 went on in everybody’s life in terms of the positive takeaways from it in order to build forward in 2025.  In this hybrid sharing, the positive experience from the crises and shocks of 2024 will be welcome.

We want our community ends 2024 on a positive note or sharing despite the ups and downs of this year, especially with the disturbance that the high costs of living has caused and is continuing to cause on many of us.  We would like as well our community to start 2025 with hope and positive belief.

 

• • Share, Spread & Tweet the Message

 

To enable us to build value chains with you and others and to keep our support network alive and networked CENFACS, please spread the message to/pass it on around you.

If you feel that you need first to talk to us before responding to this invitation of end-of-year celebration/sharing, please let us know.

If you prefer to respond via e-mail, you are free to do so at facs@cenfacs.org.uk.

Whichever way or means you choose to enter this year-end sharing project, please reply by the 23rd of December 2024 so as to ease the end-of-year 2024 celebration/sharing and the start-of-year 2025 preparatory activities, projects and programmes.

For further details about this Closing Act of the Transition Year and Project as a ‘t’ Year, please contact CENFACS.

For the timeline of the themes that made the Community Value Chains so far, please also contact CENFACS. 

As part of the closure of 2024 and preparation for 2025, we are as well doing an inventory of skills and are registering the talents and skills of the CENFACS Community.

If you have not yet registered your skills to CENFACS’ Skills Data Bank, this is the opportunity to do it over this festive period.  Your skills registration will be essential to ensure that all the skills and skilled people making our community are included in any future plans to improve our community support.

To register or add your skills to the CENFACS Community’s Skills Register or Database, just contact CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Income Generation Leads/Advice: Income Generators, Creators and Curators of the Month

• All Year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives): 2024 Verdict

• Festive Structured Finance Activities or Micro-projects as Part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme, and Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of Matching Organisation-Investor Programme

 

 

• Income Generation Leads/Advice: Income Generators, Creators and Curators of the Month

 

Our advisory service on leads to income generation is still on.  Through this festive advice service, we are looking at and reviewing income generation plans or strategies for those who need a review.  We are also trying to explore the different leads or avenues that those in need can use, depending on their personal circumstances; to find the appropriate means to generate little extra income.

In this income generation to reduce poverty, we are as well trying to enlist those who could be named as Income Generation Models or Income Generators, Creators  and Curators of the Season.  We are looking at their models or ways of generating little extra income.  We are assessing whether or not their models of generating income are generalizable or duplicatable or just are exceptions to the general rule and to the CENFACS Community.

If anyone has managed to generate little extra income and finds that their way of doing it has an underlying good value that can be shared with the CENFACS CVC members, please do not hesitate to talk to CENFACS.

 

 

• All Year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives): 2024 Verdict

 

The week is finally an occasion to remind the need to report on All-year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives) which are:  Play, Run and Vote projects for poverty relief and sustainable development.

As we are nearing the end of year 2024, it is now the time to report on our three All-year Round Projects – which are Play, Run and Vote.

We know that this year has been economically challenging for some of you to run some types of activities.  However, for those who have managed to undertake and complete the above named projects, we would like them to share with us and others their experiences, stories and reports regarding these projects.

 

• • The Action-Results of 2024: Tell it!

 

You can feedback the outcomes or Action-Results of your…

 

… Run if you ran for poverty relief over the year 2024 (or organised a Run activity)

… Play if you played the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief

… Vote if you have already voted your 2024 African Poverty Relief and Development Manager.

 

We would be more than happier to hear your Action and Results to feature the State of Play, Run and Vote 2024, and conclude CENFACS 2024 Year as Year of Transition.  Tell it!

 

• • What or Who We Want to Hear

 

We would like to hear from you about the Winner of CENFACS Virtual Trophy of the Year, that is one of the following Three Stars or Bests of the Year:

 

√ The Best African Country of 2024 which best reduced poverty

√ The Best African Global Games Runner of 2024

√ The Best African Poverty Relief and International Development Manager of 2024.

 

If you have not yet told us, have your say by 23 December 2024.  The Verdict is yours.

 

 

• Festive Structured Finance Activities or Micro-projects as Part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme, and Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning of Matching Organisation-Investor Programme

 

During this month, we have been run the above-mentioned programmes.

Regarding Festive Structured Finance Activities or Micro-projects as part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme, they are closed and will be re-run in the New Year.

Concerning Matching Organisation-Investment Programme, we are now conducting Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (IMEL) after the last episode.  This IMEL is on matching maths and statistics for both Africa-based Sister Organisation and Not-for-profit Investor.  Those who may be interested in this IMEL, they can let CENFACS know.

For those potential not-for-profit investors who still need some guidance for impact to find investee organisation and Africa-based Sister Charitable Organisation looking for an investor, they can contact CENFACS to book an appointment for a match/fit test in the New Year.

Equally, for those households who still need support regarding their financial capacity and capability building problems, they can also communicate CENFACS with their queries or enquiries to book an appointment in/for the New Year.

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

• Calendrier de Fin d’Année 2024 et de Début d’Année 2025

Projets/Campagnes/Ressources Festifs: État des Lieux

a) Toute l’année/Initiatives à triple valeur: fermé à partir du 23/12/2024

b) Chaînes de valeur communautaires: actives et continues

c) Campagne de dons de fin d’année et soutien: active jusqu’au 31/12/2024

d) Augmentation des revenus festifs: active jusqu’au 31/12/2024

e) Dons de la Paix: active jusqu’au 31/01/2025

f) Saison des Lumières: active jusqu’au 21/03/2025

g) Discussion en ligne sur le bénévolat en hiver: active jusqu’au 05/01/2025

• Remerciement de fin d’année 2024

Alors que l’année 2024 touche à sa fin, le CENFACS souhaite prendre un moment pour exprimer sa gratitude à tous/toutes ses sympathisant(e)s et à chacun(e) d’entre vous pour votre dévouement et votre engagement envers notre noble et belle cause de réduction de la pauvreté.

Merci à tous (toutes) ceux (celles) d’entre vous qui ont produit la réduction de la pauvreté avec nous et qui ont rendu la réduction de la pauvreté possible pour ceux ou celles qui en avaient besoin et pour nous en 2024.

 

Main Development

 

• Season of Light 2024-2025

 

The Lights Season at CENFACS kicks off with the theme of Hope as said above.  We are going to deliver this Hope with projects and programmes adapted to the context of crises like the cost-of-living crisis.  We are going to add to them projects relating to land restoration and boosting drought resilience in Africa as well as poverty reduction projects linked to other aspects of desertification and drought.  Hope will also be provided by other initiatives like projects of shared prosperity, as mentioned above.

The following items make the contents of our Season of Light 2024-2025:

 

∝ What will shape the Season of Light?

∝ Two themes to bear in mind this Festive and Lights Time: Peace and Hope

∝ The Gift of Light that Keeps on Giving this Winter

 

Let us look at these contents.

 

• • What Will Shape the Season of Light?

 

The 2024-2025 Season of Light will be about working on the matters listed below:

 

a) Initiatives featuring the season of light like light (or energy) and energy transition projects, particularly these initiatives will be about finding finance to fund energy transition and a new development model to continue to reduce poverty

b) Projects relating to land restoration and boosting drought resilience in Africa to echo the messages and outcomes from COP16 held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2); projects such as healthy soils, resilient crops, nutritious food, sustainable land management and land degradation neutrality will be developed

c) Projects of shared prosperity with the poor which will consider two measures: the Global Prosperity Gap and the number of African economies with high inequality.

 

The 2024-2025 Season of Light will be the case of harnessing transformational and structural changes in the context of increasing uncertainty and climate change so that those who are living in poverty can find the means, paces and spaces they need to navigate out of it.

Besides that, we shall carry on with the financial empowerment programme of our users to reduce financial poverty and mitigate the lingering effects of previous and current crises with some of the initiatives (like Financial Capacity and Capability Campaign).

Finally, we shall continue to develop household-focused and area-focused programmes to support poor and vulnerable households so that they can build their assets to overcome intergenerational poverty.

To realise the above mentioned projects, it requires Hope and Support.

 

 

• • Two Themes to Bear in Mind This Festive and Lights Time: Peace and Hope

 

The theme of Hope is the overall theme of the Season of Lights, while the theme of Peace will be dominant over the festive celebrations period.

 

• • • The theme of Hope

 

The theme of Hope is made of notes or pieces of land restoration, drought resilience and readiness, energy transition and shared prosperity.  This Wintry season, we shall bring a glimmer of hope through these notes or pieces, while making sure that the poor people own the process and have equity in poverty reduction.  Hope will help beneficiaries as follows:

 

~ to actively cope with everyday challenges and find the appropriate relief and comfort they need

~ to reframe negative situations or events in a positive portrait or mood

~ to cultivate positive engagements, experiences and emotions in life

~ to keep momentum towards a better future

~ to enhance early warning systems

~ to develop resilience initiatives and strategies

~ to engage in a proactive behaviour.

 

• • • The theme of Peace

 

The Gifts of Peace are included in the Season of Light.  Peace is the festive theme we choose to spread the joy of Season’s Reliefs to those in need.   We try to help their wishes and dreams of poverty relief become true through the Gifts of Peace that put a smile on poor people’s faces and lips with relief notes while hoping they will rediscover freedom from disturbance and disorder caused by crises and other painful events of 2024.

 

 

• • The Gift of Light That Keeps on Giving This Winter

 

What is the Gift of Light?  It is as explained below.

 

• • • A gift of light for every person in need everywhere!

 

The Lights Season is the season during which we try to bring light or shine light to impoverished lives in the darkness.  We try to bring clarity, brightness to people who need to see clearly and accurately about their life.  It is about helping them see the light of relief so that they can see the world in a new relieved light or version.

 

• • • A gift of light that ignites and sparks the life of those in need!

 

This is why we have the Lights project at CENFACS; projects which enable us to bring lights to those in need and which identify the poverty reduction gaps in human systems and support those areas of these systems which do not receive support.  Like the last Winter, this Winter 2024-2025, our Lights projects will focus on two parts or two waves of action:

 

1) post-coronavirus, post-war, post-economic crisis and post-natural disaster developments

2) current and emerging armed conflicts and environmental catastrophes as well as new waves of threats.

 

However, in these developments and waves, we shall take into account the changing contexts in Africa where there could be scaling down or changing types of crises (for example, the imperialist rivalries between the French and Russians in Africa with their impacts on poverty reduction, threat to international trade due to the current conflict in the Middle East and its implications for poverty reduction in Africa).  To mention other crises where the work of poverty reduction could be needed, we can speak about hunger crisis and debt crisis which are still stubborn issues for many low income countries in Africa.

 

• • • A gift of light that helps people to navigate their own way out poverty with pride!

 

The Gift of Light is about helping people to help themselves.  By using the light, they can find their own way out poverty and hardships, out of darkness instead of CENFACS telling them what do.  They can act with self-esteem and self-respect.  In this respect, the Gift of Light is a blessing of empowerment.

 

• • • A Blaze of Hope for post-life following crises (e.g., the cost-of-living crisis), armed conflicts and natural disasters

 

When there are environmental disasters and armed conflicts, there are pledges and commitments to end the effects of wars and disasters.  For various reasons, some of these pledges do not always materialise.  The post-war and post-disaster developments are sometimes left without support even until the conflicts and disasters return and or strike again.

The same situation can happen if the pledges – made at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) (3), which took place in Baku (Azerbaijan) to help channel “at least” $300 billion a year into developing countries by 2035 to support their efforts to deal with climate change – do not materialise in concrete actions.

As we cannot wait the return or repeat of the same wars and disasters; our first Blaze of Hope will go this Winter to the unfinished business of previous destructions and disruptions brought by crises (e.g., the coronavirus and the cost-of-living crisis), wars and natural disasters.

 

• • • • Examples of areas where a Blaze of Hope may be needed

 

Our Blaze of Hope will go to the following areas of African countries

 

~ that experienced overlapping crises that have slowed or stalled poverty reduction

~ not recovered from the poverty increase caused by the coronavirus pandemic

~ with slow, weak or lack of economic growth to enable poverty reduction to happen

~ with high inequalities that prevent poverty reduction to materialise.

 

• • • A Blaze of Hope for the eruption of any crises, armed conflicts and natural disasters

 

We always advocate for preventive development and we do not seek for destructive events to happen.  However, our preparedness and readiness should make us to assemble as quickly as possible advocacy tools should any effects and impacts erupt from new waves of crisis, wars and natural disasters in Africa.

So, our second wave of intervention or Blaze of Hope will go this Wintry season to erupted effects of unexpected crises, armed conflicts and natural disasters in the areas of our interest in Africa.

With these two waves of action over this Wintry Season, we hope to enlighten the lives of those in pressing and emergent need.

 

• • • • Examples of areas where a Blaze of Hope may be needed

 

For this December 2024, we have initially selected or identified six areas of priority that may need lighting a Blaze of Hope, which are as follows:

 

a) Areas of countries severely affected by food insecurity or the socio-economic impacts of high food prices like in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinee, Congo, Madagascar, Mali and Senegal

b) Areas of vulnerable countries hit by or prone to torrential rains and cyclones that could cause enormous food insecurity such as in Chad, Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo

c) Areas of countries devastated by other types of weather extremes (such as prolonged and severe drought, extreme temperature, etc.) like Burundi, Madagascar, Congo and countries of the Horn of Africa

d) Areas of countries that are the victims of a high level of persisting civil insecurity such as in in Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Mali

e) Areas of countries where innocent people are the victims of unfamiliar forms of civil insecurity (e.g. interpersonal violence, gang violence and insecurity due to the presence of private military company personnel) and forced displacement/refugee influx like in Congo, Mali and Burkina Faso

f) Areas of countries with neo-sovereignist or putschist States (in countries where there were putsch like in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Niger and Mali).

 

The above selection is an initial one, which may change depending how and where humanitarian events will unfold in Africa.  The selection will help to start our Light advocacy and campaign.

The countries listed in this selection are also mentioned in the Crop Prospects and Food Situation of the Food and Agriculture Organisations of the United Nations (4).  None of the above-mentioned countries is experiencing a single issue.  Many of them can be subject to multiple issues.  For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing conflict in its north-eastern provinces, torrential rains in other parts the country and high food prices.

Also, our priority areas can change depending on the events in Africa.  For example, if there is eruption of unpredicted or unplanned events (such as natural disasters, natural resource crises, environmental incidents, large scale involuntary migration, health crisis, international trade crisis, etc.), our Blaze of Hope will go to the victims of these erupted events.

For those who can support Light project, we can count on them to move forward this advocacy or campaign.  And we would like to thank them in advance.

For any queries or enquiries regarding the Season of Light, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

_________

 

• References

 

(1) World Bank Group. 2024. Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024: Pathways Out of the Polycrisis. Washington, DC: World Bank. doi. 1596/978-1-4648-2123-3 (accessed in December 2024)

(2) https://unccd.int/cop16 (accessed in December 2024)

(3) https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop29-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-baku/ (accessed in December 2024)

(4) FAO. 2024. Perspectivas de cosechas y situatión alimentaria. Informe mundial trianual, no. 3, noviembre de 2024. Roma. https://doi.org/10.4060/cd3168es  (accessed in December 2024)

_________

 

• 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 until the end of 2024 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

11 December 2024

Post No. 382

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Matching Organisation-Investor Programme via African Art Investment Project – Stage/Activity 4 (from 11 to 17/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Documentation with Investor’s View on Project Documentation

• Turning Things Into Festive Gifts (‘Festive Turns’)

• E-discussing Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model While Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS) 

 

… And much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Matching Organisation-Investor Programme via African Art Investment Project – Stage/Activity 4 (from 11 to 17/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Documentation (PD) with Investor’s View on PD

 

The last episode of our 4-week Matching Organisation-Investor Programme via African Art Investment Project is on Matching Organisation’s Project Documentation with Investor’s Approach to PD

Indeed, both parties [i.e., Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation (ASACO) and Not-for-profit (n-f-p) Investor] have made progress so far as they continue to score points; points which are enough to enable them to enter the final stage of the matching talks.  They are excited and have started to dream to begin 2025 with a new investment for Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation (ASACO) and a new asset in portfolio for not-for-profit (n-f-p) investor.  However, each of them still has some work to do to complete the matching process.

For ASACO, this Activity 4 is about having its application for investment in the form of project documentation.  This application needs to be completed and to show coordination and collaboration in terms of its contents.

This last stage is an opportunity for ASACO to elevate its application in line with project planning theories, processes and practices.  It is the stage at which ASACO has to sell its project unique point to stand out amongst competing projects and organisations, while highlighting impactful aspects of its project in terms of poverty reduction.

As to the n-f-p investor, it is about elevating its pitch in order to win an organisation in which to invest.  In its approach to project documentation, n-f-p investor will look at qualitative (facts) and quantitative (numbers) data, metrics and indicators to help him/her in its investment decision or case.  This insight will indicate to him/her whether or not to back the project and the ASACO that initiates this project.

Where the two (i.e., investee and investor) need support, CENFACS will work with each party to fill the gap.

More on Activity 4 can be found under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Turning Things Into Festive Gifts (‘Festive Turns’)

 

This Festive Season, we are going to turn our time, effort, waste, shopping, etc. into donations and gifts.  It is a Festive Season of turning things into something purposeful to reduce or end poverty and/or enhance sustainable development.  It is about transforming items into festive gifts.  You name them ‘Festive Turns‘.  ‘Festive Turns‘ involve personalisation with personalised messages, seasonal add-ons, thematic and experience-based gifts, and eco-friendly options.

Examples of turning things into festive gifts include the following:

 

σ Turning your time and effort into helpful support for those in need this Festive Season

σ Turning waste into valuable resources that support those in need

σ Turning your festive shopping into life-changing gifts for others.

 

The above examples are just a few of ways of turning things into festive gifts or donations for those in need.

Those who would like to turn things or items into Festive Gifts, but are not sure or struggling to do it, they can work with CENFACS to make turning things possible.  Equally, those who would like to donate to make this turning possible, they should not hesitate to donate.

To turn things into festive gifts and/or to donate to make this turning happen, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• E-discussing Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model While Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS) 

 

Our Winter e-discussion about Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model will enter its third planned area.  In this area, the e-discussion will be on Volunteering to find a new development model; e-discussion which will be held on 13 and 14 December 2024.

While our Winter e-discussion is going on, we are asking for support to CENFACS’ All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS).

 

• • Supporting All in Development Volunteer Scheme (AiDVS)

 

It is possible to support CENFACS and its AiDVS from wherever you are (at home, work, away, online, abroad, on the go and move, etc.).   Supporting us does not need to be magical and majestic.  It can be in any thing or means that can advance the work of AiDVS.

Your support will help us to support others who need support during this festive time.

One can still enjoy a great festive season while supporting us to support others. 

There are many simple helpful and useful ways of adding great value to our voluntary work.

Here are 12-themed enhancers or ways of adding great value to CENFACS’ AiDVS:

 

1)  Gift ideas for the best ways of monitoring, evaluating and reviewing projects and programmes in the New Year

They could include project management software, books and guides, evaluation tools, digital gadgets, free subscriptions to journals and publications, etc.

 

2) Money-saving and scrimping tips from scrimpers for AiDVS

Tips from seasonal scrimpers could be on budgeting wisely (to track expenses and set limits), grocery savings (e.g., donate coupons), reduction of utility bills, financial tools (like cashback apps), smart shopping, etc.

 

3) Festive deals and packages for AiDVS

For instance, one can offer New Year’s Eve Packages, discount codes and offers (seasonal discounts, package deals, early booking deals, etc.)

 

4) Festive free coupons, promo codes and vouchers for AiDVS

They include free vouchers from popular retailers or brands, percentage price off orders and saving on selected items, which can help AiDVS save on their holiday shopping.

 

5) Net-zero or low carbon economic products to protect the environment and nature

To name the few, we can mention energy-efficient appliances, renewable energy products, eco-friendly products, water-saving devices, sustainable food choices, waste reduction solutions, etc.

 

6) Digital and media support to better volunteer for a climate neutral and sustainable world

Options include online platforms and courses, digital tools for activism, volunteer matching platforms, youth engagement, etc. 

 

7) Health and safety gifts for healthy and safe volunteering in the New Year

These gifts can include aid kits, personal protective equipment, hydration and nutrition, comfort and ergonomics, health and wellness, safety training and resources, emergency preparedness, etc.  These gifts will help volunteers stay healthy and safe for their well-being and the success of their efforts.

 

8) Wintry and festive giveaways to volunteer for a net zero greenhouse gas emissions world

To illustrate, we can mention free products, gift cards, free tickets, etc.

 

9) Generative Artificial Intelligence volunteering tools to improve the efficiency of volunteering

Tools include personalised volunteer matching programme, automated consumption, content generation, data analysis and insights, training and onboarding, resource allocation, feedback and evaluation. 

 

10) Festive price bundling for flexible volunteering

Ideas for bundling offers can include volunteer packages, discounted event tickets, gift cards and vouchers, free products and services, recognition and rewards, and flexible volunteering options.

 

11) Distance working and gift technologies

Amongst the examples, we can name cloud technology, volunteer management software, apps, virtual volunteering tools, apps for remote volunteering, virtual volunteer tools, gift technology for volunteers (e-gift cards, virtual recognition, tech gadgets, tablets, laptops, etc.)

 

12) Net-zero energy saving products to volunteer

We can mention home energy efficiency since many of our AiDVS work from home, renewable solutions, transportation (e.g., e-bikes), sustainable products, energy monitoring tools, etc.

 

The above-mentioned enhancers will contribute to streamline volunteer management processes, enhance volunteer satisfaction, and support a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions world.

The enhancers – which could be wintry and festive news, information and products – will assist volunteers (that is, short-term, episodic, regular, ongoing and virtual volunteers) to better help out CENFACS’ noble and beautiful cause of poverty reduction.

They will also assist in recruiting and easily managing volunteers while improving volunteer experience and the effectiveness of our work on poverty reduction.

Additionally, they will contribute in tracking volunteers and their work.

For instance, gift technologies could enable to automate volunteers’ tasks to free up resources and time as well as increase volunteer engagement in our poverty reduction work.

To support AiDVS with your wintry or festive gift, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

To e-discuss Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model, please communicate with CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Autumn 2024 Humanitarian Relief Appeal: Only 11 Days Remaining!

• Transitions Year and Project: Impact Monitoring and Evaluation

• CENFACS’ Poverty-Environment and the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 

 

 

• Autumn 2024 Humanitarian Relief Appeal: Only 11 Days Remaining!

Needy People, Flora, Fauna, Funga, Communities and Organisations in Africa are Asking for Your Support!

 

We have only eleven days remaining for our Autumn 2024 humanitarian appeal.  This appeal is about supporting needy people, flora, fauna, funga, communities and organisations in Africa.  It includes the following five selected projects:

 

1) Informal Cross-border Poor Traders’ Skills

2) Symmetry Poverty Reduction Projects

3)  More Poverty Reduction for Women and Youth in Africa

4) Rescuing Children’s Education

5) Save Flora, Fauna and Funga Projects.

 

• • Supporting the Autumn 2024 Campaign

 

Donors and funders can seize the opportunity provided by these projects and the giving season to directly and respectively donate or fund these projects.

A message about this appeal can also be passed on to a person who is in a position and willing to support.  Many thanks to those who will be passing this message!

We understand that the world is still trying to find ways of coming out of multiple crises (food, energy, climate change, geo-economic crises, etc.).  This struggle affects the ability of people to support good and deserving causes.

However, the effects of these crises are even stronger in places where there is a high level of poverty like in Africa.  This is why we have launched this seasonal appeal to help not only to reduce poverty but also to save lives from these crises.

 

• • Where Donors’ and Funders’ Money Will Go

 

We are inviting those who can, to donate £4 to create 3 benefits (1 benefit for humans, 1 benefit for other natural livings and 1 shared benefit between humans and nature) or any amount starting from £4 or more as you wish or can.

 

• • Gift-Aiding Your Donation

 

You can gift aid your donation as well as support these projects in a way that is the most suitable and related to your situation, status, circumstance, budget, capacity and willingness.

To donate, gift aid and support otherwise; please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Transitions Year and Project: Impact Monitoring and Evaluation

 

At the start of 2024, we dedicated 2024 as a Year of Transitions within CENFACS (1) and of poor people’s needs and demands; transitions that would better help by working with them so that they can transition away or out of poverty reduction.

We thought that to reduce or end poverty, it would require transition or people in need transitioning from one situation to another one.  Transitions can be of varying kinds.  Transition can be psychological, economic, financial, democratic, social, environmental, political, demographic, etc.

To deliver this dedication, we set up a Transitions Project.

 

• • What is Transitions Project or ‘t‘ Project?

 

It is a series or set of interconnected tasks or activities planned  for the execution of CENFACS‘ dedication of year 2024 as of Transitions.  These tasks or activities, which aim at reducing poverty, have been undertaken throughout 2024 within the requirements and limitations of CENFACS‘ existing and acquirable resources and assets.

Through this project, it was hoped to continue to help reduce poverty by working with project beneficiaries as they move through and out of poverty.  The project would support them to smooth transitions processes they were undergoing in order to meet their poverty reduction goals.  The support could be about tackling factors that could cause problems to their transitions.

In this respect, the ‘t‘ Project was designed to accompany project beneficiaries in their transition away or out of poverty and hardships.  The ‘t‘ Project has activities and tasks (or 12 Transition Project episodes).

 

• • Activities and Tasks Relating to the ‘t’ Project

 

A number of activities and processes has been conducted each month to enable smooth implementation of the project.  We planned twelve specific activities/tasks (or 12 Transition Project episodes), one activity or task every month.  Through this project and each task, we have tried as much as we could to identify the transition paths to poverty reduction generally and on a particular area of poverty reduction (e.g., humanitarian or overseas development matters).

We have been working to find things or factors that can help transitions so that they could positively contribute to the same goal of relieving need hardship and distress amongst our community members throughout our dedicated year.  Last week, we announced the last activity or episode of the Transitions Project, while carrying out impact monitoring and evaluation of the same project.

 

• • Continuing Impact Monitoring and Evaluating the ‘t’ Project

 

This week, we are continuing the process of looking back what happened in the last 11 months until now.  This is our impact monitoring task.  Equally, it is worth to start the task of evaluating the Transitions Year and Project.  We may not finish this evaluation by the end 2024, but it is better to start now and continue it in January 2025 if we do not finish.

The two exercises (i.e., monitoring and evaluation) will enable to inform any interested parties (e.g., project beneficiaries, supporters, our  audiences, etc.) the findings about what we did not know and we now know about the needs and aspirations of the people in need making our community.  These monitoring and evaluative exercises would also lay ground to seize the early impacts or outputs from the delivery of the Transitions Year/Project.

From these exercises – monitoring, evaluative information and knowledge – and other discoveries within the project, we can plan the kinds of appropriate responses we may develop or ways of working together with project beneficiaries in 2025 to meet those unmet needs and demands.

In order to impact monitor and evaluate the Transitions (t) Project, it is essential to have a theory of change for accountability and reporting to stakeholders.  We had this theory before starting this Transitions project.  The theory of change developed here is the causal chain or a description of a succession or chain of elements and causal connections between them.

For example, one could look at any of the 12 activities/tasks (or 12 Transition Project episodes) and check how they were connected to find out if there were inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts which each element led to the next.

The Impact Monitoring and Evaluation (IME) will provide the two results below.

On the one hand, the IME will tell if there has been transition in terms of:

 

~ attitudinal change, that is whether or not the ‘t‘ project has allowed to draw attention, affect awareness, attitudes and perceptions of the poor

~ procedural change, that is changes in way poor people decide their matters

~ behaviour change, that is changes in behaviour in poor people.

 

On the other hand, we can evaluate if the activities (e.g., negotiation, advocacy, skills development, etc.) conducted to make transitions out of poverty to happen.

To conduct impact monitoring and evaluation, it requires the contribution of every body who took part or came across these activities.

 

• • How Can You Help or Get Involved in the Impact Monitoring and Evaluation Processes of the ‘t’ Project?

 

As part of this Impact Monitoring and Evaluation exercise, we would like to ask to those who have been working with us throughout the last 11 months and two weeks to share with us their feelings and thoughts about these two areas:

 

(a) The overall “Transition Year/Project”

(b) Any of the activities/tasks they have been interested in or used to work with those in need to transition out of poverty.

 

You can share your feelings and thoughts with us by:

 

∝ Phoning

∝ Texting

∝ E-mailing

∝ Completing the contact form with your feelings and thoughts.

 

• • Supporting the Findings from the ‘t’ Project

 

Impact monitoring and evaluation are not an end for themselves.  After concluding them, there will be some findings in terms of knowledge of poor people’s needs.   There will be some suggestions or proposals in terms of project planning and development.  In other words, these findings could mean that we may have to take some steps forward in terms project planning and development in the New Year.

If there are new projects to meet those unmet needs within the community, how can one support those findings or emerging new project proposals?

For those who are willing to support those findings and projects stemming from those findings, they can be reassured that we are willing to share the findings with them.

To request the findings from the 12 Transition Project episodes, please contact CENFACS.

To support projects that may result from these findings, please let CENFACS know.

 

 

• CENFACS’ Poverty-Environment Programme and the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 

 

Between 2 and 13 December 2024, we are following the work of the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, which has been held under the theme “Our Land. Our Future” (2), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Our follow up of COP16 is part of the work we do on the development of sustainable initiatives.  Particularly, this follow up falls under CENFACS’ Poverty-Environment Programme.  More on our Poverty-Environment Programme can be found under the page ‘Development Programmes‘ of CENFACS website (3).

There are many areas which have been discussed so far at COP16 that are linked with the content of our Poverty-Environment Programme.

For example, the discussion on the current agri-food systems that contributes to the deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss is in tune with some areas of our programme.

Additionally, CENFACS “A la une” ((Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign and Themed Activities are linked with many aspects of the work of COP16.

Furthermore, COP16 brings an additional opportunity to work as we shall develop projects relating to land restoration and boosting drought resilience in Africa as well as poverty reduction projects linked to other aspects of desertification and drought.  Specifically, we are looking into developing projects on healthy soils, resilient crops, sustainable land management and land degradation neutrality; projects we believe can help reduce poverty linked to the lacks of land restoration and drought resilience.

For those who would like to know more about the relationship between COP16 and CENFACS‘ Poverty-Environment Programme, they can contact CENFACS.

For those who are interested in working with CENFACS on this relationship, they can also communicate with CENFACS.

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

• Dons sans donner directement de l’argent liquide et sans faire d’achats

Il existe 12 façons/outils thématiques de faire un don sans donner directement de l’argent liquide et sans faire d’achats pendant cette saison et ce mois de fêtes.  Il s’agit notamment de:

1) S’inscrire à une déclaration d’aide à don à partir de laquelle CENFACS peut gagner 25 pence supplémentaires pour chaque 1 £ que vous donnez

Votre déclaration d’aide à don peut contribuer à amplifier notre impact sur la réduction de la pauvreté.

2) Nomination du CENFACS pour un don lors d’événements festifs de collecte de fonds et de dons de charité

Il peut s’agir de foires et de marchés festifs, de courses et de marches, de concerts et de spectacles, de campagnes de collecte de fonds en ligne, etc.

3) Sélection du CENFACS comme organisme de bienfaisance préféré pour les dons provenant des revenus publicitaires

Par exemple, si vous êtes une entreprise dotée de programmes de responsabilité sociale d’entreprise, nous pouvons nous associer à vous pour parrainer nos événements, projets et campagnes.  Nous pouvons aligner notre travail sur le vôtre; tout comme si vous meniez un programme de dons jumelés, nous pouvons travailler avec vous.

4) Don planifié ou legs si vous décidez de faire un don majeur au CENFACS au-delà de votre vie

Par exemple, vous pouvez aider pour les dons purs et simples, les dons différés, les dons qui fournissent un revenu; cadeaux qui protègent les biens.

5) Campagnes de diffusion en direct

Si vous collectez des fonds en direct, vous pouvez convenir avec CENFACS de choisir une plateforme (par exemple, Twitch), de configurer un flux pour CENFACS, de créer une page de collecte de fonds festive, d’utiliser une plateforme (comme Tiltify), de promouvoir l’événement, d’inciter les spectateurs (rices) à faire un don et à partager le flux avec leurs ami(e)s et de collaborer.

6) Actifs de jeu

Vous pouvez également soutenir le CENFACS via des actifs de jeu lorsque vous, en tant que collecteur (rice) de fonds pour les jeux, pouvez prendre l’initiative de collecter des fonds pour CENFACS via des jeux vidéo ou des événements de jeux vidéo diffusés en direct auxquels les téléspectateurs (rices) peuvent se connecter. Vous pouvez utiliser, par exemple, le jeu vidéo sur des plates-formes centrées sur le jeu en tirant parti de la communauté des joueurs (ses) et en collectant des fonds.

7) Outils d’IA (Intelligence Artificielle) pour générer des revenus ou automatiser la génération de revenus

En fait, vous pouvez nous aider à renforcer notre capacité de collecte de fonds, à impliquer plus efficacement les donateurs (rices) et à rationaliser nos processus et opérations grâce à des outils d’IA tels que l’IA d’appel, l’intelligence de collecte de fonds, les chatbots et les assistants virtuels (par exemple, ChatGPT) et les outils d’intégration CRM.

8) Dons immobiliers virtuels

Une autre façon festive, créative et innovante de soutenir le CENFACS est de faire un don sur les bénéfices des biens immobiliers virtuels (terrains et propriétés) vendus.

9) Billets numériques

Par exemple, les billets d’événements peuvent être vendus aux enchères ou tirés au sort pour collecter des fonds. Les billets pour les événements virtuels (par exemple, pour les webinaires, les ateliers en ligne) peuvent également être donnés.

10) L’art numérique

Vous pouvez faire don d’art numérique ou créer des Jetons non fongibles (JNF) de l’art à vendre, les bénéfices étant reversés au CENFACS.

11) Faire des dons en crypto-monnaie (ou dons d’actifs non monétaires)

Si vous êtes un(e) partisan(e), un(e) enthousiaste ou un(e) donateur(rice) adepte des cryptomonnaies, vous pouvez faire des dons en cryptomonnaies en tant qu’actifs en choisissant une cryptomonnaie (par exemple, Bitcoin), en vérifiant auprès de CENFACS si nous pouvons accepter vos dons en cryptomonnaies, en utilisant un portefeuille numérique, en transférant le don à CENFACS et en obtenant un reçu. Vous pouvez aider CENFACS à collecter des fonds pour ses nobles et belles causes ainsi qu’à développer un programme de philanthropie crypto.

12) Jetons non fongibles (JNF)

Vous pouvez créer et mettre aux enchères des JNF dont les bénéfices sont reversés à CENFACS, faire don de JNF existants en les vendant ou en les vendant aux enchères avec des recettes allant à CENFACS, configurer un portefeuille numérique avec des JNF pour accepter les dons en crypto-monnaie pour CENFACS.

Ainsi, on pourrait faire don d’actifs numériques comme les crypto-monnaies, les JNF et les cartes-cadeaux numériques.

Il pourrait y avoir d’autres façons de faire un don sans magasiner, car les dons de ressources à des causes caritatives sont une industrie en pleine croissance. Si vous en connaissez d’autres, utilisez-les pour aider le CENFACS à accéder à des fonds pour ses nobles et belles causes.

Ainsi, ceux ou celles qui n’ont pas pu faire de dons sans donner directement de l’argent liquide et sans faire d’achats, ils/elles  peuvent toujours faire un don via les dons en espèces sans achats mentionnés ci-dessus.  Ils/elles pouvaient faire des dons en espèces sans acheter un souvenir pour les nobles et belles causes du CENFACS.

En demandant des dons en espèces sans achat direct, nous ne voulons pas dire que l’on ne peut pas donner de l’argent. Ils/elles le peuvent et s’ils/elles choisissent de donner directement en espèces, CENFACS acceptera volontiers leurs dons directs en espèces.

Pour soutenir le CENFACS sans donner directement de l’argent liquide (avec ou sans courses d’achats) et/ou en faisant un don direct en espèces, veuillez contacter le CENFACS.

Merci d’avoir pris en compte notre demande de dons en espèces sans dons directs sans activités de magasinage festives.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Matching Organisation-Investor Programme via African Art Investment Project – Stage/Activity 4 (from 11 to 17/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Documentation with Investor’s View on Project Documentation

 

As introduced in the Key Messages, both parties [i.e., Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation (ASACO) and Not-for-profit (n-f-p) Investor] have made progress so far as they continue to score points; points which are enough to enable them to enter the last stage of the matching talks.  These matching talks will be about finding ways to reach an agreement between Organisation’s Project Documentation (PD) with Investor’s View on PD.

To explain what is going to happen at this last stage or Activity 4, we have organised our notes around the following headings:

 

σ Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation’s Project Documentation

σ Not-for-profit Investor’s View on and Review of Project Documentation

σ The Match or Fit Test.

 

Let us look at each of these headings.

 

• • Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation’s Project Documentation

 

To start off, it is better to understand project documentation.

 

• • • What is a project documentation?

 

The definition used in these notes of project documentation comes from ‘projectmanager.com’ (4) which states that

“Project documentation refers to the project management documents that are created throughout the project life cycle.  These documents, such as the project plan, project schedule or project budget, define activities procedures and guidelines that the team should follows”.

The website ‘projectmanager.com’ provides top 15 project documents to include in a project documentation, which include:

project plan, project charter, business case, project schedule, risk register, scope statement, project budget, project communication plan, project statement report, project closure, project proposal template, project brief template, requirements gathering template, project overview template, and team charter template.

Depending on the type of Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation’s project, this documentation can be simple or complex.  What is important is not only to have a well documented project, but to have a project documentation that can help to win the argument to attract investment/investor.  This well crafted project documentation will serve a basis for Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation (ASACO) to reach an agreement with potential not-for-profit (n-f-p) investors.

 

• • • What ASCO can do to reach an agreement

 

In this Activity 4, ASACO needs to champion its project/cause by demonstrating that there is consistency and links between its planned documents.  That the project documentation provides a blended roadmap in the way the project will be implemented.  ASACO is also required to show that the processes and protocols of project planning, tracking and monitoring are canonical and clear without any confusion.

Since the n-f-p investor is looking for ASACO’s ability to record and document all aspects of its project, ASACO must AVOID to have its project into pieces all over the place without any links or relationships.  ASACO is therefore required to provide a high-quality crafted project documentation as well as uphold openness and transparency.  To achieve that it needs to refer to metrics for project documentation quality.

 

• • • Metrics for project documentation quality

 

The blog ‘daily.dev’ (5) provides 5 metrics for project documentation quality, which are:

 

1) Readability (how easily users can understand and engage with the content) 

2) Navigation and accessibility (how users can find and consume content)

3) Quality of content (how well the documentation meets the needs of its users)

4) Usability (how easily users can find and use the information they need in your documentation)

5) Customer satisfaction (helps to know if users are happy with the information you are providing and if it meets their needs).

 

The same ‘daily.dev’ argues that

“By tracking these metrics and implementing best practices, you can create high-quality documentation that improve user experience, reduces support costs, and drives business growth”.

ASACO can follow the advice from ‘daily.dev’ and ensure that its documentation meet the criteria contained in the above-mentioned five metrics and maximise impacts on the beneficiaries that the project intends to serve.

 

• • • Impact of the art project on local area and local people

 

Stage 4 is the stage at which ASACO needs to boldly speak about measures and numbers like the following:

 

σ how many people will benefit from the art project

σ how many amongst them will be lifted out of poverty because its intervention

σ the impact of the art project on local area and local people

etc.

 

ASACO can use impact measurement tools.

 

• • • Project methodology

 

ASACO can as well explain the approach or methodology it has used to factorise both internal and external variables (such as economic, environmental and political factors or indicators) in the project documentation.  This would be the system of methods and principles it has used or will be using in order to set up the art investment project.  In doing so, it will show that the art investment project sits on solid foundations or principles.  Equally, ASACO needs to demonstrate it has evidence not only principles.

 

• • • The evidence of need

 

In this design of project documentation, ASACO can add testimonies, evidence of need and any research findings from and about the people where the project will be implemented to demonstrate that the project has baseline documents and is based on genuine local needs and demand.

Briefly, throughout its project documentation ASACO must show that is leading the way and the project has something noble to offer and can generate tangible and palpable results in terms of poverty reduction.  The project is worth undertaking and commends a genuine case or value for investment.

 

• • Not-for-profit Investor’s View on and Review of Project Documentation

 

This is about the not-for-profit investor’s opinion and critical report on ASACO’s project documentation. 

To understand the n-f-p investor’s position at this stage, one needs to be aware of what ‘getty.edu’ (6) argues, which is:

“To document an art project, one can sketch out a scope and goals for the project, communicate roles, expectations, and objectives, monitor progress and identify roadblocks, verify that all the deliverables have been met, and finalise the project”.

The n-f-p art investor would take the above argument as far as ASACO’s PD is concerned.  Referring the above-mentioned argument, n-f-p art investor may want to know if

 

~ ASACO’ s project documentation meets user needs and expectations

~ there are any areas of improvement

~ documentation can be optimized

~ documentation improves the overall quality of the art project

etc.

 

For instance, the n-f-p art investor will conduct usability testing and check if ASACO’s documents have visuals.  He/she can as well check if content aligns with user needs and expectations, and if ASACO will collect feedback through surveys, forms and rating systems.

Briefly, he/she would like to be ensured that ASACO’s project documentation is clear, concise, and user-friendly and will increase customer loyalty, positive reviews of art investment project and business growth.  If this is the case, there will be a possibility to reach an agreement.

 

• • Reaching an Agreement on the the Key Areas of the Project Documentation

 

The two sides (ASACO and the n-f-p art investor) need to reach an agreement on the contents of project documentation.  If there is a disagreement between ASACO and n-f-p art investor, this could open up the possibility for a match/fit test.  The match/fit test can be carried out to try to help the two sides of the matching process.  The match/fit test can also be undertaken if there is a disagreement on any of aspects of the African art investment project.

 

 

• • The Match or Fit Test

 

As part of the match or fit test, n-f-p FI’s view on and review of ASACO’s project documentation must be matched with the information coming out of ASACO’s documents.

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 ASACO is saying about its project documentation, between what the investor would like the project documentation to indicate and what ASACO’s project documentation is really saying), the probability or chance of having an agreement at this fourth round of negotiations could be null or uncertain.

 

• • • Impact Advice to APRC and Guidance to n-f-p Art Investor

 

CENFACS can impact advise ASACO to improve the contents of its project documentation.  CENFACS can as well guide n-f-p art investors with impact to work out their expectations in terms of project documentation to a format that can be agreeable by potential ASACOs.  CENFACS’ impact advice for ASACOs and guidance on impact investing for n-f-p art investor, which are impartial, will help each of them (i.e., investee and investor) to make informed decisions and to reduce or avoid the likelihood of any significant losses or misunderstandings or mismatches.

 

• • • The Rule of the Matching Game

 

The rule of the game is the more art investors are attracted by ASACOs’ project documentation the better for ASACOs.  It means that ASACO’s PD process must pass the attractiveness test.  Likewise, the more ASACOs can successfully respond to art investors’ level of enquiries and queries about the African art project documentation the better for investors.  In this respect, the matching game needs to be a win-win one to benefit both players (i.e., investee and investor).

The above is the fourth and last stage of the Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment.

Those potential organisations seeking investment to set up art project and n-f-p art investors looking for organisations that are interested in their giving, 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.

 

• • • CENFACS’ Hub for Testing Hypotheses 

 

The Hub can help to use analysis tools to test assumptions and determine how likely something is within a given standard of accuracy.  The Hub can assist to

 

√ clean, merge and prepare micro-data sources for testing, modelling and analysis

√ conduct data management and administration

√ carry out regression analysis, estimate and test hypotheses

√ interpret and analyse patterns or trends or insights in data or results.

 

For any queries and/or enquiries about this fourth stage/activity of Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

• • Concluding Note on Autumn Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment

 

African charities like other for-profit organisations can set up an art project to enable them to back up their charitable mission and vision, provided this project is within the regulatory frameworks of the countries in which they operate and within their constitutional rules.  In other words, they can do it within the powers they have been given by their legislators and their governing rules (e.g., articles of association).

However, they need to make sure that the newly formed art project can leverage trends, insights and interactions to make their poverty reduction brand part of the conversation, driving engagement and growth from their supporters. 

They also need to check that the same art project will generate enough income so that the more the difference between the sales revenue and the costs of those sales is, the better they can find the financial resources they need to allocate to their worthy causes. 

They are as well required to guarantee that the average artwork sale price will be enough to  generate both financial benefit and charitable benefit for them while charitable benefit superseding financial benefit.

There are not-for-profit impact investors who can help them to either to start or develop their idea of having an African art project or subsidiary to reduce poverty.  Where African charities, we mean CENFACS‘ Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisations (ASACOs) or African Poverty Relief Organisations (APRCs) like in this matching exercise, experience some difficulties in finding these types of investors, CENFACS can work with ASACOs/APRCs to source them.

Equally, for n-f-p impact investors who are looking for Africa-based organisations to invest in but they are not sure which organisation that can be their investee, CENFACS can as well work with these investors so that their investment is channelled to the right organisation, at the right moment and to the right cause.  In this respect, CENFACS can match ASACOs’/APRCs’ need to find an investor and n-f-p impact investor’s desire to get an investee.

The match probability can be high or average or low depending on how much ASACOs’/APRCs’ needs meet investors’ interests.  CENFACS will make sure that this match is the strongest possible one.

CENFACS is available to work with ASACOs/APRCs that are looking for Impact Advice  and  Not-for-profit Investors who need Guidance with Impact so that the former can find the investment they are looking for and the latter the organisation to invest in, and both of them can realise their respective dreams in the New Year.

To work together to make your matching dream come true in 2025 by finding your ideal investee or investor, please contact CENFACS.

_________

 

• References

 

(1) cenfacs.org.uk/2024/01/10/2024-light-seasons-resources-projects-and-programmes/ (accessed in December 2024)

(2) https://www.unccd.int/cop16 (accessed in December 2024)

(3) cenfacs.org.uk/development-programmes/ (accessed in December 2024)

(4) https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/great-project-documentation (accessed in December 2023)

(5) https://daily.dev/blog/5-metrics-to-measure-documentation-quality (accessed in December 2024)

(6) https://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/managing_protect.pdf (accessed in December 2024)

_________

 

• 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 until the end of 2024 and beyond.

With many thanks.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

04 December 2024

Post No. 381

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• 2024 Festive Guide and Income Generation Month

• Festive Donations Without Shopping

• Activity/Task No. 12 of the Transitions (“t”) Year and Project: Support Income Poor to Transition in Income Generation

 

… And much more!

 

 

 

Key Messages

 

• 2024 Festive Guide and Income Generation Month

 

We have seamlessly crafted exciting and engaging initiatives to form our 2024 Festive Guide and Income Generation Month as well as deliver unparalleled experiences for both our supporters and project beneficiaries.

 

• • Festive Guide

 

2024 Festive Guide as a resource will help supporters engage with CENFACS during the Festive season and maximise their impact on CENFACS‘ poverty reduction work and mission.  This 2024 Festive Guide contains three items, which are:

 

a) The Season’s Relief 

b) Festive Services

c) Gifts of Peace.

 

The above-mentioned three items will help all our supporters to get involved, whether by donating or volunteering or participating in any festive preparation activities, while celebrating the season.

 

• • Income Generation Month

 

December is Income Generation Month, according to CENFACS development calendar/planner.  It is an Income Generation Month not only for most charities, but also for CENFACS users.  It is a month during which CENFACS‘ members will be focusing on generating additional income, through their own projects, fundraising efforts and seasonal activities.

During this month, we would be working with them and income poor to find way of generating some income to meet additional costs brought to their life by the high costs of living and spending pressure from festive demand.

This is why we published our Festive Income Boost on 13 November 2024 so that this festive income resource could be used as early as possible.  It contains income generation tools and strategies that streamline the process of meeting these costs.  This will quintessentially orchestrate poverty relief outcomes for project beneficiaries since we can work together so as to make the Season’s celebration come on its own to them and be affordable for all of them.

Under the Main Development section of this post, you will find more information about both the 2024 Festive Guide and our programme of work for the Income Generation Month.

 

 

• Festive Donations Without Shopping

 

Last week, we provided – under CENFACS’ Festive-Shopping-and-Donations Project or Festive-Donations-With-Shopping Project – a number of no-direct cash donations that those who would like to support CENFACS through their festive shopping can give.

This week, we are expanding on no-direct donations by focussing on those without shopping under CENFACS’ Festive-Donations-Without-Shopping Project.  In other words, we are highlighting other ways of backing CENFACS without directly giving cash and without shopping at CENFACS e-shop and other stores or shops.

What are those ways that one can think of or come across with to support CENFACS without having to directly give cash and without doing any shopping at CENFACS e-shop and other stores or shops?

 

• • Festive No-direct Cash Donations Without Shopping

 

There are 12-themed ways/tools of donating without shopping during this Festive Season and month.  They include:

 

1) Signing up for a Gift Aid Declaration from which CENFACS can earn an extra 25p for every £1 you give

Your Gift Aid Declaration can help amplify our poverty reduction impact.

 

2) Nomination of CENFACS for a donation at festive charity fundraising and donation events

These events could include Festive fairs and markets, runs and walks, concerts and performances, online fundraising campaigns, etc.

 

3) Selection of CENFACS as your preferred charity for donation from advertising revenue

For instance, if you are a company with corporate social responsibility programmes, we can partner with you to sponsor our events, projects and campaigns.  We can align our work with yours; just as if you run a matching gift programme, we can work with you.

 

4) Planned gifting or legacy giving if you decide to contribute a major gift to CENFACS beyond your lifetime

For example, you can help with outright gifts, deferred gifts, gifts that provide income; gifts that protect assets.

 

5) Livestreaming campaigns

If you are fundraising livestream donor, you can agree with CENFACS to choose a platform (e.g., Twitch), set up a stream for CENFACS, create a festive fundraising page, use a platform (like Tiltify), promote the event, engage viewers to donate and share the stream with their friends and collaborate.  

 

6) Gaming assets

You can also support CENFACS via Gaming assets when you as a gaming fundraiser can take the initiative to raise money for CENFACS via video games or livestreamed video game events whereby viewers can tune into.  You can use,  for instance, video play at gaming-centric platforms by leveraging the gaming community, and raise funds.

 

7) AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools to generate income or automate income generation

In fact, one can help us boost our fundraising capability, more effectively engage donors, and streamline our processes and operations via AI tools like Appeal AI, Fundraising Intelligence, chatbots and virtual assistants (e.g., ChatGPT) and CRM Integration tools.

 

8) Virtual real estate donations

Another festive creative and innovative way of supporting CENFACS is with donation from the profits of virtual real estate (land and property) sold.

 

9) Digital tickets

For example, event tickets can be auctioned off or raffled to raise funds.  Virtual event tickets (e.g., for webinars, online workshops) can be donated as well. 

 

10) Digital art

You can donate digital art or create NFTs of the art to be sold with the proceeds benefiting to CENFACS.

 

11) Giving cryptocurrency donations (or non-cash asset giving)

If you are a crypto-minded supporter or enthusiast or donor, you can give crypto donations as assets by choosing a cryptocurrency (e.g., Bitcoin), checking with CENFACS if we can accept your cryptocurrency donations, using a digital wallet, transferring the donation to CENFACS and getting a receipt.  You can aid CENFACS raise money for its noble causes as well as develop a crypto philanthropy programme.

 

12) Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)

You can create and auction NFTs with proceeds going to CENFACS, donate existing NFTs by selling or auctioned them with proceeds going to CENFACS, set up a digital wallet with NFTs to accept cryptocurrency donations for CENFACS.

So, one could donate digital assets like cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and digital gift cards.

There could be more ways of donating without shopping, since resource giving to charitable causes is a fast-growing industry.  If you know any more of them, please use them to help CENFACS access funds for its noble and beautiful causes.

So, those who could not give no-direct cash donations through their shopping, they can still donate via the above-named no-direct cash donations without shopping.  They could make no-direct cash donations without shopping a souvenir for CENFACS’ noble and beautiful causes.

By asking for no-direct cash donations with and without shopping, we do not mean that one cannot donate cash.  They can and if they choose to directly donate cash, CENFACS will happily accept their direct cash donations.

To support CENFACS without directly giving cash (with or without shopping) and or by directly donating cash, please contact CENFACS.

Thank you for considering our ask for no-direct cash donations without festive shopping activities.

For any queries and/or enquiries about CENFACS’ Festive-Donations-Without-Shopping Project, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Activity/Task No. 12 of the Transitions (“t”) Year and Project: Support Income Poor to Transition in Income Generation

 

Our Transitions (‘t’) Year and Project have finally got to Activity/Task 12, which is ‘Support Income Poor to Transition in Income Generation’.  

Indeed, it is possible to study the relationships between transitions and income generation, how transitions in income generating activities can help reduce vulnerabilities to poverty.  It is even feasible to work with income poor so that they can transition in the way they generate income.  This can be done by using a number of means such as support, resources and guidance to improve their financial and economic status.

This number of means can be provided at any time of the year.  However, at this particular time of festive preparations it will be very useful to help them to make the move they may need to an improved income generation.  Help can include education and training, skills to make money during the festive period, access to resources and equipment, etc.

Some of the areas of help (like skills to generate income during this festive season) can quickly produce results.  On the contrary, others can take medium to long term period to show outcomes.  For as long as the transition respond to the need of generating income, one can argue that Activity/Task 12 has been or is in the process of being carried out.

Those who would like to proceed with this activity/task by themselves can go ahead.

Those who would to be part of a working group helping in the realisation of this activity/task can let CENFACS know.

For those who need some help themselves before embarking on this activity/task, they can speak to CENFACS.  To speak to CENFACS, they are required to plan in advance or prepare themselves regarding the issues they would like to raise.

For any other queries and enquiries about the ‘t‘ project and this year’s dedication, please contact CENFACS as well.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment – Activity/Stage 3 (from 04/12/2024 to 10/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Roles and Teams (PRT) with Investor’s View on PRT

• E-discussion on Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model (05/12/2024 to 05/01/2025)

• Festive Structured Finance Activities/Micro-projects under Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme/Scheme

 

 

• Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment – Activity/Stage 3 (from 04/12/2024 to 10/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Roles and Teams (PRT) with Investor’s View on PRT

 

Both Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation (ASACO ) and Not-for-profit (n-f-p) Investor earned more points in their individual second stage of this programme.

At this level of challenge, one needs to think like in The Apprentice (the British TV Series) or Dragons’ Den (another British entertainment show) whereby one can try to secure funding for its project from multimillionaire investors.  One can think like this, although in our scenario it is about ASACO trying to secure a deal from n-f-p investor.

As the negotiation continues, they have decided to move to the third round of talks, which is Activity 3 of the Matching Organisation-Investor Programme.

This third level of talks consists of agreeing on project roles and teams.  To approach this third level, we are going to deal with ASACO’s Project Roles and Teams, and Not-for-profit Art Investor’s Demand for Clarification about ASACO’s Roles and Teams.  Before that, it is better to highlight some key performance metrics making this art investment project.

As a result, we have organised our notes around the following headings:

 

σ Key Performance Indicators

σ ASACO’s Project Roles and Teams 

σ Not-for-profit Art Investor’s Demand for Clarification about Project Roles and Teams

σ The Match or Fit Test. 

 

Let us look at each of these headings.

 

• • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

 

Let us define them.

 

• • • What are KPIs?

 

According to ‘kpi.org’ (1),

“KPIs are the critical (key) quantifiable indicators of progress toward an intended result”.

They are quantifiable metrics that can be used to measure the progress towards the art investment project.  Essentially, we are going to highlight three types KPIs: those relating to portfolio, those attached to the art industry and those linked to team performance since this stage of matching talks is about project roles and teams.

 

• • • Diversification Performance Metrics

 

At this point, ASACO can start to use investor/project growth or diversification metrics to check that it is acquiring new investors or retaining existing investors or re-engaging lapsed investors.  Diversification performance metrics are quantitative measures used to evaluate the effectiveness of portfolio diversification strategies.  These measures help to optimise investment strategies and achieve high risk-adjusted returns.

An example of these metrics is diversification ratio which ASACO can use.  ASACO can calculate the Diversification Ratio by using the formula below.

Formula for Portfolio Diversification Score:

the sum of (the asset weights multiplied by their respective standard deviations) 

 

• • • KPIs Relating to the Art Investment Project

 

ASACO can as well use a suite of metrics stemming from its business plan like Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) proposed by ‘simplekpi.com’ (2) to back its art investment project.

Amongst these KPIs, we can mention the ones listed below.

 

a) Artwork Sales Volume (ASV)

ASV tracks the number of artworks sold.

 

b) Revenue from Art Sales (RAS)

RAS measures the total revenue generated from selling artworks.

 

c) Average Artwork Sale Price (AASP)

AASP calculates the average price at which artworks are sold.

 

d) Customer Satisfaction Score (CSS)

CSS evaluates the satisfaction level of visitors through surveys or feedback forms.

 

e) Marketing Return On Investment (ROI)

Marketing ROI measures the return on investment for marketing campaigns.

 

f) Donations Received (DR)

DR measures the total amount of donations received.

etc.

 

The above-mentioned quantifiable metrics will help to measure progress towards specific art investment project and goals.

 

• • • KPIs to Measure and Track Team Performance

 

Because we are dealing with project roles and teams, ASACO needs to show that it has metrics to measure team performance.  In other words, it is required to demonstrate that its has the KPIs to measure the optimal functioning, development, and success of its teams.

Amongst these KPIs are the ones provided by Forecast App (3), which are Track Project Progress, Resource Performance Metrics, Process Performance Metrics, etc.

This third category of KPIs will help ASACO to measure and track the performance of its teams once the art investment project becomes operational.  Having these metrics in mind, it makes easy for ASACO when explaining its project roles and teams.

 

• • ASACO’s Project Roles and Teams 

 

Generally speaking, most projects involve people with roles and teams working together to make the projects work.  Projects require communications between project members about different aspects of a project as well.  Therefore, ASACO needs to explain its project roles and teams.

Amongst the 5 major project roles (that is, project sponsor, project manager, business analyst, resource manager and project team member), we would like to focus on two of them: Project Manager and Project Sponsor.

Let us look at them

 

• • • Art Investment Project Manager

 

ASACO’s Art Investment Project Manager will be responsible for overall project planning, execution and completion.  Like any project managers, ASACO’s Art Investment Project Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the project.  The Manager will manage the project timelines, budget, resources, as well as ensure effective communication amongst all project team members and stakeholders.

As part of clarification of roles and responsibilities, ASACO will provide to n-f-p art investor role descriptions, which will detail and describe each role, including responsibilities of reporting lines and authority levels.  ASACO needs as well to indicate project team members, who are individuals with specific art project skills and expertise to contribute to project task and deliverables.

 

• • • Art Investment Project Sponsor

 

Art Investment Project Sponsor will provide support, resources and funding that ASACO is looking for.  He/she has the responsibility that the project aligns with art project goals.  He/she will be responsible for approving projects and determining scope and budget.  It could be a person who has promised a sum of money or support (e.g., advertising) to ASACO to make up what the art investment requires.  In practical terms, it will be a guarantor or promoter or benefactor or donor or funder or financier or investor or patron.

 

• • Not-for-profit Art Investor’s Demand for Clarification about Project Roles and Teams

 

At this stage of negotiation, a sensible n-f-p investor, who is a donor or funder, would like to know who will make ASACO’s project teams and what roles each team members will play and who is responsible for what.  It means project team members have the competencies and experience to complete their assigned tasks.

In order to provide the funding that ASACO is asking for, he/she would like clarification on project sponsorship.  If the project is or will be sponsored, he/she needs to be informed about the level and type of sponsorship to be received.  This information will help to know if the art investment project will undergo through fundraising mix.

This is because n-f-p art investor is also a potential project sponsor or donor or funder.  As a donor or funder, he/she would like to know who else is sponsoring the art investment project and how much money ASACO is putting in this project.  This information will help to determine the financial gap that needs to be filled and the funding structure or capital structure of the art investment project.

Besides the project sponsorship, n-f-p art investor requires further explanations about project roles and responsibilities on matters such as who is responsible for completing assigned tasks on time and within scope, and who are subject matter experts and other stakeholders.  He/she also wants to be reassured that ASACO will promote a collaborative and efficient working environment.

In addition, n-f-p art investor is enquiring if ASACO has communication matrix (that is a document detailing communication methods, frequency and stakeholders involved).

ASACO needs to respond to n-f-p art investor’s queries and enquiries by well defining tasks and deliverables, setting expectations, establishing deadlines and milestone, communicating plan, allocating resource, managing risk, establishing criteria for measuring progress and success and defining key performance indicators and tracking them, getting feedback and conducting reviews, while encouraging open communication and continuous improvement.

Failure to provide these answers may not help the matching talks to go to the next stage or to progress.  In other words, there should be an agreement between ASACO’s PRT and N-f-p Art Investor’s Approach to ASACO’s PRT.  If there is a disagreement, then the talks/negotiations could be subject to match or fit test.

 

 

• • The Match or Fit Test

 

As part of the match or fit test, n-f-p Art Investor’s view on ASACO’s PRT Stage must be matched with the information coming out of ASACO’s PRT process.

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 ASACO is saying about its PRT process, between what the investor would like the PRT phase to indicate and what ASACO’s PRT process is really saying), the probability or chance of having an agreement at this third round of negotiations could be null or uncertain.

However, if this happens there is still a chance as CENFACS can advice ASACO and guide n-f-p investor on their approaches to African art investment.

 

• • • Impact Advice to ASACO and Guidance to n-f-p Art Investor

 

CENFACS can impact advise ASACOs to improve the presentation of the PRT process they are bringing forward.  CENFACS can as well guide n-f-p art investors with impact to work out their expectations in terms of the PRT process to a format that can be agreeable by potential ASACOs.  CENFACS’ impact advice for ASACOs and guidance on impact investing for n-f-p art investor, which are impartial, will help each of them (i.e., investee and investor) to make informed decisions and to reduce or avoid the likelihood of any significant losses or misunderstandings or mismatches.

However, to reduce or avoid this likelihood both parties need to follow the rule of the matching game.

 

• • • The Rule of the Matching Game

 

The rule of the game is the more art investors are attracted by ASACOs’ PRT process the better for ASACOs.  It means that ASACO’s PRT process must pass the attractiveness test.  Likewise, the more ASACOs can successfully respond to art investors’ level of enquiries and queries about the PRT  process the better for investors.  In this respect, the matching game needs to be a win-win one to benefit both players (i.e., investee and investor).

The above is the third stage or activity of the Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment.

Those potential organisations seeking investment to set up an art project in Africa and n-f-p art investors looking for organisations that are interested in their giving, 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.

 

• • • CENFACS’ Hub for Testing Hypotheses 

 

The Hub can help to use analysis tools to test assumptions and determine how likely something is within a given standard of accuracy.  The Hub can assist to

 

√ clean, merge and prepare micro-data sources for testing, modelling and analysis

√ conduct data management and administration

√ carry out regression analysis, estimate and test hypotheses

√ interpret and analyse patterns or trends in data or results.

 

For any queries and/or enquiries about this third stage/activity of Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• E-discussion on Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model (05/12/2024 to 05/01/2025)

 

As the year wraps up, our e-discussion, which is on Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model , has already started. The e-discussion is about volunteering to explore where money will come to fund climate change programmes and projects.  It is also about volunteering to find new models of development that respond to changing climate since humans may have to change or improve habits and behaviour to deal with changing climate.

Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model echo what was decided at COP29 in Baku (3) where developed nations pledged to channel $300 billion a year into developing countries by 2035 to support their efforts to deal with climate change.  This pledged money is not yet available.

Charities and voluntary organisations whether they operate in developed or developing countries have still to find funding for their climate projects and programmes.  Also, climate change is not only about money.  It is as well about the new development model or new way of living that one may need to create and embrace in order to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change.

Our e-discussion, which takes stock of COP29, will explore ways of finding the financial resources we need to continue our work on climate change.  It will also be about searching a new model of development that will pave and strengthen our way to net zero greenhouse gases emission.

To e-discuss Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model, we have organised a plan of work.

We shall look at the following points during our e-discussion:

 

√ Volunteering to increase financial support for projects and programmes of emission reduction

√ Volunteering to mobilise climate funds and engage climate finance stakeholders and investors

√ Volunteering to find a new development model

√ Volunteering for climate finance transparency and accountability.

 

As we are nearing 2025, volunteering to find climate finance and a new development will provide us with some ideas where the money to tackle greenhouse gases emission will come from and prepare our mindset to change or improve our behaviour in terms of our relationships with nature and the planet.  It will as well contribute to reduce poverty induced by the lack of climate finance and the lack of alternative model of development than just continuing to do the things that harm the planet.

To e-discuss about Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

 

• Festive Structured Finance Activities/Micro-projects under Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme/Scheme

 

As part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme and Scheme Periods (02 to 07/12/2024 and 09 to 14/12/2024), we are available to work in hybrid mode with users via a Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme (FCCBP) or Scheme (FCCBS) so that they can start stronger in the New Year.

Both FCCBP and FCCBS will help beneficiaries to reduce risks linked to financial incapacity and incapability while improving their intergenerational income and transfers.

These are exclusive festive activities to maximise programme and scheme beneficiaries’ financial management and decision-making for a successful year-end.  To practise FCCBP and FCCBS , we are carrying out structured festive finance activities for the two periods as indicated below.

 

• • Structured Festive Finance Activities as Part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Programme (02 to 07/12/2024) 

 

FCCBP is a set of structured planned actions or events designed to help users to better manage financial aspects of festive celebrations, to develop financial knowledge and skills, to make life-saving financial decisions and to invest in financial capacity and capability goals

As a result, we will be working on how people and families can be involved a series of the following structured festive activities or small projects:

 

Activity 1: Investing in realistic goals about financial capacity and capability

Activity 2: Managing financial aspects of festive events

Activity 3: Making financial knowledge and skills positively impact on their financial behaviour

Activity 4: Taking sensible life-saving financial decisions

Activity 5: How to generate little extra income in order to reduce poverty.

 

These activities are run in the forms of advice, advocacy, e-discussion, workshop, focus group, survey, direct questions/answers, etc.  More details about them can be obtained from CENFACS.

 

• • • • Structured Festive Finance Activities as Part of Financial Capacity and Capability Building Scheme (09 to 14/12/2024)

 

FCCBS is a plan or system for achieving the goals of financial capacity and capability.  It helps to work with users so that they can elaborate a systematic plan of future action about their financial capacity and capability for a week or month or year (2025).  Through this exercise, we shall use some financial capacity and capability tools to work with users to design basic financial plans, policies, systems, strategies, etc. to deal with their problems.  Under this scheme, we can organise together the following festive activities.

 

Activity 1: Financial Capacity and Capability to make ends meet (e.g., coping and survival strategies)

Activity 2: Financial Capacity and Capability to plan head (plan and save for the future) 

Activity 3: Financial Capacity and Capability to organise money management (e.g., money management plan)

Activity 4: Financial Capacity and Capability to make financial decisions and act through budgeting

Activity 5: Financial Capacity and Capability to control spending through cash flow statements.

 

Briefly, we will be working on how people and families having the issues of financial capacity and capability can work out systematic plans for future action to improve their financial capacity and capability, and where possible generate income in order to reduce continuing poverty and hardships.  In particular, we will make sure about what scheme is workable or unworkable for them.

In the end, we hope that the financially incapacitated or incapable people and families can develop their own individual working FCCBP and FCCBS plans or policies to establish financial capacity and capability as well as generate little extra incomes not only for the festive period, but also beyond the festive time.  In doing so, they can improve their intergenerational economy and transfer accounts.

Need festive advice or support to deal with the problems of financial capacity and capability you are experiencing, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

If you have financial planning problems, you can contact CENFACS so that we can work together on your financial planning needs and help you to start the New Year stronger and confident with a financial plan or a system or a policy.

 

Message in English-French (Message en Anglais-Français)

 

• CENFACS be.Africa Forum E-discusses the Impact of Economic Warfare on Poor People

Any wars of any kinds may not be a good prospect for humans.  Similarly, economic wars can be counter-productive for the well-being the world’s poorest people.  These people are already suffering from poverty.  Yet, there suffering could deepen if the prospects of economic war become a reality in 2025 as geo-economic rivalries and rifts continue between different powers (like the USA and China), not mentioning some counter-productive policy announcements any incoming administrations of these countries may make for 2025.

Although geo-economic confrontation has the biggest fall in ranking as it is being classified 14th in short term (2 years horizon) and 16th in long term (10 years horizon) as global risks ranked by severity by the World Economic Forum (5), it can resurface in 2025.  This resurgence can increase the costs of food and energy as well as of other commodities.

If the world in 2025 faces the prospects of economic war or its increase, there will be an impact on Africa, particularly on Africans who are already living in poverty.  It is this possible economic condition of the economic world of 2025, which none within CENFACS wishes to happen, that CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum is trying to e-discuss the probable impact of such economic warfare on those living in poverty in Africa.

Perhaps, to better e-discuss this topic one may need to explain economic warfare.  According to ‘britannica.com’ (6),

“Economic warfare is the use of, or the threat to use, economic means against a country in order to weaken its economy and thereby, reduce its political and military power.  Economic warfare also includes the use of economic means to compel an adversary to change its policies or behaviour or to undermine its ability to conduct normal relations with other countries.  Some common means of economic warfare are trade embargoes, boycotts, sanctions, tariff discrimination, the freezing of capital assets, the suspension of aid, the prohibition of investment and other capital flows, and expropriation”.

Knowing what economic warfare is, one can debate what could be its impact on Africa, especially on those living in poverty in Africa.

Those who may be interested in this discussion can join our poverty reduction pundits and/or contribute by contacting CENFACS be.Africa Forum, which is a forum for discussion on poverty reduction and sustainable development issues in Africa and which acts on behalf of its members by making proposals or ideas for actions for a better Africa.

To contact CENFACS about this discussion, please use our usual contact information on this website.

 

• Le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS e-discute de l’Impact de la Guerre Économique sur les Pauvres

Toute guerre, quelle qu’elle soit, n’est peut-être pas une bonne perspective pour les humains.  De même, les guerres économiques peuvent être anti-productives pour le bien-être des personnes les plus pauvres du monde.  Ces personnes souffrent déjà de la pauvreté.  Pourtant, les souffrances pourraient s’aggraver si les perspectives de guerre économique deviennent réalité en 2025, alors que les rivalités géoéconomiques et les divisions se poursuivent entre différentes puissances (comme les États-Unis et la Chine), sans parler de certaines annonces politiques qui peuvent alimenter une guerre économique que les nouvelles administrations de ces pays pourraient faire pour 2025.

Bien que la confrontation géoéconomique ait connu la plus forte chute dans le classement puisqu’elle est classée 14e à court terme (horizon de 2 ans) et 16e à long terme (horizon de 10 ans) en tant que risques mondiaux classés par gravité par le Forum Économique Mondial (5), elle peut refaire surface en 2025.  Cette résurgence peut augmenter les coûts des denrées alimentaires et de l’énergie ainsi que d’autres produits de base.

Si le monde en 2025 est confronté à la perspective d’une guerre économique ou de son augmentation, il y aura un impact sur l’Afrique, en particulier sur les Africains qui vivent déjà dans la pauvreté.  C’est cette condition économique possible du monde économique de 2025, que personne au sein du CENFACS ne souhaite, que le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS tente de discuter en ligne.   La discussion porte sur l’impact probable d’une telle guerre économique sur ceux ou celles qui vivent dans la pauvreté en Afrique.

Peut-être, pour mieux discuter de ce sujet, pourrait-il être nécessaire d’expliquer la guerre économique.  Selon le site Web ‘britannica.com’ (6),

“La guerre économique est l’utilisation ou la menace d’utiliser des moyens économiques contre un pays afin d’affaiblir son économie et, par conséquent, de réduire sa puissance politique et militaire.  La guerre économique comprend également l’utilisation de moyens économiques pour contraindre un adversaire à modifier ses politiques ou son comportement ou pour saper sa capacité d’entretenir des relations normales avec d’autres pays.  Certains moyens courants de guerre économique sont les embargos commerciaux, les boycottes, les sanctions, la discrimination tarifaire, le gel des avoirs en capital, la suspension de l’aide, l’interdiction des investissements et autres flux de capitaux, et l’expropriation”.

Sachant ce qu’est la guerre économique, on peut discuter de son impact sur l’Afrique, en particulier sur ceux ou celles qui vivent dans la pauvreté en Afrique.

Ceux ou celles qui pourraient être intéressé(e)s par cette discussion peuvent se joindre à nos experts en réduction de la pauvreté et/ou contribuer en contactant le ‘me.Afrique’ du CENFACS (ou le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS), qui est un forum de discussion sur les questions de réduction de la pauvreté et de développement durable en Afrique et qui agit au nom de ses membres en faisant des propositions ou des idées d’actions pour une Afrique meilleure.

Pour contacter le CENFACS au sujet de cette discussion, veuillez utiliser nos coordonnées habituelles sur ce site Web.

 

Main Development

 

• 2024 Festive Guide and Income Generation Month

 

We have two major items making the 2024 Festive Guide and Income Generation Month, which are:

 

∝ Festive Guide

∝ December as an Income Generation Month.

 

Let us briefly explain each of them.

 

• • Festive Guide

 

Inside this guide, there are three main listings: Season’s Relief, Festive Services and Gifts of Peace.

 

• • • Season’s Relief 

 

At CENFACS, the Season’s Relief comes with a theme and bundle of initiatives.

 

• • • • Season’s Relief Theme

 

The theme for Season’s Relief which would carry us throughout the entire festive period is Sustainable Peace.  The Festive Season, which is part of the worldwide celebration, kicks off in December for CENFACS and ends by the 31^st of January in the New Year.

During the Festive Season, we normally start the Season of Light.  The Season of Light is one of the four seasons of CENFACS Development Calendar.  It is the Winter season which goes on until the third week of March in the New Year and is featured by Winter Lights and Light Projects or Light Appeals. 

During this Season of Light, we shall carry out work about light (or energy) and poverty reduction.  We will be looking at how to fund energy transition for the energy poor who are still dependent on fossil fuels.

 

 

• • • • Season’s Relief Initiatives

 

The following are the selected December 2024 initiatives or Season’s Initiatives for Relief:

 

∗ Festive Income Builder, Booster & Calculator, In Focus for 2024: Income Boost Goal for the Festive Season

∗ Community Value Chains: CENFACS as a Community that Supports Its Members  Transition out Poverty 

∗ Volunteering in 2025: Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model

∗ Thanking 2024 Year Makers & Enablers

∗ Gifts of Peace (Edition 2024/2025)

∗ Run, Vote & Play for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development (Action-Results 2024).

 

The above-mentioned projects would make the first part of Season’s Relief as being announced above.  Some of them intertwine between our monthly and seasonal development calendars.  All will depend whether one is reading our development calendar on a monthly or seasonal basis.

To support and or enquire about the Season’s Relief, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • • Festive Services

 

These services are made of two types of projects: regular and festive projects.

 

• • • • Regular or on-going projects

 

They are continuous including during the festive period.  The project known as All-year Round Projects (Triple Value Initiatives) is one of them.

 

• • • • Projects for the festive occasion only

 

They are projects which are specially designed for that occasion.   The project Community Value Chains is one of them.

Both types of projects are included in our December 2024 programme and planned to be delivered during the month of December 2024.

 

• • • Gifts of Peace

 

These are CENFACS Wintry Gift Appeal initiative to support people living in poverty in Africa.

CENFACS’ Winter Gift of Peace to Africa is indeed …

 

√ A festive life-sustaining support that helps to reduce poverty and bring sustainable peace  

√ A festive giving to acknowledge and do something about poverty over the festive period, which is also an occasion to trans-give and think of those who are not as fortunate as others

√ A festive means to support those who don’t have peace because of poverty, particularly in the developing regions of the world like Africa.

 

Since Africa is still looking for ways to produce economic growth that will be sufficient to further reduce poverty, there are many people, who are recipient of projects and programmes run by our Africa-based Sister Organisations, who desperately need support.

However, we must acknowledge that this is a challenging time for both those who support and those who receive that support.  Many factors have impacted people’s donation behaviours.  The same or similar factors have increased demand of support for those in need.

To respond to the demand of help from those who receive support, we will be launching CENFACS’ Winter Gift of Peace to Africa, a Winter Appeal, by the end of Autumn 2024.

In meantime, those who would like to have for more information about this seasonal appeal, they need to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• • December as an Income Generation Month for CENFACS

 

December is a month of Income Generation, Record Tracking and Winter Lights at CENFACS.

 

• • • December as Income Generation Month

 

December is the Income Generation month according to CENFACS monthly development calendar and planner.  It is the month during which we advocate and provide tips, hints and other types of advisory support on how to generate additional income to cover shortage in regular income, by using other avenues within the boundaries of the law and order.

This additional income can enable multi-dimensional income poor children, young people and families (C, YP & Fs) to exercise their basic human right to celebrate the end of the year in their own way and right.

However, this December 2024 of Income Generation will be mostly about Income Boost Goal for the Festive Season as we highlighted in this year Edition of Festive Income Boost.  This is to help C, YP & Fs to set and apply a clear goal that can help them find enough income to better manage financial aspects of festive events, develop financial knowledge and skills, make life-saving financial decisions and invest in financial capacity and capability goals.

We will be working with them during the festive season to find ways of setting clear income boost goals while building and developing their financial capacity and capability.  So, supporting multi-dimensional poor C, YP & Fs in this way is the right cause to undertake.

Equally, where possible generating, building and boosting their incomes to exercise their human right to a decent end-of-year celebration is not only a one-off or seasonal business to make ends meet; but can also become an additional way of building and developing the capacity and capability to reduce and end income poverty.

They are poor not only because of lack of income but also due to their lack of support to build and develop financial capacity and capability as well as to generate enough income to cover their needs and nurture these capacity and capability.

As part of festive support, our Edition 2024 Festive Extra Income Builder, Booster and Calculator would be available for those who need it.  We launched this resource earlier in Autumn in order to enable those in need of the resource to get the tips, hints and strategies they need to early start exploring ways of better managing their financial affairs and making life-saving financial decisions while finding ways of boosting their income and generational economy.

Besides this resource, we planned two periods of work on financial capacity and capability programmes and schemes starting from the second of this month as follows.

 

• • • 02 to 07/12/2024: Financial Capacity and Capability Programmes (FCCP) 

 

FCCP is a set of structured activities designed to help users to better manage financial aspects of festive events, to develop financial knowledge and skills, to make life-saving financial decisions and to invest in financial capacity and capability goals

As a result, we will be working on how people and families can be involved a series of structured activities or small projects to

 

σ invest in realistic goals about financial capacity and capability

σ manage financial aspects of festive events

σ make financial knowledge and skills positively impact on their financial behaviour

σ take sensible life-saving financial decisions

σ where possible generate little extra income in order to reduce poverty.

 

Through these activities, we hope beneficiaries will become

 

√ better empowered in their financial behaviour

√ good financial decision makers

√ better financial managers

√ extra income earners

√ financially confident

etc.

 

• • • 09 to 14/12/2024: Financial Capacity and Capability Schemes (FCCS)

 

FCCS helps to work with users so that they can elaborate a systematic plan of future action about their financial capacity and capability for a week or month or year (2025).  Through this exercise, we shall use some financial capacity and capability tools to work with users (e.g., Debt to income ratio formula).

Briefly, we will be working on how people and families having the issues of financial capacity and capability can work out systematic plans for future action to improve their financial capacity and capability, and where possible generate income in order to reduce continuing poverty and hardships.  In particular, we will make sure about what scheme is workable or unworkable for them.

In the end, we hope that the financially incapacitated or incapable people and families can develop their own individual working FCCP and FCCS plans or policies to establish financial capacity and capability and generate little extra incomes not only for the festive period, but also beyond the festive time. In doing so, they can improve their intergenerational economy and transfer accounts.

 

 

• • • December as Record Tracking Month

 

December is also the time of record tracking on our All-year Round Projects (or Triple Value Initiatives), particularly

 

√ CENFACS Poverty Relief League (The African Nations Poverty Relief League)

√ Run to Reduce Poverty in Africa in 2024

√ Vote Your African Poverty Relief and Development Manager of the Year 2024

 

We expect those who took part and or organised activities on our behalf about these projects to come forward, report and share with us their actions, results and experiences about the three stars or bests of 2024 (Best Country, Best Runner and Best Manager).  We can count on them to tell us their Winner of CENFACS Trophy of the Year.

 

• • • December as the start of Winter Lights Season

 

As said above in our Festive Guide, December is finally the month we start CENFACS Winter Lights Season, the first season of our development seasonal calendar.  The Season of Light, which kicks off around Mid-December, includes the Gifts of Peace.

Each year, we produce an edition of the Gifts of Peace that makes up our final fundraising campaign and last humanitarian appeal of the year.  This year, we are doing the same for our last humanitarian appeal or fundraising campaign of 2024.

Peace is the festive theme we choose at CENFACS to spread the joy of Season’s Relief to those in need, especially at this time of the lingering effects of the enduring cost-of-living crisis.  We try to help their wishes of relief become true with the Gifts of Peace, by putting a smile on their face with relief notes.

With the enduring effects of high costs of living, many of them cannot find the smiles they need for relief.  One can hope that the Gifts of Peace will bring back the lost smiles.

To support the Edition 2024/2025 of Gifts of Peace, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • • CENFACS Community Value Chains Celebration

 

As part of the Season of Light is the CENFACS Community Value Chains celebration.  This celebration generally closes our seasons at the end of the year and concludes our yearly development calendar and planner, while marking the end of civil year at CENFACS.

It is an end-of-year eventful project enabling us to look upon us again as a community of shared vision, values and beliefs which connect us as human chains with a purpose of reducing and ending poverty amongst us, and of enhancing sustainable development as well.

This year, we shall again focus on ourselves as a Community that Supports Its Members to Transition out of Poverty.  It will be about the capacity we have to support others to transition out of poverty and improve the quality of their life.

 

• • • Sustainable Volunteering: 05/12/2024 to 05/01/2025

 

To carry the CENFACS Community into the New Year, our discussion on Sustainable Volunteering, which has already started, is scheduled to take place from 05 December 2024 to 05 January 2025.  The discussion theme for this year is on Volunteering to Find Climate Finance and a New Development Model.

 

• • • CENFACS into 2025

 

To take the other two domains (International and Fund) of CENFACS into 2025 and engage with stakeholders, we shall develop projects relating to land restoration and boosting drought resilience in Africa as well as poverty reduction projects linked to other aspects of desertification and drought.

For any enquiries or to support CENFACS in the month of December 2024 and in the New Year, please contact CENFACS.

 

Before closing this week’s post, we would like to inform all our audiences and stakeholders that the above planned programmes, projects and activities can be reviewed.  If there are any significant changes in terms of the eruption of a major event or crisis or shock, we shall revise our initial festive plan and activate our contingency plan.

_________

 

• References

(1) https://www.kpi.org/kpi-basics (accessed in December 2024)

(2) https://www.simplekpi.com/blog/12-essential-art-gallery-kpis-to-track (accessed in December 2024)

(3) https://www.forecast.app/blog/how-to-track-and-calculate-metrics-to-improve-your-team-performance (accessed in December 2024)

(4) https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop29-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-baku/ (accessed in December 2024)

(5) https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WE_The_Global_Risks_Report_2024.pdf (accessed in December 2024)

(6) https://www.britannica.com/topic/economic-warfare (accessed in December 2024)

_________

 

• 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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

27 November 2024

Post No. 380

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Making Donations with Festive Shopping

• Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment – Activity/Stage 2 (from 27/11/2024 to 03/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Schedule, Timelines and Milestones (PSTM) with Investor’s View on PSTM

• Rescuing Children’s Education in Africa: Only 6 Days Left!

 

… And much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• • Making Donations with Festive Shopping

 

Please support CENFACS to help others this Giving Season by generating donations when you shop. 

 

As the Festive Season’s preparation has started, anyone can help raise funds for CENFACS through their shopping without giving any penny.  It does not cost them any money to give to charities like CENFACS while shopping, whether online or in-person, and being asked either to tick a box or to name or choose a charity to benefit from their festive shopping activities.

You can turn your Festive Shopping into Donations to CENFACS.

By ticking a box to donate to charity or naming or choosing CENFACS, they can enable CENFACS to receive no-direct cash donations from their shopping; donations which we need to help those suffering from poverty and the lingering effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

Please remember that around the festive period millions of shoppers do not claim their points, discounts and rewards.  These points, prizes and rewards could have gone to good causes like CENFACS‘ noble and beautiful ones.

So, it does not cost you as a festive shopper anything if you tick a box or name or choose CENFACS as your favourite charity to receive your points, prizes and rewards which could otherwise become unclaimed, unused and wasted.

This festive season, please do not let these free offers resulting from your shopping go unclaimed or wasted.  CENFACS wants them.  CENFACS needs your loyalty shopping points, discounts, vouchers, prizes and rewards that you do not want or need.

We need them to help people living in poverty and hardships.  These people require them.  We are demanding your no-direct cash gift and support through your festive shopping to help them.

Please support CENFACS raise donations for its cause when you buy gifts, decorations, festive items and everything else.

You could help generate donations for CENFACS when you shop this Festive Season.

Would you mind ticking a box or name or choose CENFACS to benefit from your festive shopping activities!

More on ways of supporting CENFACS’ beneficiaries through your festive shopping as well as CENFACS’ Festive Shopping and Donations Project is given under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment – Activity/Stage 2 (from 27/11/2024 to 03/12/2024): Matching Organisation’s Project Schedule, Timelines and Milestones (PSTM) with Investor’s View on PSTM

 

Both Africa-based Sister Charitable Art Organisation (ASCAO) and Not-for-profit (n-f-p) Art Investor scored enough points in their individual first stage of this African art investment project.  They would like to continue their talks and move to the second round of negotiation, which is Activity/Stage 2 of the Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment.

This second round of talks consists of agreeing on project schedule, timelines and milestones (PSTM) for ASCAO, and on the view of n-f-p Investor on PSTM.  To reach an agreement, it is better to understand the match terms, in particular the meaning of project schedule.

 

• • Brief Understanding of Project Schedule

 

According to ‘coursera.com’ (1),

“Project scheduling is an analytical and data-driven activity that focuses on tasks and timescales”.

Another explanation of project schedule comes from ‘projectmanager.com’ (2) which argues that

“A project schedule is a timetable that organises tasks, resources and due dates in an ideal sequence so that a project can be completed on time.  A project schedule is created during the planning phase and includes the following: a project timeline with start dates, end dates and milestones; the work necessary to complete the project deliverables; the costs, resources and dependencies associated with each task; and the team members that are responsible for each task”.

In brief, project schedule is about planning your project deliveries in terms of dependencies and interdependencies between different projects as well as between various activities.  In other words, it consists of building project plan by identifying milestones and bottlenecks for their delivery.

For instance, at this activity/stage 2 ASCAO’s minimum tasks to achieve the project goals and the timeline for project critical path need to attract n-f-p investors.  ASCAO has to convince investors that the project will be completed on time.  This is the news that n-f-p investors would like to hear.  And ASCAO is expected to produce evidence about this news since n-f-p investors may want to know about PSTM.

 

• • What Not-for-profit Art Investor Would like to Know

 

The n-f-p art investor want to know if ASCAO has a step-by-step map or roadmap of project tasks set up in chronological order.  He/she also wants to be reassured that ASCAO’s art investment project includes timelines, task descriptions, task conditions and team distribution.

In addition, the n-f-p art investor would like to be informed if ASCAO will use a master schedule or a milestone schedule or a detailed schedule.  He/she wants as well to be told if ASCAO will utilise project scheduling software to create and track project schedules.  If not, ASCAO has to explain how it is going to monitor the progress of tasks, resources and costs in real time.

Consequently, ASACO needs to provide satisfactory answers to the above-mentioned points raised by the not-for-profit art investor.  Failure to provide these answers may not help the matching talks to go to the next stage or to progress.  In other words, there should be an agreement between ASACO’s PSTM and N-f-p Art Investor’s Approach to ASACO’s PSTM.  If there is a disagreement, then the talks/negotiations could be subject to match or fit test.

 

 

• • The Match or Fit Test

 

As part of the match or fit test, n-f-p Art Investor’s view on ASACO’s PSTM Stage must be matched with the information coming out of ASACO’s PSTM process.

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 ASACO is saying about its PSTM process, between what the investor would like the PSTM phase to indicate and what ASACO’s PSTM process is really saying), the probability or chance of having an agreement at this second round of negotiations could be null or uncertain.

However, if this happens there is still a chance as CENFACS can advice ASACO and guide n-f-p investor on their approaches to African art investment.

 

• • • Impact Advice to ASACO and Guidance to n-f-p Art Investor

 

CENFACS can impact advise ASACOs to improve the presentation of the PSTM process they are bringing forward.  CENFACS can as well guide n-f-p art investors with impact to work out their expectations in terms of the PSTM process to a format that can be agreeable by potential ASACOs.  CENFACS’ impact advice for ASACOs and guidance on impact investing for n-f-p art investor, which are impartial, will help each of them (i.e., investee and investor) to make informed decisions and to reduce or avoid the likelihood of any significant losses or misunderstandings or mismatches.

However, to reduce or avoid this likelihood both parties need to follow the rule of the matching game.

 

• • • The Rule of the Matching Game

 

The rule of the game is the more art investors are attracted by ASACOs’ PSTM process the better for ASACOs.  Likewise, the more ASACOs can successfully respond to art investors’ level of enquiries and queries about the PSTM process the better for investors.  In this respect, the matching game needs to be a win-win one to benefit both players (i.e., investee and investor).

The above is the second stage or activity of the Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment.

Those potential organisations seeking investment to set up an art project in Africa and n-f-p art investors looking for organisations that are interested in their giving, 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.

 

• • • CENFACS’ Hub for Testing Hypotheses 

 

The Hub can help to use analysis tools to test assumptions and determine how likely something is within a given standard of accuracy.  The Hub can assist to

 

√ clean, merge and prepare micro-data sources for testing, modelling and analysis

√ conduct data management and administration

√ carry out regression analysis, estimate and test hypotheses

√ interpret and analyse patterns or trends in data or results.

 

For any queries and/or enquiries about this second stage/activity of Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Rescuing Children’s Education in Africa: Only 6 Days Left!

 

The United Nations Children’s Fund (3) notes that

“Millions of children across Africa still lack access to schooling due to ongoing conflicts across the continent… In West and Central Africa alone, more than 14,000 schools are closed mainly due to conflict, affecting 2.8 million children”.

As a way of keeping education alive for these unfortunate children living in those parts of Africa in conflict or crisis (like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, etc.), many types of initiatives have been so far taken to support these children.

These initiatives have been carried out by organisations (such as the United Nations Children’s Fund) and people like you to help.  Initiatives such as education by radio programme, back-to-school advocacy, delivery of school kits, etc. have been taken.

However, due to the immense educational challenge posed by the legacies of conflict, insecurity and violence; there is still a deep, intense and urgent educational need in many of these areas/parts of Africa.

This appeal, which is worded as or uses the slogan ‘EVERY CHILD HAS RIGHT TO EDUCATION in Conflict Zones in Africa’ (in short: EVERY CHILD HAS RIGHT TO EDUCATION), has already started and will make CENFACS‘ fundraising campaign for Giving Tuesday on 03 December 2024.

We would like people who may be interested in our philanthropic mission to join us on Tuesday 03 December 2024 in this campaign to Rescue Children’s Education in Africa.

 

• • What Will Happen on Giving Tuesday

 

On Tuesday Giving Day (03/12/2024), you can take one or several of the following actions:

 

√ Give £10 or more to these children via CENFACS

√ Fundraise with CENFACS for the educationally needy children in Africa

√ Donate educational goods for these children

√ Buy something from CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Charity Store to support children’s educational and skills development in Africa

√ Briefly, do the act of generosity and kindness towards these children and CENFACS’ noble and beautiful causes.

 

We are asking to those who can to support these Educationally Needy Children via this campaign, not to wait the Giving Tuesday on 03 December 2024.

They can donate now since the needs are urgent and pressing.

Even a small donation can lead to a BIG impact.

To donate, please get in touch with CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households – On the Agenda from Wednesday 27/11/2024: Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

• Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, Development and Action Plan about Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households (28, 29 & 30 November 2024)

• Activity of the Festive Season: How to Make Your Triple-Value-Initiative Activity Raise Money for Good Causes

 

 

• Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households – On the Agenda from Wednesday 27/11/2024: Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

 

Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling (in short Stakeholder Relationship Skills) are expertness to build connections with stakeholders and extract the most important aspects of these relationships and put that in the context of data storytelling and communications.  These skills do not come alone.  There are communication skills linked to stakeholder relationships.

Perhaps , the best way of tackling these two types skills is to proceed with the following:

 

σ explain stakeholder

σ highlight key skills for effective stakeholder management

σ summarise relationship-building skills

σ list communication skills in stakeholder relationships

σ provide a homework for the end of the week

σ emphasise the purpose of the work with CENFACS‘ community members

σ say the last word about Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

σ conclude Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households.

 

• • What Is a Stakeholder?

 

There are many ways of looking at stakeholder.  According to ‘simplystakeholder.com’ (4),

“A stakeholder is the people, groups, and organisations that are impacted by, able to influence, or have an interest in your work, project, or organisation”.

From the above perspective, stakeholders in households life are diverse individuals, groups or organisations that have an interest or stake in the life of households and the way households achieve their outcomes.  They (stakeholders) could be inside and outside households.  For example, stakeholders could include their community, government, school, church, families and friends, workplace, etc.  Households need some skills to manage their stakeholders.

 

• • Key Skills for Effective Stakeholder Management

 

There are skills to manage the way in which one manage its stakeholders.  Before listing these skills, let us briefly explain them.

According to ‘tsw.co.uk’ (5),

“Stakeholder management skills are the abilities you need to manage the people involved in a project (stakeholders) successfully”.

For ‘tsw.co.uk’, stakeholder management skills include being able to:

 

σ find out who are your stakeholders

σ understand what they want and need

σ communicate with them clearly

σ influence them to support the project (here households)

σ keep track of the involvement and feedback.

 

To manage their stakeholders, households need to know their stakeholders (whether inside or outside their households), understand what their stakeholders want, communicate with them, influence them to support households’ life and track their involvement.

To do that, households may use basic tools to effectively manage their stakeholders.  They may refer to tools such as tracking contact details, tracking communication, follow up sentiment tracking, stakeholder mapping, etc.  They will require to have or develop relationship skills.

 

• • Relationship-building Skills

 

In the theory of stakeholder relationships, there is one aspect households need to care for.  This aspect is relationship building.  They need to have or improve their skills to build relationships if they want to survive as households, not living alone.

Relationship-building skills are therefore the abilities to establish rapport, trust, and long-term partnership with stakeholders.  These require emotional intelligence, empathy, and conflict resolution capability.

For example, households can develop rapport and learn the needs of their stakeholders to increase shared vision and reduce conflicts between them and their stakeholders.  This will enable them to have healthy, worthy and wealthy relationships with their stakeholders.

 

• • Communication Skills in Stakeholder Relationships

 

There are communication skills that households need to put into practice in order to engage with their stakeholders.  Just as there are skills to improve communication with the same stakeholders. 

For instance, ‘forbes.com’ (6) has listed 15 effective tips for improving communication with stakeholders.  Amongst these 15 tips, there is one, which is conducting a stakeholder analysis.  It is important that households, including those making the CENFACS Community, to conduct stakeholder analysis.  The analysis can help them anticipate the concerns of those who influence their households.  This analysis can as well support them to effectively engage with stakeholders.

 

 

• • Working with the Community Members on Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

 

We would like to repeat that the purpose of working with the community members on data storytelling and communication skills is to help them as follows:

 

√ to create trust in data, insight and outsight systems

√ to learn and build technical skills like statistical literacy and data skills

√ to enhance a culture of data and insight uses within household

√ to improve household/family the overall data and insight skills

√ to attach value to data and insight to explain and understand what is happening in their households

√ to empower and inform household data storytellers and communicators

√ to provide opportunity to those members of our community who deal with business analytics and insight tools (e.g., Google analytics) to bring their knowledge and understanding of these tools at the level of household/family analytics to benefit the management of their households/families

√ to encourage the community members to register their skills on CENFACS Skills Data Bank

√ above all, to reduce poverty linked to poor data and insight skills; yet data and insight skills are necessary to deal with life-saving household/family matters.  They are the lifeblood of any household or family.

 

CENFACS can work with those who need help and support on data storytelling and communication so that they can effectively and efficiently manage and tell the stories of their households.  Also, we can conduct with them basic data and insights analytics using the free frontline tools of poverty reduction we have in our box.

Where our capacity is limited in comparison to their demand or specific needs, we can signpost or refer them to relevant data insight and analytics services or organisations that are available on the market and can be accessible by them.

For those members of our community who will be interested in learning the Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills, they can contact CENFACS.  CENFACS can work with them to enhance their Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills.

 

 

• • Homework for the End of the Week: Implement Data Storytelling in Real Life

 

One thing is know or learn a skill; another thing is to implement this skill in real life.  This homework is about how can a typical household making the CENFACS Community can take forward the skills learnt so far.  It can use the tips and tactics suggested in the last four weeks to implement storytelling and communication in its real life to its audiences.

 

• • Last Word about Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills

 

As ‘lazaninastoy.com’ (7) explains

“The ability to build relationships and extract the most important aspects of these relationships and put that in the context of the data you have is a crucial component of data storytelling”.

This ability is about

 

σ knowing your stakeholders as people

σ finding the types of people they are

σ relating to them

σ communicating with them regularly

σ knowing what motivate them

σ being aware of what worry them

σ having a good understanding of your stakeholders.

 

• • Concluding Note about Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households

 

Skills to Put Stakeholder Relationships into Data Storytelling and Communication Skills are the last episode of our 4-week series of presentation of Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households.  To conclude our serial presentation, we are releasing below the notes for  Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households.

To get further insight into Skills Development Month, please contact CENFACS.

If anyone is particularly interested in a particular skill or has something to share about the skills we developed during our serial presentation, they should not hesitate to talk to CENFACS.

To get further insight into Skills Development Month at CENFACS, please contact CENFACS‘ Data and Insight Advocacy and Skills Project.

 

 

• Impact Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, Development and Action Plan about Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households (28, 29 & 30 November 2024)

 

Through this ending November month of Skills Development, we have focused on Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households, in particular on the skills relating to the following areas and weeks:

 

~ data science and communication skills for week 1

~ data visualisation and communication skills for week 2

~ data narrative and communication skills for week 3

~ Stakeholder relationship and communication skills for week 4.

 

In order to know the progress and achievements made as well as the to examine our performance against objectives, we are carrying out two exercises:

 

a) Impact Monitoring and Evaluation

b) Learning development and Action Plan.

 

Let us explain what these two exercises are about.

 

• • Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households

 

We are now carrying on with the systematic process of observation, recording, collection and analysis of information regarding our 4-week work on Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households in order to get its impact or at least its output.  This routine process will help to examine the activities of the data skills developed and identify bottlenecks during the process to see if they are in line with objectives we defined.

Also, we are undertaking the sporadic activity to draw conclusion regarding the relevance and effectiveness of the data and insight skills presented.  This activity will contribute to the determination of the value judgement regarding the performance level and attainment of defined objectives for Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households.

The findings from this Impact Monitoring and Evaluation will help to figure out what has been achieved through this work and give us some flavour about the future direction of Skills Development month.

As part of this Impact Monitoring and Evaluation exercise, we would like to ask to those who have been working with us throughout the last four weeks to share with us their feelings and thoughts about these three areas:

 

(a) The overall “Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households”

(b) Any of the data storytelling and communication skills they have been interested in or used in the context of running their household

(c) The relevancy or suitability of the weekend home works or exercises linked to each skills set developed.

 

You can share your feelings, thoughts, takeaways, insights and outsights with us by:

 

∝ Phoning

∝ Texting

∝ E-mailing

∝ Completing the contact form with your feelings and thoughts.

 

• • Learning Development and Action Plan for Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households

 

As part of keeping the culture of continuous learning and professional development within CENFACS, we are examining what the running of Skills Development and Skills Focus have brought and indicated to us.  We are particularly looking at the learning and development priorities and initiatives.  In this exercise, we are considering the action points and plan we may need to make in order to improve or better change the way in which we deliver our services and work with users.

For those who have been following the running of the Skills Development Month with us, this is the time or opportunity they can add their inputs to our learning and development experience so that we can know the skills gap that need to be filled up in 2025 and beyond.  They can as well have their own action plans on how they would like to take forward the contents of Skills Development month.  And if they have a plan and want us to look at it, we are willing to do so.

The plan could be on the above-mentioned data storytelling and communication skills presented throughout this month.  In particular, we can look at how any household making our community wants to make a plan for them or would like CENFACS to work with them on their chosen area of data skills set.

For those who have some difficulties in drawing such a plan, we can for instance suggest them to undertake their own data monitoring.

 

 

• • Monitoring Your Data

 

To do your own data monitoring, you need to understand what is about.

According to ‘splunk.com’ (8),

“Data monitoring is observing and tracking data to verify whether it is accurate, quality-ensured, and integrated.  Doing so can help you identify and address issues, make better decisions, and maintain the reliability of data-driven processes”.

You can monitor your household data to detect anomalies and trends.

Have an issue to raise regarding the monitoring of your household data and want to share with CENFACS, please get in touch.

Have an action plan for your skills development and want CENFACS to look at it, please do not hesitate to contact us.

To add your input to our exercise on learning, development and action plan; just contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Activity of the Festive Season: How to Make Your Triple-Value-Initiative Activity Raise Money for Good Causes

 

You can help CENFACS raise funds it needs for its noble and beautiful causes while you are undertaking your Triple Value Activity or All Year-Round Project.  How can you do it?

 

 

If you are Running or Organising a Run Activity to Reduce Poverty in 2024, you can dress like a Santa and raise money depending on the challenge (e.g., running laps or distances) and ask people around you to donate accordingly. 

Each person can donate to join in and/or others can sponsor each person running.  You can organise a virtual or in-person run.

There are steps one needs to follow in order to make their Santa Campaign successful.  Amongst the steps, we can mention the following:

plan your Santa Campaign, gather your Santa outfit, choose fundraising activities, promote the campaign, collect donation, engage with the community and invite it to donate through this engagement, and thank donors.

 

 

If you are Playing the CENFACS League for Poverty Relief, you can organise a festive tournament and ask participants and your audiences to the tournament to donate.  

For instance, you can proceed with the following steps:

plan the in-person or online tournament with the theme of Playing CENFACS League for Poverty Relief, secure a venue (with location, date and time), gather participants by inviting them to register with a fee as fundraising contribution, promote the event, organise the logistics, fundraise, engage the audiences, and thank and follow up participants.

 

 

If you are Voting your 2024 African Poverty Relief Manager, you can set up a knowledge challenge in the form of Questions-Answers to find out your 2024 African Poverty Relief and Development Manager.  You can ask people who would like to attend or participate or watch the challenge to donate.

As an illustration, you can follow these steps:

define the purpose the knowledge-based challenge, plan the challenge, choose venue and date, recruit participants, promote the event, organise the logistics, fundraise, carry out the challenge, select your deserving 2024 African Poverty Relief Manager by assessing candidates and announcing the winner, thank and follow up participants.

 

With some inspiration, the above shows that it is possible to raise funds for CENFACS’ noble and beautiful causes while applying any of the three Triple Value Initiatives (or All Year-Round Projects).

However, before embarking on raising funds via Triple Value Initiatives, you need to discuss the matter with CENFACS so that together with you we can plan How to Make your Triple-Value-Initiative Activity Raise Money for Good Causes.

To discuss the possibility of raising funds for good causes via Triple Value Initiatives (or All Year-Round Projects), please contact CENFACS.

 

 

Message in English-French (Message en Anglais-Français)

 

• CENFACS be.Africa Forum E-discusses Billionism and Poverty in Africa

Like any region of the world, Africa has billionaires.  In the January 2024 Issue of Forbes (9), the latter noted that

“The 20 billionaires on the 2024 Forbes list of Africa’s Richest are worth a combined $82.4 billion.  That is up $900 million from last year’s $81.5 billion”.

But, Africa does not only have billionaires; it is also the region of the world with a high number of people living in extreme poverty.  According ‘statista.com’ (10),

“In 2024, around 429 million people in Africa were living in extreme poverty with the poverty threshold at 2.15 US dollars a day”.

Having a number so high of people living in poverty can raise some questions on what can be done to reduce this number.  It can as well question who can help or where aid can come from to lift this number out poverty.

If the focus is put on who can help, obviously the responsibility of reducing or ending poverty in Africa falls on every African, whether poor or rich, man or woman.  In the expression ‘every Africa’, there is also African billionaires.  And in our e-discussion about ‘Billionism and Poverty in Africa‘, we are looking at the impact that African billionaires could exercise on poverty and poverty reduction in Africa.

However, one would be wrong to think that African billionaires are not interested in poverty in Africa.  Likewise, it may be unwise to limit the responsibility of reducing or ending poverty in Africa by the help of Africa’s billionaires.

In our e-discussion, we are looking at the contribution that African billionaires are making to reduce and or end poverty in Africa.  This e-discussion is not about criticising African billionaires.  It is about to evaluate what they have done or not done, and explore ways in which Africans can work with their billionaires so that they can help Africa to further reduce, even end poverty in Africa.

Those who may be interested in this discussion can join our poverty reduction pundits and/or contribute by contacting CENFACS be.Africa Forum, which is a forum for discussion on poverty reduction and sustainable development issues in Africa and which acts on behalf of its members by making proposals or ideas for actions for a better Africa.

To contact CENFACS about this discussion, please use our usual contact information on this website.

• Le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS e-discute de Milliardisme et Pauvreté en Afrique

Comme toutes les régions du monde, l’Afrique a des milliardaires.  Dans l’édition de janvier 2024 de Forbes (9), ce dernier notait que

«Les 20 milliardaires figurant sur la liste Forbes 2024 des plus riches d’Afrique valent à eux seuls 82,4 milliards de dollars.  Il s’agit d’une augmentation de 900 millions de dollars par rapport aux 81,5 milliards de dollars de l’année dernière».

Mais l’Afrique n’a pas seulement des milliardaires; c’est aussi la région du monde où le nombre de personnes vivant dans l’extrême pauvreté est élevé.  Selon statista.com (10),

«En 2024, environ 429 millions de personnes en Afrique vivaient dans l’extrême pauvreté, le seuil de pauvreté étant de 2,15 dollars américains par jour».

Le fait qu’il y ait un nombre aussi élevé de personnes vivant dans la pauvreté peut soulever des questions sur ce qui peut être fait pour réduire ce nombre.  On peut aussi se demander qui peut aider ou d’où peut provenir l’aide pour sortir ce nombre de personnes de la pauvreté.

Si l’on met l’accent sur qui peut aider, il est évident que la responsabilité de réduire ou d’éliminer la pauvreté en Afrique incombe à chaque Africain, qu’il soit pauvre ou riche, homme ou femme.  Dans l’expression «chaque Africain», il y a aussi les milliardaires africains.  Et dans notre discussion en ligne sur «Le Milliardisme et la Pauvreté en Afrique», nous nous penchons sur l’impact que les milliardaires africains pourraient exercer sur la pauvreté et la réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique.

Cependant, on aurait tort de penser que les milliardaires africains ne s’intéressent pas à la pauvreté en Afrique.  De même, il peut être imprudent de limiter la responsabilité de réduire ou d’éliminer la pauvreté en Afrique avec l’aide des milliardaires africains.

Dans notre discussion en ligne, nous examinons la contribution des milliardaires africains à la réduction ou à l’élimination de la pauvreté en Afrique.  Cette discussion en ligne n’a pas pour but de critiquer les milliardaires africains.  Il s’agit d’évaluer ce qu’ils ont fait ou n’ont pas fait, et d’explorer les moyens par lesquels les Africain(e)s peuvent travailler avec leurs milliardaires afin qu’ils puissent aider l’Afrique à réduire davantage, voire à mettre fin à la pauvreté en Afrique.

Ceux ou celles qui pourraient être intéressé(e)s par cette discussion peuvent se joindre à nos experts en réduction de la pauvreté et/ou contribuer en contactant le ‘me.Afrique’ du CENFACS (ou le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS), qui est un forum de discussion sur les questions de réduction de la pauvreté et de développement durable en Afrique et qui agit au nom de ses membres en faisant des propositions ou des idées d’actions pour une Afrique meilleure.

Pour contacter le CENFACS au sujet de cette discussion, veuillez utiliser nos coordonnées habituelles sur ce site Web.

 

Main Development

 

• Making Donations with Festive Shopping

 

How to support CENFACS without directly giving cash while shopping

 

Two items cover the contents of this Main Development and CENFACS Festive Shopping and Donations Project, items which are:

 

∝ Festive season as an opportunity to do something against poverty

∝ 8-themed ways of donating as a result of your shopping.

 

Let us summarily look at them.

 

• • Festive Season as an Opportunity to Do Something against Poverty

 

Every occasion or season is an opportunity to do something against poverty and hardships.  The festive season, which is a great time to share precious moments with your loved ones, is also a period to spread a little extra of that happiness to those who do not have.

We understand that many people including our supporters continue to seriously suffer from the lingering effects of multiple crises of the last four years and are still trying to navigate their way to fully recover from them.  However, for people who are already living in poverty, these effects are even intolerable and unbearable for them.  There is a reason to support these poor people during this festive season.  One of the many ways of supporting them could be with no-direct cash donations through your festive shopping or by making donations not directly with cash while shopping.

 

• • 8-themed Ways of Making Donations Not Directly with Cash while Shopping

 

CENFACS needs donations from your festive shopping, in particular we need no-direct cash donations, to support those in need.  Some festive shoppers who could donate no-direct cash may not understand what it means.  This is why it is better we explain the following:

 

∝ What do we mean by making donations not directly with cash?

∝ Types of donations not directly with cash we are talking about and asking for.

 

• • • Brief explanation of donations not directly with cash

 

A donation made not directly with cash (or no-direct cash donation) is an amount given as a gift and which is not a direct transfer of cash, cheque, or a debit or credit card.  No-direct cash donations should not be confused with in-kind donations. 

In the context of Festive Shopping, the donor gives money indirectly through their shopping activities.    No-direct cash donation linked to shopping is therefore about turning festive shopping or any other type of shopping into donations.  If there is no shopping, there is no-direct cash donation linked to the shopping.

What are those types of donations that are the result of one’s shopping drive?

 

• • • Types of donations not directly with cash when shopping

 

There are two types of no-direct cash donations when shopping, which are:

 

a) No-direct cash donations when shopping at CENFACS Zero-waste e-shop

b) No-direct cash donations via shopping at other shops/stores.

 

Let us look at each of them.

 

 

• • • • Indirectly donate when you shop at CENFACS Zero-waste e-shop at http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

• • • • • SHOPPING or DONATING GOODS at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store

 

You can give your unwanted and unneeded goods or pre-loved items to CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Store, the shop built to help relieve poverty.  You can buy second hand goods and bargain priced new items and much more.

You can do something different this Festive Season by SHOPPING or DONATING GOODS at CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Store.  You can even make this e-store better.

You can DONATE or SHOP or do both:

 

√ DONATE unwanted pre-loved GOODS and PRODUCTS to CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store during the festive period and beyond

√ SHOP at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store to support good and deserving causes of poverty relief during the festive period and beyond.

 

Your SHOPPING action and or GOODS DONATIONS will help to the Upkeep of the Nature and to reduce poverty.

CENFACS Zero-waste e-Shop is open for both online festive purchase and goods donations.

Festive shoppers can help raise free funds for CENFACS‘ noble and beautiful cause every time they shop at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store.

Please do not hesitate to donate goods or purchase what is available at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store.

Many ordinary people and families are struggling to make ends meet at this challenging time as the economy is still not yet fully recovered from the cost-of-living crisis.  Many of them do not know how they are going to make ends meet; let alone how they will meet their festive expenses as prices and bills are still higher compared to their real disposable incomes.  They need help.  We need support as well to help them come out poverty and hardships.

Amongst the goods to donate, we are asking net-zero goods as well.

 

• • • • • Donation of NET-ZERO GOODS this Festive Season

 

You can donate carbon neutral or net zero greenhouse gas emissions goods to help reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and poverty, while creating an opportunity to save non-renewable natural resources.  This type of donation can boost the circular economy and improve the upkeep of the nature.

CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Store needs your support for Festive SHOPPING and DONATIONS.

To donate or purchase goods, please go to: http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

 

• • • • 8-themed ways of indirectly donating when you shop with other stores/shops

 

You can help CENFACS raise funds through your festive shopping to other shops and stores, whether online or in-person.  You can do it via the 8-themed tools mentioned below.

The 8-themed ways of turning your shopping into donations to CENFACS in the lead up to the year-end include those listed below.

 

1) Raise free funds for CENFACS with your online shopping

 

For instance, you can sign up at platforms like Give as You Live, select CENFACS as the charity you want to support, shop online and a percentage of your spending will be donated to CENFACS at no extra cost to you.

 

2) Choose CENFACS as a donation recipient of some of the profits raised from online shopping

 

To give an idea, you can choose a platform and sign up with the platform designed to facilitate donations via shopping, select CENFACS as your favourite charity, shop online, track donations and spread the word.

 

3) Donate your unwanted and unused points and cashback to CENFACS as your chosen charity from your loyalty shopping rewards or good causes’ gift cards

 

To illustrate, you can review your accounts with credit cards, loyalty  programmes, and cashback sites, research donation options, select convert points into monetary donations, choose donation option (i.e., credit card rewards to donate, loyalty programmes and cashback websites).

 

4) Pass to CENFACS no-direct cash won from shopping surveys; cash you do not require or want

 

In fact, you can choose reliable survey sites, complete surveys to accumulate earnings, convert rewards or earned-points into cash or gift cards, select CENFACS, donate directly and donate gift cards.

 

5) Name CENFACS as your favourite deserving cause if it happens that you have the opportunity to click the online option “donate cashback to charities”

 

Selecting CENFACS as your favourite cause can help ensure that your contributions make helpful difference in the lives of those in need.

 

6) Give away to CENFACS any vouchers received or earned from your shopping; vouchers you do not need or want

 

In practical terms, it means that you can check voucher validity, contact CENFACS with your vouchers and check with CENFACS if your voucher has been accepted.  You can donate your voucher online or in-person.  You can as well spread the word and track your donation.

 

7) Hand out to CENFACS any proceeds from unwanted or unneeded prize draw or award from your shopping

 

To hand them out, you need to verify the award, choose and contact CENFACS, transfer the proceeds, give to CENFACS the proof of the prize to process the donation and get a receipt.

 

8) Donate any unwanted excess points of your loyalty card from online shopping apps that may support good causes.

 

For example, you can check the loyalty programme you have in mind, choose CENFACS if you think that CENFACS’ mission resonates with you, donate online and CENFACS will confirm the donation via email.

 

However, turning shopping into donations does not mean one cannot donate cash.  Of course, they can.  If you choose to directly donate cash, CENFACS will happily accept your cash donations.

You can use and or get informed about a variety of ways that many stores and shops offer to support charities through customers’ shopping, particularly during the festive period.  You can use them to support CENFACS‘ noble cause of poverty reduction via your shopping action without directly giving money.

As long as your no-direct cash donations fall within our gift acceptance agreement or criteria, there should not be a problem.  CENFACS will acknowledge and thank you for your no-direct cash contributions to its mission and causes.

Please remember CENFACS when you do your Festive Shopping.

To sum up, you can both indirectly donate when you shop at CENFACS Zero-waste e-Store and with other stores/shops.

To indirectly donate to CENFACS through CENFACS’ Zero-waste e-Shop, please go to: http://cenfacs.org.uk/shop/

To indirectly donate to CENFACS via your shopping activity to other shops and stores, please check or ask them if they have any scheme that support charities.  Sometimes, they may propose you it themselves at their counters.

Thank you for considering our ask for no-direct cash donations via your festive shopping activities.

For any queries and/or enquiries about CENFACS’ Festive Shopping and Donations Project, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

_________

 

• References

 

(1) https://www.coursera.org/gb/article/project-plan (accessed in November 2023)

(2) https://www.projectmanager.com/guides/project-scheduling (accessed in November 2024)

(3) https://www.unicef.org/esa/press-releases/unicef-alarmed-continued-attacks-education-conflict-zones-africa (accessed in October 2024)

(4) https://simplystakeholder.com/the-importance-of-stakeholders/ (accessed in November 2024)

(5) https://www.tsw.co.uk/blog/leadership-and-management/stakeholder-management-skills/ (accessed in November 2024)

(6) https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2022/10/26/15-effective-tips-for-improving-communication-with-stakeholders/# (accessed in November 2024)

(7) https://lazarinastoy.com/ultimate-guide-to-data-storytelling-for-marketing-and-data-consultants/ (accessed in November 2024)

(8) https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/learn/data-monitoring,html# (accessed in November 2023)

(9) https://www.forbes.com/lists/africa-billionaires/ (accessed in November 2024)

(10) https://www.statista.com/statistics/1228533/number-of-people-living-below-the-extreme-poverty-line-in-africa/ (accessed in November 2024)

_________

 

• 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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

20 November 2024

Post No. 379

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment

• Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households – On the Agenda from Wednesday 20/11/2024: Data Narrative and Communication Skills

• Rescuing Children’s Education in Africa: Only 13 Days to Go!

 

… And much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment

 

This is a new Autumn project, which is part of our programme of work which consists of bringing together Advice Service for Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) and Guidance Service for the Not-for-profit Investors.  The Impact Advice to ASOs is on project planning, while Guidance to Not-for-profit Investors is on Impact Investing in Africa.

The programme amalgamates both Advice Service for Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) and Guidance Service for Not-for-profit Impact Investing in Africa.  The two services are one of our Starting XI Campaign for Autumn 2024.

Our support to Africa-based Sister Organisations via Impact Advice will continue to operate to help these organisations to overcome many challenges and barriers they face such as changing climate, the cost-of-living crisis, debt crisis, etc.  Our guidance work with not-for-profit investors will carry on as well.  Under CENFACS‘ Guidance for Investing in African Not-for-profit Organisations and Causes in Africa, we run a programme to support these not-for-profit investors in Africa.  The current project is part of this programme.

For both ASOs and not-for-profit investors, we have planned to conduct more activities this Autumn 2024.  One of these activities is this new project, Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment.

Through the African art investment project, we will be trying to match ASOs and Not-for-profit Investors.   The matching scenario is as follows.

An ASO would like to buy small art objects or works as well as receive small artworks as donations from local people in Africa so that it can resell both (art objects bought and received) to make  small margin, which will be reinvested in ASO’s charitable mission of reducing poverty in Africa.  In order to realise its art investment idea is looking for a not-for-profit investor who will be interested in joining it and investing in art in Africa.  The matching exercise will be between ASO’s African art investment idea and not-for-profit investor’s desire to support ASO’s idea or business model.

So, the business idea of ASO has two main components:

1) Buying and receiving small artworks/objects

2) Selling/reselling these artworks/objects bought and received.

Through these processes (that is; buying, receiving and selling), ASO will realise a fairly reasonable small margin, which will then be reinvested in poverty reduction mission via creative art.

ASO can buy art on the primary or secondary art market (via an auction house) or privately through individual dealers, brokerage or galleries.

There is an additional aspect in this project which ASO expects that a not-for-profit investor will bring in.  This aspect is impact investing in the creative economy in Africa.  Through this project, it is hoped that there will be some social and economic benefits where the project will be implemented in Africa.  The project will firstly help reduce poverty as well as enhance local populations’ well-being while revitalising local neighbourhoods.

In order to make its business model sustainable, ASO is also planning to develop some side activities to back up the main art investment project.  As a result, it will be investing in art galleries and art advisory services (e.g., assisting art collectors to make informed decisions).  It will provide guidance service on building and managing art collections and run online platforms specialised in African art.

To work with both ASOs and Not-for-profit Investors in the context of this matching service, we have planned four-week of work starting from 20 November 2024.  So, the project is based on a 4-stage model of project planning.  There could be more than four stages in any project planning.  However, because we limit ourselves to deliver this project in four weeks, we chose a four-stage model for project planning or investment cycle.

More on this Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment can be found under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households – On the Agenda from Wednesday 20/11/2024: Data Narrative and Communication Skills

 

Households can narrativize their data so that their insights can be understood by their audiences.  In fact, most of them do narrativize their data.  They can make their narratives more effective than they may think.

To build an effective data narrative, they need to define their goals and their target audience, to include basic analysis storytelling elements and make their data story human, insightful and impactful.  They are also required to build or develop the skills relating to data narrative and communication.  This note is about the skills they can develop to that effect.

To approach these skills, we have organised our note in the following order:

 

σ What is data narrative?

σ What are data narrative skills?

σ Artificial Intelligence (AI) data narrative assistant for households

σ Communication skills linked to data narrative

σ Working with the Community Members on Data Narrative and Communication Skills for Households

σ Homework for the end of the Week.

 

Let us look at each of these above-mentioned items.

 

• • What Is Data Narrative?

 

To explain it, let us refer to the argument of Harvard Business School Online (1), which is:

“A verbal or written narrative, also called a storyline, is used to communicate insights gleaned from data, the context surrounding it, and actions you recommend and aim to inspire in your audience”.

Harvard Business School Online also explains that data storytelling uses the same narrative elements as any story you have read or heard before: characters (key players), setting (set the scene), conflict (definition of root cause of any problems) and resolution (proposition for solution).

Similarly, ‘springboard.com’ (2) argues that

“Just like the stories you watch on TV or read in books, a data narrative needs to have a structure.  Where do you want your audience to begin?  Where does the story end?  How will you get them there?”.

Therefore, ‘springboard.com’ suggests to include in your data narrative the right details, provide the right context, give actionable information, etc.

Many households, especially those with kids at school, deal with narratives or storylines sometimes to help their children with homework.

What this note is mostly concerned is data narrative skill.

 

• • What Are Data Narrative Skills?

 

Let us begin with narrative skills.  Baby Sparks (3) explains that

“Narrative skills, also known as storytelling skills, help us retell events, tell stories, give instructions, comprehend what we read, and more – in organised, efficient, and engaging ways”.

From our understanding of narrative skills, we can extend this comprehension to data.

According to ‘lazarinastoy.com’ (4),

“Data narrative skills are the skills to convey insights, to communicate wins, to instil urgency, to raise awareness of the project components, to communicate with stakeholders about your cause and impact effects”.

All households use these skills without sometimes realising they are practising narrative or storytelling skills.  They need to find ways of working that enhance these skills to better narrate their stories.  Amongst these ways, we can mention working in collaboration with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

 

• • AI Data Narrative Assistant for Households

 

With the advancement of technology, many people and households have apps (e.g. Alexia) in their mobile phone to remind them many things including time.  Similarly AI-skilled households can benefit from the assistance service of AI to help them craft their narrative.  They can review it, approve it and make it their final story.   However, they need to make sure that they lead and control their narrative game, not AI-powered Natural Language Generation.

So, households can use Generative AI to generate personalised narratives based on their audience.  For that, they also require to possess some communication skills relating to data narrative.

 

• • Communication Skills Linked to Data Narrative for Households

 

As data narrators, households need the skills…

 

σ to explain their analysis, data models and findings

σ to share justifications or reasons for their conclusions

σ to summarise findings

σ to report information

σ to adapt their message to their audiences

σ to relativize their message to their communication channels

σ to prevent confusion and misunderstanding in their communication about data

etc.

 

CENFACS Community members can work with CENFACS either to acquire the above-mentioned skills or to improve them.

 

• • Working with the Community Members on Data Narrative and Communication Skills for Households

 

CENFACS can work with those who need help and support on data narrative and communication skills so that they can tell their stories with impact.

 

• • • How can CENFACS do it?

 

CENFACS can work with those households struggling to narrate their stories so that they can be empowered with skills to perform the following activities:

 

σ Use narrative or storytelling techniques to communicate data and evidence about their needs

σ Improve their data narrative journey and the quality of their data narrative

σ Leverage data to support critical processes in data narrative in the context of households

σ Gain and communicate relevant insights into data narrative in an easy and effective way

σ Connect with others via data storytelling

σ Make better data-centric decisions on things that matter for households

etc.

 

Since Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households make up our Data and Insight Advocacy and Skills Project, we can conduct with them basic data and insights analytics using the tools of poverty reduction we have in our box.

Where our capacity is limited in comparison to their demand or specific needs, we can signpost or refer them to relevant data insight and analytics services or organisations that are available on the market and can be accessible to them to help them meet their needs.

For those members of our community who will be interested in Data Narrative and Communication Skills for Households, they can contact CENFACS.  CENFACS can work with them to enhance their Data Narrative and Communication Skills.

 

 

• • Homework for the End of the Week: Use AI to Tell Your Data Story

 

You can use Generative AI to brainstorm your narratives.  Both households with AI skills and non AI-skilled households can do it as long as they learn how to do it.  They can use Generative AI to generate personalised narratives based on their audiences.  However, they should be in command of their story/narrative, not AI.

This homework is part of strategy for keeping the households making our community in tune with technology that invades all areas and institutions of our lives, including households.  No one of these households wants to lag behind if they want to reduce and possibly end poverty linked to the lack of AI skills.

Those who have any queries about this homework, they can submit their queries to CENFACS.

To get any further insight into Skills Development Month at CENFACS, please continue to read our weekly posts.

 

 

• Rescuing Children’s Education in Africa: Only 13 Days to Go!

 

The United Nations Children’s Fund (5) notes that

“Millions of children across Africa still lack access to schooling due to ongoing conflicts across the continent… In West and Central Africa alone, more than 14,000 schools are closed mainly due to conflict, affecting 2.8 million children”.

As a way of keeping education alive for these unfortunate children living in those parts of Africa in conflict or crisis (like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, etc.), many types of initiatives have been so far taken to support these children.

These initiatives have been carried out by organisations (such as the United Nations Children’s Fund) and people like you to help.  Initiatives such as education by radio programme, back-to-school advocacy, delivery of school kits, etc. have been taken.

However, due to the immense educational challenge posed by the legacies of conflict, insecurity and violence; there is still a deep, intense and urgent educational need in many of these areas/parts of Africa.

This appeal, which is worded as or used the slogan ‘EVERY CHILD HAS RIGHT TO EDUCATION in Conflict Zones in Africa’ (in short: EVERY CHILD HAS RIGHT TO EDUCATION), has already started and will make CENFACS‘ fundraising campaign for Giving Tuesday on 03 December 2024.

We would like people who may be interested in our philanthropic mission to join us in this campaign to Rescue Children’s Education in Africa.

We are asking to those who can to support these Educationally Needy Children via this campaign, not to wait the Giving Tuesday on 03 December 2024.

They can donate now since the needs are urgent and pressing.

Even a small donation can lead to a BIG impact.

To donate, please get in touch with CENFACS.

 

 

Extra Messages

 

• 2024 All Year Round Projects/Triple Value Initiatives (Play, Run and Vote Projects) and Chat-Powered AI Assistants

• Taking Climate Protection and Stake for African Children at the Implementation Level with Initial Implementation Sub-phase (Phase 3.3): Following Discussions and Announcements at COP29

• CENFACS be.Africa Forum E-discusses the Impact of Financial Prosecutor’s Office on Poverty Reduction in Africa

 

 

• 2024 All Year Round Projects/Triple Value Initiatives (Play, Run and Vote Projects) and Chat-Powered AI Assistants

 

CENFACS’ Triple Value Initiatives (or All Year-round Projects) have only one month to go.

The 2024 Edition of All Year-round Projects (AYRPs)/Triple Value Initiatives (TVIs) will be closed on 23 December 2024.  You can still play, run and vote to reduce poverty before this verdict day.

CENFACS hopes that those who have been using these projects have managed to follow the steps relating to these three activities as summarised below.

 

• • Basic Steps Relating to All Year-round Projects

 

a) Run or Organise a Run Activity to Reduce Poverty in 2024

 

We hope that most of those who are undertaking or undertook the Run Project may have taken the following steps:

plan for their run event, set the goals they need, register participants to their event, get sponsors, promote their event, involve volunteers in their event, bring the community together, prepare the logistics and celebrate their wins.

They can even include a fundraising feature while keeping the essence of this project, which is to help reduce poverty.

 

b) Play CENFACS League for Poverty Relief

 

It can be expected that those who are undertaking a Play Project are or were able to follow these steps:

choose a theme, select their teams to make the league, write the script and register the performance, find a venue and set a date for their event, promote their event, market their event, engage the audience, and celebrate the wins.

They can as well insert a fundraising element while keeping the focus of this project, which is on finding the African countries that manage to best reduce poverty in 2024.

 

c) Vote 2024 African Poverty Relief Manager

 

We can anticipate that those who are organising a Vote Project are able to use the following qualities and skills to find their manager:

experience in poverty reduction, strategic thinking, leadership skills, community engagement, collaboration and networking, cultural feeling, passion and commitment in poverty reduction work, etc.

They can add a fundraising drive in the organisation of their Vote Project while preserving the integrity of this project, which is to select the international development and poverty reduction manager of 2024.

 

• • Working with Chat-Powered AI (Artificial Intelligence) Assistants

 

Those who have AI skills or would like to experiment the use of Chat-Powered AI Assistants in their project, they can try using a chat-powered AI assistant that can help them with tasks and web research (particularly those using the Play Project).

They can use AI in the management of their AYRPs/TVIs.  They can use it to plan their project, to improve components and communications of their project and to execute their project in efficient and effective way.

However they should remember that what we would like to hear from them are the following three bests or stars of the year 2024:

 

√ The Best African Countries of 2024 which would have best reduced poverty

√ The Best African Global Games Runners of 2024

√ The Best African Development Managers of 2024.

 

The deadline to tell us your bests or stars of this year-end is 23 December 2024.

Please remember, don’t miss this verdict day or closing date.

To tell us your results or to enquire about these projects, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• Taking Climate Protection and Stake for African Children at the Implementation Level with Initial Implementation Sub-phase (Phase 3.3): Following Discussions and Announcements at COP29

 

Like anyone who is interested in global climate talks, we are following COP29.  We are also discussing the announcements made so far at COP29, such as

 

σ Energy transition announcement from the African Energy Commission, which launched a continent level Energy Efficiency Programme, Strategy and Action Plan

σ Baku Priority International Actions

σ The Breakthrough Agenda’s new Hydrogen Action Declaration

σ The listing of CIF Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM) on the London Stock Exchange

σ Actionable measures to unlock the energy efficiency investment

σ Call for action to remove trade barriers

etc.

 

We are discussing these policy/action announcements and how they will respond to our key demand of giving a climate stake to children.

Our discussion also includes the way of capturing the key moments and messages in relation to our demand to give a climate stake to children, and to our slogan which is: Baku Implements It for Children. 

We are as well  considering the key points discussed at various pre-COP29 climate meetings and events held so far.  We are reflecting on how these pre-COP29 and COP29 Talks can fit into CENFACS’ CPSAC and its sub-phase 3.3.  

To support CENFACS’ CPSAC and its sub-phase 3.3, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• CENFACS be.Africa Forum E-discusses the Impact of the Financial Prosecutor’s Office on Poverty Reduction in Africa

 

Jules Alingete Key (6) – Inspector General of Finance, Head of Service at the General Inspectorate of Finance of the Democratic Republic of Congo – made some proposals on the improvement of the Congolese State’s tax assets.  Among these proposals is the creation of a financial prosecutor’s office to respond to the problems of embezzlement of public funds and the inadequacy of traditional prosecutors’ offices to respond to financial crimes.

CENFACS be.Africa Forum discusses the impact of such a financial prosecutor’s office on poverty reduction in Africa.  The Forum examines if there are similar financial prosecutors’ offices in Africa and their impact on poverty in the countries where they are located.

It is possible that the creation of a financial prosecutor’s office could improve public financial management in Africa.  In the same way, the creation of a training school for a new layer of lawyers (for example, lawyers trained in finance, accounting and economics, let’s call them economist or financial or accounting lawyers) can bring a new deal in terms of judgments rendered against people involved in public financial crimes, regardless of legal status.

Nevertheless, no one is sure whether or not the financial prosecutor’s office and the new training school for accounting, economic and financial lawyers will make it possible to reduce poverty linked to the monopolization of public funds by a minority of African populations against the often poor majority.  To settle the points of view of each other, we are organizing this discussion.

Those who have ideas to contribute on the creation of a financial prosecutor’s office and its impact on poverty reduction in Africa are asked to make them know.

If you have an answer or an argument to make on this subject, please do not hesitate to let CENFACS know.  This subject or discussion is also part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 and Target 4 (7).

Goal 16 is to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

Target 4 of  Goal 16 is to significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime, by 2030.

The subject and discussion are finally part of CENFACS‘ work on the recovery of illicitly-acquired and -obtained assets to make the resources to reduce poverty in Africa.

Those who may be interested in this discussion can join our poverty reduction pundits and/or contribute by contacting CENFACS be.Africa Forum, which is a forum for discussion on poverty reduction and sustainable development issues in Africa and which acts on behalf of its members by making proposals or ideas for actions for a better Africa.

To contact CENFACS about this discussion, please use our usual contact information on this website.

 

Message in French (Message en Français)

 

• Le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS e-discute de l’ Impact du Parquet Financier sur la Réduction de la Pauvreté en Afrique

Jules Alingete Key (6), Inspecteur Général des Finances, Chef de Service à l’Inspection Générale des Finances de la République Démocratique du Congo, a fait quelques propositions sur l’amélioration du patrimoine fiscal de l’État congolais.  Parmi ces propositions figure la création d’un parquet financier pour répondre aux problèmes de détournement de fonds publics et à l’inadéquation des parquets traditionnels pour répondre aux délits financiers.

Le Forum ‘me. Afrique’ discute de l’impact d’un tel parquet financier sur la réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique.  Le Forum examine s’il existe des parquets financiers similaires en Afrique et leur impact sur la pauvreté dans les pays où ils sont implantés.

Il est possible que la création d’un parquet financier puisse améliorer la gestion des finances publiques en Afrique.  De la même manière, la création d’une école de formation pour une nouvelle couche de juristes (par exemple, des juristes ou juges formés en finance, en comptabilité et en économie, appelons-les juristes ou juges économistes ou financiers ou comptables) peut apporter une nouvelle donne en termes de jugements rendus contre des personnes impliquées dans des délits financiers publics.

Néanmoins, personne n’est sûre que le parquet financier et la nouvelle école de formation des juristes ou juges comptables, économiques et financiers permettront de réduire la pauvreté liée à la monopolisation des fonds publics par une minorité de populations africaines contre la majorité souvent pauvre.  Pour régler les points de vue des uns et des autres, nous organisons cette discussion.

Ceux ou celles qui ont des idées pour contribuer à la création d’un parquet financier et à son impact sur la réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique sont priés de les faire connaître.

Si vous avez une réponse ou un argument à faire valoir à ce sujet, s’il vous plaît n’hésitez pas à le faire savoir au CENFACS.  Ce sujet ou discussion fait également partie de l’Objectif de Développement Durable 16 et Cible 4 des Nations Unies (7).

L’objectif 16 est celui de promouvoir des sociétés pacifiques et inclusives aux fins du développement durable, d’assurer l’accès à la justice pour tous/toutes et de mettre en place des institutions efficaces, responsables et inclusives à tous les niveaux.

La cible 4 de l’objectif 16 est de réduire considérablement les flux financiers et d’armes illicites, de renforcer le recouvrement et la restitution des avoirs volés et de lutter contre toutes les formes de criminalité organisée, d’ici à 2030.

Le sujet et la discussion s’inscrivent enfin dans le cadre des travaux du CENFACS sur la récupération des avoirs illicitement acquis et obtenus pour en tirer les ressources de la réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique.

Ceux ou celles qui pourraient être intéressé(e)s par cette discussion peuvent se joindre à nos experts en réduction de la pauvreté et/ou contribuer en contactant le ‘me.Afrique’ du CENFACS (ou le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS), qui est un forum de discussion sur les questions de réduction de la pauvreté et de développement durable en Afrique et qui agit au nom de ses membres en faisant des propositions ou des idées d’actions pour une Afrique meilleure.

Pour communiquer avec le CENFACS au sujet de cette discussion, veuillez utiliser nos coordonnées habituelles sur ce site Web.

 

Main Development

 

• Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment

 

The following items explain this Autumn project:

 

σ What Is a Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment?

σ The Aim of This Project

σ Why Investing in African Art?

σ How Can Africa-based Sister Organisations and Not-for-profit Art Investors be Matched through This Project?

σ Matching Guidelines

σ Benefits of Matching Organisation and Art Investors under This Project

σ Outcomes of Matching Organisation-Art Investor 

σ Plan for 4-week Matching Programme

σ 20 to 26/11/2024: Matching Organisation-Art Investor Activity 1

Let us highlight each of the above-mentioned items.

 

• • What Is a Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment?

 

Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, which is part of CENFACS’ Matching Organisation-Investor Programme, is a set of activities by which organisations (here Africa-based Sister Organisations) are matched against not-for-profit (n-f-p) investors (here art investors).  The project will use n-f-p investors’ description of their requirements to fit organisations’ needs via a fit test.

Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment is indeed an exercise to support Africa-based sister Art Charitable Organisations (ASACOs) and n-f-p art investors to realise their respective festive dreams and ambitions in terms of African art investment so that they can freshly start 2025.  The exercise is meant to keep their respective dreams alive and to awake their potentials to grab any existing opportunities within the n-f-p market.

For those ASACOs and n-f-p art investors willing to realise their year-end dream of winning an investment for the former and a share for the latter, this end-of-year and festive Season project is a marvellous opportunity for each of them.

 

• • The Aim of This Project

 

The aim of this Autumn 2024 Project is to reduce poverty amongst the people in need in Africa; poverty that could be due to the lack of best match or fit between ASACOs’ needs and not-for-profit art investors’ interests.  Where the needs of the ASACOs best meet or match the vested interests of not-for-profit art investors, there could be high probability to reduce poverty amongst the beneficiaries of ASACOs.  The match probability could be high or average or low depending on how much ASACOs’ needs meet investors’ interests.  However, investors’ interest is not always profit.  This is why we speak about not-for-profit art investors.

 

• • Why Investing in African Art?

 

There are various reasons to invest in art in Africa.  For example, the website ‘berjartgallery.com’ (8) highlights that

“In the Africa Wealth Report 2023, the continent’s fine art market is valued at over $1.8 billion”.

Also, the same ‘berjartgallery.com’ explains that

“Investing in African art offers a range of opportunities for both seasoned collectors and newcomers to the art market… Investing in African art can yield significant financial returns.  The rising demand and value of African networks present an opportunity for investors seeking alternative investments to diversify their portfolios”.

For all these reasons, including that of reducing poverty, investing in African art can provide a niche for ASACOs that would like to take that path to generate the extra income they need in order to reduce poverty in Africa.  Equally, those n-f-p art investors who would like to invest in African art via ASACOs, they will find that African art has cultural and economic value that has been recognised.  Also, African art market continues to evolve with promising opportunity and future.

Furthermore, ASACOs need good strategies for successful investment in African art.  The website ‘berjartgallery.com’ (op. cit.) spells out some of these strategies.

 

• • How Can Africa-based Sister Organisations and Not-for-profit Art Investors Be Matched through This Project?

 

The matching happens through the two main components of this activity, which are Impact Advice to ASACOs and Guidance to Not-for-profit Art Investors for Impact.

 

• • • What Is Impact Advice to ASACOs?

 

It is an approach to or methodology of working with ASACOs that uses a theory of change to measure impact following advice given on project planning.

Impact Advice to ASACOs is about

 

√ Working with ASACOs to overcome their project planning problems

√ Helping them to improve their project planning processes, knowledge, skills and capabilities

√ Making sure that project planning benefits the users and communities they serve, particularly those living in poverty

√ Ensuring that project planning tackles the root causes of poverty and hardships

Etc.

 

Impact Advice uses impact measuring tools and frontline metrics to track results and outcomes.

 

• • • Guidance to Not-for-profit Art Investors for Impact

 

This is a service we offer to those n-f-p investors who would like to not-for-profit invest for impact in Africa’s not-for-profit organisations and charitable causes.   To understand this service, one needs to know “What is a Not-for-profit Investment?” (9)

A Not-for-profit Investment is a sum of money puts into a not-for-profit organisation in order to help this organisation achieve its not-for-profit mission.  Not-for-profit means that the organisation is not engaged in the activity of realising a greater difference between its sales revenue and total costs.  Instead, the organisation aims at providing services without making profit, services that benefit its members or the community as specified in its governing document.

This not-for-profit investment can be in the physical or financial form.  Therefore, there are two types of investment that not-for-profit investors can choose in order to engage in, which are: physical or real investment and financial investment.

This guidance is based on not-for-profit investment and impact investing.  What is impact investing?

According to ‘evpa.ngo’ (10),

“Investing for impact is an impact strategy followed by investors that adopt the venture philanthropy approach to support social purpose organisations maximising their social impact.  Investors for impact support innovative solutions to pressing societal issues, providing in-depth non-financial support and taking on risks that most of other actors in the market cannot – or are not willing to take”.

Briefly, Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisations and Not-for-profit Art Investors can be matched via Impact Advice on project planning for the former and Guidance on Impact Investing for the latter.  They can as well be advised on project appraisal.  To realise a successful match, some guidelines need to be followed.

 

• • Matching Guidelines

 

To carry out matching, one needs to know the profile of the organisation that is looking for not-for-profit art investment, the specification or description of the art investor, and identification of possible ways of matching organisation’s profile and investor’s specification.

 

• • Benefits of Matching Organisation and Art Investors under This Activity

 

There are benefits when organisations’ needs match not-for-profit investors’ interest.  These benefits include:

 

√ Cost-effectiveness as the activity reduces the costs for both organisations (for instance, the costs of looking for investment) and art investors (e.g., the costs of finding the right organisation in which to invest)

√ Reduction of opportunity costs between the two parties (i.e., investee and investor) engaged in the activity

√ Creation and sustenance of relationships between organisations and investors

√ Problems-solving mechanisms or solutions for organisations’ problems and needs, and solutions to investors’ requests

√ Opportunity for a fit test (i.e., testing organisation-art investor fit on mutual interests and contribution to the right decision)

√ Qualitative feedback about Organisation-Art Investor and background knowledge

√ Better decision-making processes for the two parties (e.g., organisations and investors)

Etc.

 

• • Outcomes of Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment

 

It is better to differentiate outcomes for not-for-profit investors from those relating to Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisations and Causes.

 

• • • Outcomes for Not-for-profit Investors

 

The matching project will provide peace of mind for n-f-p art investors and a good return in terms of the rate or size of poverty reduction they will expect from the organisations or causes in which they will invest or support.

 

• • • Outcomes for Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisations and Causes

 

The matching project will enable them to access the type of investment they need and build the capacity they are lacking.  In doing so, this helps them to achieve their project aims, objectives and key deliverables with peace of mind.

 

• • Plan for 4-week Matching Activities

 

As part of CENFACS‘ Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, we are running a 4-week matching activities to support both art charitable organisations and not-for-profit art investors.  It is a 4-week work about Impact Advice Service for art charitable organisations and Guidance Service on Impact Investing for not-for-profit art investors.

CENFACS‘ Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment is based on 4-stage style of investment lifecycle.   To implement this style, we have referred to the four stages of project planning from ‘coursera.org’ (11), stages which are

 

Phase 1: Define project scope and goals

Phase 2: Agree on a project schedule, timelines, and milestones

Phase 3: Establish roles and teams

Phase 4: Plan and establish project documentation.

 

We have adapted these stages to our matching project.

However, let us recognise that there could be more than four stages in any art investment lifecycle.  Because we set up some boundaries by limiting ourselves to deliver this matching project in four weeks, we choose a four-stage model for art investment lifecycle.

The matching project is designed to work with both those seeking not-for-profit art investors and those who would like to invest in the not-for-profit art charitable organisations and causes.  The following is our action plan.

 

Notes to table no. 1:

(*) Match periods are portions of time intended to help discover whether or not investors’ interests match organisations’ needs

(**) Match points are the different stages of project planning which are points for negotiation.

 

If you want advice, help and support to find not-for-profit art investors; CENFACS can work with you under this 4-week Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, starting from 20 November 2024.

If you need guidance to outsource art charitable organisations and causes in Africa; CENFACS can work with you under this 4-week Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, starting from 20 November 2024.

These matching activities are a rare opportunity for an art charitable organisation to realise their Festive dream  of getting an investment they badly need.  They are also an unbelievable occasion for a not-for-profit art investor to find Festive peace of mind through a suitable organisation in which to invest in Africa.

Need to engage with Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, please contact CENFACS.

 

 

• • 20 to 26/11/2024: Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment –

Activity/Stage 1: Define the Scope and Goals of Art Investment Project

 

There are many scenarios in which a investor can invest in an organisation.  In our scenario or model of matching organisation-investor programme, we are trying to bring an art investor in an Africa-based Sister Art Charitable Organisation and/or Cause through the definitions of the scope and goals of Art Investment Project to be Initiated by this ASACO.  We are trying to match ASHCOs’ Definition of project scope and goals with an art investor’s requirements relating to this stage 1.

In order to match organisation’s definitions of project scope and goals with investor’s requirements at this stage, one needs to understand the meaning of project scope and goals.  However, before explaining them, let us first explain art investment.

 

• • • What is art investment?

 

According to ‘financestrategists.com’ (12),

“Art investment refers to the buying and selling of artworks as a means of investing capital.  It is a form of alternative investment that offers potential for high returns, diversification of investment portfolios, and cultural and aesthetic value”.

In other words, it involves purchasing artworks with the expectation that their value will appreciate over time, providing financial returns when sold.

Knowing what is involved in art investment, ASACO wants to implement its art investment project as a valuable addition to diversify its portfolio so that it can improve its mission of poverty reduction in Africa.  However, it needs to explain its project scope and goals as a starting point to the not-for-profit art investor.

 

• • • What is project scope? What are project goals?

 

• • • • What is project scope?

 

According to ‘coursera.org’ (op. cit.),

“In project planning, scope refers to the features and functions that a project will deliver.  The scope definition is a statement that frames the goals of a proposed project.  The scope management helps determine and control what your project will deliver”.

From these definitions, ASACO needs to clearly define the features and functions that art investment project will deliver.  Equally, it will specify how it will try to determine and control what its art investment project will deliver.

For instance,  ASACO can explain how it will use the opportunity of the art market in Africa to combine the need of poverty reduction and the potential for financial gain to invest in its poverty reduction mission.  It can also argue that this will enable it o build diverse art portfolio while working with African art institutions and galleries.  In doing so, this will help it to reap the rewards or benefits of its art investment.

 

• • • • What are project goals?

 

The word ‘goal’ can be perceived in many ways.  For instance, the website ‘dictionary.com’ (13) defines it as

“The result or achievement toward which effort is directed”.

In project and development parlance, the word ‘goal’ has a specific meaning.  Britha Mikkelsen (14) notes that

“Goal is the higher-level objective towards which the project/intervention is expected to contribute” (p. 42)

For Britha Mikkelsen (p. 165), goals are often expressed in non-technical, qualitative terms – for example, ‘to reduce income poverty’.  Goals come with indicators and indicators are used to measure goals – for example, ‘poverty’, measured by the level of consumption insufficient to fulfil minimum food and other basic needs is known as poverty line.  Goals associated with indicators become goal indicators, like the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (op. cit.). Indicators can be SMART (that is, Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound); just as goals can be SMART.  Also, measuring goals through indicators may not be enough unless one has targets attached to them.  Targets are the levels of indicators that one wants to achieve by a given time – for example, ‘to reduce income poverty by 2 per cent by 2025’.

In the context of the art investment project, ASACO’s effort is directed toward income boost in order to realise its mission of reducing poverty in Africa.

However, to pass this first stage of initiating the art investment project, ASACO is required to respond to the issues raised by the not-for-profit art investor.

 

• • • What the not-for-profit art investor would like to know

 

The not-for-profit art investor wants clarification on a number of points such as ASACO’s business  model, business approach or methodology, risk linked to ASACO’s art investment, and the use of technology.

Let us clarify these points.

 

a) ASACO’s business model

 

The not-for-profit art investor would like to know if ASACO’s business model is sustainable, that is can generate financial returns to allow the invested capital to be recycled, support ASACO’s cause of poverty reduction, and achieve a strong impact.  He/she wants to know the scalability of this model (that is, the ability to reach larger audiences), whether or not ASACO has a clear financial plan (that outlines income streams, expenses and projected growth).  In other words the not-for-profit art investor is keen to know if ASACO’s business model is sustainable, scalable, financially viable and able to measure/produce impact successfully.

 

b) ASACO’s business approach or methodology

 

The not-for-profit art investor wants to be reassured that ASACO is approaching art investment in Africa with careful consideration and knowledge, whether or not it conducted a thorough market research on African art ecosystem, it will engage with other art players such as experienced art institutions, galleries and advisors in the field.

 

c) Risk associated with art investment

 

For the not-for-profit art investor, investing in art can be risky business as it is difficult to determine what art will appreciate and how much it will appreciate.  It is even more difficult where there is high level of poverty like in many places in Africa.  This is despite the rising demand and value of African artworks.

 

d) Use of technology

 

The not-for-profit art investor would like to be informed if ASACO will use technology such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) or AI-powered tools to analyse art market and make informed investment decisions.  In other words, he/she would like to be sure that ASACO has done a careful evaluation of the dynamics of the African art market.

ASACO needs to provide satisfactory answers to the above-mentioned points raised by the not-for-profit art investor.  Failure to provide these answers may not help the matching talks to go ahead or to progress.  In other words, there should be an agreement between ASACO’s Project Initiation Stage (that is, the definitions of project scope and goals) and N-f-p Art Investor’s Approach to ASACO’s Project Initiation Stage.  If there is a disagreement, then the talks/negotiations could be subject to match or fit test.

 

 

• • • The Match or Fit Test

 

As part of the match or fit test, n-f-p Art Investor’s view on ASACO’s Initiation Stage must be matched with the information coming out of ASACO’s initiation process.

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 ASACO is saying about its initiation process, between what the investor would like the initiation phase to indicate and what ASACO’s initiation process is really saying), the probability or chance of having an agreement at this first round of negotiations could be null or uncertain.

 

• • • Impact Advice to APRC and Guidance to n-f-p Art Investor

 

CENFACS can impact advise ASACOs to improve the presentation of the process they are initiating.  CENFACS can as well guide n-f-p art investors with impact to work out their expectations in terms of the initiation process to a format that can be agreeable by potential ASACOs.  CENFACS’ impact advice for ASACOs and guidance on impact investing for n-f-p art investor, which are impartial, will help each of them (i.e., investee and investor) to make informed decisions and to reduce or avoid the likelihood of any significant losses or misunderstandings or mismatches.

 

• • • The Rule of the Matching Game

 

The rule of the game is the more art investors are attracted by ASACOs’ initiation process the better for ASACOs.  Likewise, the more ASACOs can successfully respond to art investors’ level of enquiries and queries about the initiation process the better for investors.  In this respect, the matching game needs to be a win-win one to benefit both players (i.e., investee and investor).

The above is the first stage or activity of the Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment.

Those potential organisations seeking investment to set up an art project in Africa and n-f-p art investors looking for organisations that are interested in their giving, 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.

 

• • • CENFACS’ Hub for Testing Hypotheses 

 

The Hub can help to use analysis tools to test assumptions and determine how likely something is within a given standard of accuracy.  The Hub can assist to

 

√ clean, merge and prepare micro-data sources for testing, modelling and analysis

√ conduct data management and administration

√ carry out regression analysis, estimate and test hypotheses

√ interpret and analyse patterns or trends in data or results.

 

For any queries and/or enquiries about this first stage/activity of Matching Organisation-Investor via African Art Investment, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

_________

 

• References

 

(1) https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/data-storytelling (accessed in November 2024)

(2) https://www.springboard.com/blog/data-science/data-storytelling/ (accessed in November 2024)

(3) https://babysparks.com/20/9/02/20/narrative-skills-what-are-they-how-do-they-develop (accessed in November 2024)

(4) https://lazarinastoy.com/ultimate-guide-to-data-storytelling-for-marketing-and-data-consultants/ (accessed in November 2024)

(5) https://www.unicef.org/esa/press-releases/unicef-alarmed-continued-attacks-education-conflict-zones-africa (accessed in October 2024)

(6) https://actualite.cd/2024/11/10/etats-generaux-de-la-justice-jules-alingete-deplore-un-accompagment-timide-et-mitige#google_vignette (accessed in November 2024)

(7) https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda (Accessed in January 2023)

(8) https: //www.berjartgallery.com/news/investing-in-african-art-exploring-a-lucrative-opportunity (accessed in November 2024)

(9) cenfacs.org.uk/2023/02/08/africa-not-for-profit-investment-outlook-2023/ (accessed in February 2024)

(10) https://www.evpa.ngo/impact-glossary (accessed in February 2024)

(11) https://www.coursera.org/articles/project-plan?msockid=3ae3b6238601661709bca4468726673b (accessed in November 2024)

(12) https://www.financestrategists.com/wealth-management/alternative-investment/art-investments/(accessed in November 2024)

(13) https://www.dictionary.com/browse/goal (accessed in November 2024)

(14) Mikkelsen, B. (2005), Methods for development work and research: a new guide for practitioners, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, New Delhi, California & London

 

_________

 

• 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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

13 November 2024

Post No. 378

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• Festive Income Booster – In Focus for 2024 Edition: Income Boost Goal for the Festive Season – How to set the year-end goal of boosting your income for next year 

• Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households – On the Agenda from Wednesday 13/11/2024: Data Visualisation and Communication Skills

• Rescuing Children’s Education in Africa

… And much more!

 

Key Messages

 

• Festive Income Booster – In Focus for 2024 Edition: Income Boost Goal for the Festive Season – How to set the year-end goal of boosting your income for next year 

 

The 2024 Edition of CENFACS’ Festive Income Booster is about setting a goal on ways of boosting your income during the festive period 2024 and in the next year (2025).

As one can notice, income is one of the most important variables, if one wants to reduce poverty, prepare a good year-end 2024 and start the new year with confidence and hope.  Because of its importance, income needs a goal, in particular but not limited to boosting it.  It is this goal which makes this 2024 Edition of CENFACS’ Festive Income Booster (FIB).

The 2024 Edition of CENFACS’ FIB as a resource, it provides some methodology and techniques on how to set and optimise your income boost goal that meets your need or the need of CENFACS‘ users and beneficiaries of reducing poverty, particularly but not exclusively income poverty, during the festive period and in the next year.

We have given key highlights about this Edition under the Main Development section of this post.

 

 

• Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households – On the Agenda from Wednesday 13/11/2024: Data Visualisation and Communication Skills

 

This second note of Data Storytelling and Communication Skills for Households deals with data and the visuals that households can handle in the process of telling their stories.

Indeed, households do not need to be scientists of visual data communication.  But, they may want to know and understand some simple visuals and help them derive insights from data.  When handling data and visuals, they need make sure that they (data and visuals) work together in storytelling; just as the form and function have to be balanced in storytelling and communications.

They can learn or develop their ability to transfer data into visual narratives or stories.  For that, they may require to master basic data visualisations and communication skills.  They do not need a blend of artistic and technical proficiency to master these basic skills.  The latter is what is about in this note.

To approach these skills, the following items will be covered:

 

σ Understanding Data Visualisation Skills

σ Communication Skills Accompanying Data Visualisation

σ Working with the Community Members on Data Visualisation and Communication Skills for Households

σ Homework for the End of the Week: Create a Christmas’ Celebration Graphics.

 

Let us uncover these items.

 

• • Understanding Data Visualisation Skills

 

Perhaps the best way to understand these skills is to explain data visualisation.

 

• • • What is data visualisation?

 

According to ‘tableau.com’ (1),

“Data visualisation is the graphical representation of information and data.  By using visual elements like charts, graphs and maps, data visualisation tools provide an accessible way to see and understand trends, outliers and patterns in data”.

Like any other organisations or institutions, households can use data visualisation tools and technologies to form a clear mental image of data that run their lives, to tell their stories as well as grab  interest and attention to their message.

In this respect, ‘tableau.com’ (op. cit.) notes that

“Data visualisation helps to tell stories by curating data into a form that is easier to understand, highlighting the trends and outliers”.

Similarly, ‘knowi.com’ (2) states that,

“The main goal of data visualisation is to reduce complexity and provide clarity”.

The same ‘knowi.com’ argues that

“Data visualisations help tell a story by presenting information in an engaging, easy-to-understand manner, helping you tell a story through data”.

Visual system can quickly extract broad statistics from a display. 

There are many data visualisation techniques such as line charts, bar charts, histograms, scatter plots, bubble plots, etc.  These techniques are not the scope of this note.  For households that do not know them and would like to dive deep into them, there are many resources available online.  What we are instead interested in in this note are data visualisation skills.

 

• • • Types of Data Visualisation Skills for Households

 

To create or understand a data visualisation, you need a variety of skills such as numeracy, analysis, technical ability, audience awareness, etc.  These skills can be basic (e.g., data literacy and numeracy) or complex (e.g., technical proficiency with visualisation tools) depending on how far a household can go in data visualisation.  One of the skills is data storytelling, which is also a skill in data visualisation as explained by ‘tealhq.com (3).

According to the same ‘tealhq.com’,

“Storytelling with data is a skill that transcends the mere presentation of figures, it’s about weaving a narrative that engages and persuades”.

From this perspective, there are hard and soft skills for data visualisations.  Hard skills include data analysis and statistical skills, understanding of colour theory and graphic design principles, etc.  Soft skills cover storytelling and narrative development, creative design and aesthetic, attention to detail and precision, etc.

They are both the skills to harness analytical prowess and creative tools to transform data into insightful visual stories, with the exception that ones are hard and the others soft.

 

• • Communication Skills Accompanying Data Visualisation

 

They are the dexterities to impart ideas and information through visual presentation.  They include cognitive psychology, data journalism, cross-disciplinary communication, understanding your audience, choosing the right visualisation tool.  These communication skills accompany data visualisation.

CENFACS Community members can work with CENFACS either to acquire the above-mentioned skills or to improve them.

 

• • Working with the Community Members on Data Visualisation and Communication Skills for Households

 

CENFACS can work with those who need help and support on data visualisation and communication skills so that they can tell their stories by presenting information in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner.

 

• • • How can CENFACS do it?

 

CENFACS can work with those households with low graphical literacy and struggling to understand visualisation tools so that they can be empowered with skills to perform the following activities:

 

σ Use visualisations to communicate data and evidence about statistics and their needs

σ practise visualisations to understand relationships

σ Map visualised values in the context of households

σ Communicate relevant insights in an easy and effective way

σ Connect with others via visual stories

σ Make better data-centric decisions on things that matter for households

etc.

 

Since Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households make up our Data and Insight Advocacy and Skills Project, we can conduct with them basic data and insights analytics using the tools of poverty reduction we have in our box.

Where our capacity is limited in comparison to their demand or specific needs, we can signpost or refer them to relevant data insight and analytics services or organisations that are available on the market and can be accessible to them.

For those members of our community who will be interested in Data Visualisation and Communication Skills for Households, they can contact CENFACS.  CENFACS can work with them to enhance their Data Visualisation and Communication Skills.

 

• • Homework for the End of the Week: Create a Christmas’ Celebration Infographics

 

As part of Christmas preparations, you would like to plan how to celebrate Christmas with your loved ones.  You can use the colour theory or palette to create a visually appealing and intuitive graphics of Christmas celebration for your household.

It means you need to use colour theory or palette, the principles of good design and have aesthetic sense in order to create a Christmas’ Celebration Infographics for your household.

Those who have any queries about this homework, they can submit their queries to CENFACS.

To get any further insight into Skills Development Month at CENFACS, please continue to read our weekly posts.

 

 

• Rescuing Children’s Education in Africa

 

The United Nations Children’s Fund (4) notes that

“Millions of children across Africa still lack access to schooling due to ongoing conflicts across the continent… In West and Central Africa alone, more than 14,000 schools are closed mainly due to conflict, affecting 2.8 million children”.

As a way of keeping education alive for these unfortunate children living in those parts of Africa in conflict or crisis (like in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, etc.), many types of initiatives have been so far taken to support these children.

These initiatives have been carried out by organisations (such as the United Nations Children’s Fund) and people like you to help.  Initiatives such as education by radio programme, back-to-school advocacy, delivery of school kits, etc. have been taken.

However, due to the immense educational challenge posed by the legacies of conflict, insecurity and violence; there is still a deep, intense and urgent educational need in many of these areas/parts of Africa.

This appeal, which is worded as or used the slogan ‘EVERY CHILD HAS RIGHT TO EDUCATION in Conflict Zones in Africa’ (in short: EVERY CHILD HAS RIGHT TO EDUCATION), has already started and will make CENFACS‘ fundraising campaign for Giving Tuesday on 03 December 2024.

We would like people who may be interested in our philanthropic mission to join us in this campaign to Rescue Children’s Education in Africa.

We are asking to those who can to support these Educationally Needy Children via this campaign, not to wait the Giving Tuesday on 03 December 2024.

They can donate now since the needs are urgent and pressing.

Even a small donation can lead to a BIG impact.

To donate, please get in touch with CENFACS.

 

COMING SOON:

 

Extra Messages

 

• Coming This 19 November 2024: The 15th Edition of the Women and Children FIRST Development Day with a Focus on Transitionary Skills for Ending Crises 

• Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign from 11 to 17/11/2024

• Nature Projects, Nature-based Solutions to Poverty and Agreements Made at the 16th Meeting of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

 

 

• Coming This 19 November 2024:

 

The 15th Edition of the Women and Children FIRST Development Day with a Focus on Transitionary Skills for Ending Crises 

This year, our Development Day will still be about skills that can be learnt and developed in order to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.  The skills we would like to learn and develop in this 15th Edition are those that we will help us to transition to the end of crises (e.g., the cost-of-living crisis).  Amongst these skills are Transitionary Skills.

 

• • Progressing from Ways of Tackling Crises to Ending Crises

 

Every day, women and children respond to crises and risks they face.  Because the nature of crises and risks is changing, there could be a need to find transition paths and skills to enable them to reach the end of crises.  This can be done through Transitionary skills.  The 15th Edition of the Women & Children FIRST Development Day will concentrate on these skills a way of reaching the end of crises.

Transitionary skills are important as ‘Harvard Business Review’ (5) puts it in the following terms:

“No matter where we are in our own journeys, we could all get better at the skill of transitioning.  To do this, focus on four component skills: pacing and planning, leaving gracefully, letting the inside out and the outside in, and leaping”.

From this perspective, transitionary skills are important for navigating change and adapting to new situations.

Similarly, speaking about leadership skills, ‘weforum.org’ (6) argues that

“In a volatile environment, clarity, control and speed are essential”.

These three skills (i.e., clarity, control and speed) will be part of our Development Day as well.

 

• • The 15th Development Day as a Fresh Opportunity

 

The 15th Development Day will provide an occasion to exchange ideas and celebrate our clarity, control and speed to take the path that can help us reach the end of crises.

The 15th Edition of our Development Day will provide a window of opportunities to share and celebrate the Wins in terms of Transition.  It will also offer a chance to Improve or Develop our Transitionary Skills.  Of course, one day of development may not be enough to respond to all the very difficult problems women and children face; but it could be an extra step or turning point for some of them.

 

• • Celebrating the Wins while Developing Skills

 

On the Development Day, we are going to celebrate those wins or successes in terms of transition plans, goals and targets.  However, where we failed or fell short to realise our plans, meet our goals and targets, the Development Day can give us the new opportunity or mental/moral resources/strengths to think and acknowledge the losses/failures so that we can improve in the future.  In this respect, it is also the day of Transitionary Skills Development.

 

• • Working in Hybrid Fashion on the Development Day

 

How will the Development Day be organised?

The Development Day will be organised in two parts:  Thinking and Celebration.

We will be working in hybrid fashion by splitting the two aspects of this year’s Development Day, which are: Thinking and Celebration.

 

• • • Thinking part

 

Since we are going to work in hybrid fashion, the participants to the Thinking part can remotely (from their home or work or anywhere else) think and share their thoughts on the Day using their Transitionary Skills.

For example, Development Day Thinkers can share with other participants their thoughts and life/work experiences about clarity, control and speed in face of volatile situation.

 

• • • Celebratory part

 

Potential Development Day Celebrators could group themselves in a small health and safety secure working space (let say a group made up of 2 to 10 people including children) to share and recognise the value of poverty reduction and sustainable development amongst women and children.  They can make up a Healthy, Safe and Secure Development Day Small Group (HSSDDSG).

 

• • • • What is a Healthy, Safe and Secure Development Day Small Group (HSSDDSG)?

 

A HSSDDSG is a number of two to ten adults including children gathered in a healthy, safe and secure space to share their poverty reduction and sustainable development experiences and wins in an informal and unstructured way.

For example, one can plan a HSSDDSG as follows:

 

a) Set a clear and simple goal of a HSSDDSG (e.g., meetup to discuss our life transition experiences)

b) Create a session of diverse transitionary skills development on the development day

c) Include collaborative opportunities between participants

d) Share experiences, resources and support each other

e) Evaluate and gather feedback from each participant

f) Safely conclude their HSSDDSG.

 

Like in a discussion focus group, the group can systematically collect important information shared for impact monitoring and evaluation, learning and development purposes.  The group can as well seize the outputs or outcomes achieved.  Finally, the group can report to the community their experience of taking part in a HSSDDSG.

 

• • Have Queries or Enquiries for the Development Day 2024

 

The above are the main items that will feature this year’s Development Day.  For any queries or enquiries about them, please do not to hesitate to contact CENFACS.

At the end of this Main Development section of this post, we have appended a timeline of CENFACS Development Day milestones. 

Wishing you a SUCCESSFUL, HEALTHY, SAFE AND SECURE Development Day 2024!

 

 

• Impact Monitoring and Evaluation of “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign from 11 to 17/11/2024

 

Although we finished to compose the five notes and/or fish themed activities of the “A la une” Campaign during our 5-week campaign, this campaign for the Upkeep of the Nature does not stop with these notes.  Our action for the Upkeep of the Nature  – under the sub-theme of Protecting Endangered Fish Species delivered via ‘Mbisi‘ Project – continues. 

The five fish themed notes relating to this campaign are:

 

a) Saving Bagrus Meridionalis

b) Conserving Treur River Barb (enteronius treurensis)

c) Protecting African Wedgefish (Rynchobatus  Luebbert)

d) Preserving Haplochromis granti 

e) Safekeeping Estuarine Pipefish (Syngnathus Watermeyeri).

 

The five add-on activities are:

 

i) Workshop on Humans’ Dependency on Fishes

ii) Focus Group on the Role of Fish in the Food Chain

iii) E-discussion on Fish as Keeper of the Health of Our Ecosystems 

iv) A case study on Sustainable Fishing

v) A survey on Ethical Treatment of Fishes.

 

 

We are now carrying on with the collection and analysis of information regarding this 5-week campaign in order to get its insights, impact or at least its output.  The findings from this Impact Monitoring and Evaluation will help to figure out what has been achieved and what has not been accomplished through this campaign while giving us some flavour about the future direction of this campaign.

As part of this Impact Monitoring and Evaluation exercise, we would like to ask to those who have been following our 5-week campaign to share with us their feelings and thoughts about these three areas:

 

(a) The overall “A la une” Campaign and the ‘Mbisi’ project

(b) Any of the fish themed activities you/they followed with us during this campaign

(c) Any of the add-on activities of this weekly campaign.

 

By sharing with us your feelings and thoughts about “A la une” Campaign, this could suggest that you value our work and show interest in what we are trying to achieve as an organisation generally and or in respect to the Upkeep of the Nature specifically.  Your intervention could as well indicate that we share common interest and concern regarding the health and wealth of the nature.

You can share your feelings and thoughts with us by:

 

∝ Phoning

∝ Texting

∝ E-mailing

∝ Completing the contact form with your feelings and thoughts.

 

When sharing your feelings or thoughts on the matter, please do not make statements to only please us.  We do not expect people to please us.  Instead, we would like you to give an objective and fair opinion.

We would like to thank in anticipation those who will be giving their opinions about the “A la une” Campaign.

 

 

• Nature Projects, Nature-based Solutions to Poverty and Agreements Made at the 16th Meeting of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity

 

At the end of COP16, there were agreements between the participants.  Amongst these agreements (7), we can mention the following:

 

σ A newly established Fund (Cali Fund) to allocate a significant share of its resources to Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs)

σ The use of digital sequencing information from genetic resources

σ Nature’s genetic data

σ Recognition of People of African descent and their communities as stewards in biodiversity conservation

σ Promotion of measures that lead to a sustainable future

σ New decision-making powers with the newest subsidiary body translated into a permanent space for IPLCs to participate in decision making on biodiversity.

 

Because of the new developments, we are examining how these new COP16 agreements can be fitted into CENFACS’ Nature Projects and Nature-based Solutions to Poverty as well as to our work with Africa-based Sister Organisations.

Those would like to contribute to this fitting exercise can contact CENFACS.

Those who would like to know more about CENFACS‘ Nature Projects (and Nature-based Solutions to Poverty) and how they can support them can as well communicate with CENFACS.

 

 

Message in French (Message en français)

 

• Activité/Tâche 11 de l’Année et du Projet Transitions (‘t’): Motiver les Gens à Acquérir des Compétences pour une Transition Juste

Notre année et notre projet Transitions (‘t’) ont maintenant atteint l’activité/tâche 11, qui est «Motiver les gens à acquérir des compétences pour une transition juste». Peut-être qu’un bon point de départ pour comprendre ces compétences est d’expliquer la transition juste.

• • Qu’est-ce que la transition juste?

Il existe de nombreuses façons de définir la transition juste.  L’une de ses définitions provient du Groupe de la Banque Africaine de Développement (8). Ce dernier définit la transition juste comme

«Un cadre pour faciliter l’accès équitable aux avantages et le partage des coûts du développement durable, de sorte que les moyens de subsistance de tous, y compris les plus vulnérables, soient soutenus et améliorés à mesure que les sociétés effectuent la transition vers des économies à faible émission de carbone et résilientes. Une transition juste affirme le droit de l’Afrique au développement et à l’industrialisation sur la base du langage de l’équité négocié par l’Accord de Paris et du principe des responsabilités communes mais différenciées et des capacités respectives, à la lumière des différentes circonstances nationales».

Il y a des compétences qui sous-tendent cette définition; compétences que l’on peut développer et/ou motiver les autres à acquérir ou à développer.

• • Quelles sont les compétences pour une transition juste?

Selon wits.ac.za (9),

«Les compétences pour une transition juste sont celles qui aident à conduire un changement de régime et à lutter contre les verrouillages qui entravent le changement structurel et systémique. »

Pour le même wits.ac.za, les transitions justes nécessitent une approche de la formation des compétences qui soit fortement basée sur le lieu et qui puisse jouer un rôle transformateur dans les communautés locales.

Les membres de notre audience qui aimeraient que les gens jouent leur rôle transformateur dans les communautés locales peuvent travailler avec eux afin que ces personnes puissent apprendre ou améliorer leurs compétences pour une transition juste. Travailler avec les gens pour apprendre ou améliorer leurs compétences en vue d’une transition juste est l’objet de l’activité/tâche 11. Comme toutes les autres activités/tâches de l’année/du projet Transitions (‘t’), l’activité/tâche 11 a besoin de soutien.

• • Soutenir cette activité/tâche

L’activité de soutien/tâche 11 consiste à mettre en pratique sa mise en oeuvre.  En d’autres termes, il s’agit de trouver des personnes qui ont besoin de compétences pour une transition juste et de travailler avec elles afin qu’elles puissent acquérir ou être en train d’acquérir ces compétences.

Ceux ou celles qui souhaitent poursuivre cette activité/tâche par eux/elles-mêmes peuvent aller de l’avant.

Ceux ou celles qui souhaiteraient faire partie d’un groupe de travail aidant à la réalisation de cette activité/tâche peuvent le faire savoir au CENFACS.

Pour ceux ou celles qui ont eux/elles-mêmes besoin d’aide avant de se lancer dans cette activité/tâche, ils/elles peuvent s’adresser au CENFACS.  Pour s’adresser au CENFACS, ils/elles sont tenu(e)s de planifier à l’avance ou de se préparer aux questions qu’ils/elles souhaitent soulever.

Pour toute autre question ou demande de renseignements sur le projet (‘t’) et la dédicace de cette année, veuillez également contacter le CENFACS.

 

 

Main Development

 

• Festive Income Booster – In Focus for 2024 Edition: Income Boost Goal for the Festive Season – How to set the year-end goal of boosting your income for next year 

 

The following makes the contents for the 2024 Edition of Festive Income Booster (FIB):

 

∝ What the 2024 FIB resource is about

∝ Who the 2024 FIB resource is for

∝ Key concepts

∝ Setting goal to boost your income

∝ Main highlights

∝ Resources and services to help the community set income boost goals

∝ What other highlights it covers

∝ What’s more?

∝ How to access this resource.

 

Let us now highlight these contents.

 

• • What the 2024 FIB Resource Is about

 

It is about helping beneficiaries to…

 

√ Get user-friendly tools to plan ways of boosting their income

√ Access the support they need to better prepare their year-end celebrations

√ Become more resilient to stresses linked to income shortfall

√ Dissipate financial imbalances within household system of managing incomes

√ Better plan risks and threats linked to income 

√ Become capable of dealing with economic instability (like rising interest rates, skyrocketing inflation and soaring costs of living)

√ Find income to face the increase in the costs of essential spending linked to the festive season, and costs of living crisis caused by monetary or price instability

√ Take control of their financial health and well-being

√ Become aware of their income limits or constraints

√ Establish income report by the end of 2024

√ Understand that boosting income could have an intergenerational effect on poverty reduction

Etc.

 

• • Who the 2024 FIB Resource Is for

 

Festive Income Boost is for Multi-dimensionally Income Poor Children, Young People and Families (MIPCYPFs) and it is designed to support them throughout the entire festive season and beyond.  Amongst them are:

 

√ Incapacitated and incapable MIPCYPFs because of lack of income or insufficient income

√ Those without peace of mind and with income stress levels above average

√ Those failing to meet their life-sustaining basic needs because of income lack or insufficient 

√ The unable to plan and save for the future

√ The unprepared for the future and unexpected events

√ Those without income generation skills and judgement

√ The unable to detect and prevent income crisis

√ Those experiencing deteriorating income situations

√ Those without household cohesion and connection because of lack of means to boost their income

√ Those looking to improve their financial well-being and happiness via income

√ Those who need to build or develop the skills to set income goal

√ Those working with low income or income poor households

Etc.

 

• • Key Concepts

 

There are three key concepts or terms to help the users of the 2024 FIB resource.

These key concepts are: income, income boost and goal.  Let us briefly explain these terms.

 

(a) Income

 

The word ‘income’ can be explained in many ways.  The definition in which we are interested is the one relating to individuals and households income.  From this perspective, Market Business News (10) explains that

“Income refers to money – cash or cash-equivalents – coming in either for work done, interest or profit from capital invested, or rent from a property or land that is let.  When it comes from work, it is referred to as either a wage or a salary”.

Market Business News also adds that

“For individuals and households, however, it is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interest payments, rents and other forms of earnings received – in every case, over a specific period”.

The 2024 Edition of FIB is mostly about other forms of earnings or ways of boosting your income or ways of earning extra income for MIPCYPFs.  This is because we are working on the assumption that the latter are not in a position to increase their salaries or earn profits or rents from a property since they are poor.  They can however explore other ways of boosting their income differently.

 

(b) Income Boost

 

The concept of income boost here has to be differentiated from the one used in the mortgage environment.  By talking about income boost, we simply mean all the steps that MIPCYPFs can take to increase or earn extra income since their basic one is low or below the poverty line.

For example, ‘thetimes.com’ (11) provides many ways of boosting your income which includes the following:

sell your unwanted things, take advantage of bank switching offers, take online surveys (with Ipsos i-Say or Swagbucks), enter competitions (to earn cash prices, vouchers or free products), sign up to cashback websites, making money from ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer), etc.

Some of these incomes to be earned from these ways can be taxable if you earn more than £1,000 a year.

All the above-mentioned ways can give other streams of income for those who use them.  However, to better use them one may need to set a goal.

 

(d) Goal

 

The word can be perceived in many ways.  For instance, the website ‘dictionary.com’ (12) defines it as

“The result or achievement toward which effort is directed”.

In project and development, the word ‘goal’ has a specific meaning.  Britha Mikkelsen (13) notes that

“Goal is the higher-level objective towards which the project/intervention is expected to contribute” (p. 42)

For Britha Mikkelsen (p. 165), goals are often expressed in non-technical, qualitative terms – for example, ‘to reduce income poverty’.  Goals come with indicators and indicators are used to measure goals – for example, ‘poverty’, measured by the level of consumption insufficient to fulfil minimum food and other basic needs is known as poverty line.  Goals associated with indicators become goal indicators (e.g., the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal Indicators).  Indicators can be SMART (that is, Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound); just as goals can be SMART.  Also, measuring goals through indicators may not be enough unless one has targets attached to them.  Targets are the levels of indicators that one wants to achieve by a given time – for example, ‘to reduce income poverty by 2 per cent by 2025’.

In the context of this note, our effort is directed toward income boost in order to reduce income poverty amongst MIPCYPFs.

 

(e) Goal to Boost Income

 

To understand the goal to boost income, let us first explain income goal.  The website ‘sprucemoney.com’ (14) provides this explanation in the following terms:

“An income goal is exactly that – a goal you set for how much income you want to bring in each month.  By setting an Income Goal, you can easily monitor your progress each month”.

Knowing what is income goal, one can even set a goal to boost their income.  They can use the ways of boosting income given by ‘thetimes.com’ to set how much income they want to bring in each month from their chosen way of boosting their income.  This is the way of setting their goal of income boost

 

• • Setting Goal to Boost Your Income

 

There are strategies to set your income goal.

For example, ‘thewordling.com’ (15) recommends the calculation of two numbers:

 

1) your base income

2) your target income. 

 

For ‘thewordling.com’, the base number (or the floor) is the minimum you need to earn given your circumstances.  It is also the average income from the last quarter.  The target number is the number you can hit, that is reasonable, realistic and achievable.

Another example is from Denise Duffield-Thomas (16) who spells out four strategies to set your business income goal for the coming year.    These four strategies are the following:

 

1) Income Plus a Percentage

To apply this strategy, you can take your income for past year and add a percentage of how much you want to earn to grow.

2) Calculate Your Lifestyle Costs

You can work out how much your lifestyle will cost you in the next year.  From the amount worked out, you can find out how much to cover for your lifestyle.

3) Get Strategic

You can think of income plans and activities you are planning.  You can then develop a strategy on how you are going to make this money.

4) Pick a Number, Any Number

Your goal here is a number which you need to pick or specify.

 

Although these strategies are for businesses, they can be adapted to be used by individuals or households.

This goal should be measurable and deadline-driven as explained by ‘deborahmacdonald.com’ (17).  According to this website, goal has to be set in amounts and deadline for when you want to reach that income level.  For example, your goal might be something like ‘make x amount’ in income in six months or it could be something like ‘increase income surplus by x percent’ within one year.

There are other ways of setting income goal.  For instance, ‘ppsaccounting.com’ (18) lists 10 steps in the process of setting a specific income goal, which includes:

evaluate your current financial situation, define your goals, give yourself permissions, increase your income, explore new income streams, develop an action plan, stay motivated, seek support and accountability, never stop learning financial literacy, and rinse and repeat.

Similarly, ‘upwork.com’ (19), provides 25 creative ways to increase income in 2024 and gain financial flexibility.

The above-mentioned ways (whether quantitative or qualitative) can help set income goal as well as goal for boosting your income.

 

• • Main Highlights

 

As the focus for this year’s edition is on Income Boost Goal for the Festive Season, the resource includes the following items:

 

∝ Tools to set goals to boost your income

∝ How to take control of the way of boosting your income through better goals planning

∝ How to create extra income to cover basic festive expenses

∝ How to apply the 50 30 20 rule to reduce your outgoings when making plan for the goal to boost your income

∝ How to include in your income goal debt servicing

∝ How to build savings for emergencies or emergency funds as part of income goal to cover unexpected festive costs

∝ How to generate enough income while cutting unneeded expenses as part of goal to boost your income

∝ How to invest in income goals

∝ How to use end-of-the-year earning opportunities and openings to realise your plan for income goal

∝ How to earn and save money to finance your project about the goal to boost income

∝ How to find online and offline opportunities from both essential and non-essential economic activities

∝ How to successfully remake your income dream during the festive season

∝ Tips and hints to make savings through the goal for boosting income.

 

For example, how can you improve your spending to create extra income to realise the goal of income boost.

 

• • Resources and Services to Help the Community Set Income Boost Goals

 

They include

 

√ Helping our members to create measurable and deadline-driven goals to boost their income

√ Supporting those who want with need assessment about setting income boost goal

√ Making our members to understand that the ability to set income goal can be a life-saving skill

√ Working with the community on the key strategies to set goal to boost income

√ Bridging Financial Information Gap (service)

√ Summer Financial Updates (resource)

√ Signposting beneficiaries to low-cost and free financial advice services

√ Zero Income Deficit Campaign

√ Financial data and insight advocacy 

√ Financial advice on how to create emergency or reserve fund, to set realistic income goals and targets and so on

√ Working with our members to reinforce decision-making capacity relating to income goal setting 

√ Help and support in terms of skills to set income goal 

Etc.

 

• • What Other Highlights It Covers

 

The resource covers some ways of dealing with the following:

 

√ Casual job interview questions (online, video calls and distance job interviews)

√ Seasonal job search techniques (for both online and offline searches)

√ Job search engines and leads

√ Guidance on AI-powered  job applications and CV

√ Reference building techniques

√ How to highlight your skills in your job application and or CV

√ Job adverts and alerts

√ Credit history or score

√ Diary of online job fairs and events

√ Job matching to person specification and profile

√ Online job fraud and employment agency scams

√ Details can potential employers ask and not ask as well as how they can ask them

√ What details to provide and not to provide in your job enquiries and when filling job applications

Etc.

 

It goes further in exploring e-skills as well as stages and steps that poor families can take to skill up themselves.

In addition, the resource covers security and protection matter when trying to set Income Goal or generate a little extra income to make ends meet.  In this respect, it deals again with the general data protection regulations, child protection and safeguarding issues as well as health and safety restrictions for jobs where these requirements apply.

The resource does not stop there as it includes online employment agency scams and job advert scams which sometimes has dramatically increased in today’s world and employment market as there are always unscrupulous players (scammers, spammers, hackers and fraudsters) on the market who try to take advantage of the poor and vulnerable people like MIPCYPFs.

The resource also contains some highlights about new technologies (such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer or ChatGPT) and how they provide additional streams of income for those using them.

 

• • What’s More?

 

The resource is packed with insights such as income statement, balance sheet. net worth asset value, etc.  It finally reminds us of the areas of law or legal requirements in terms of whatever we do to try to set Goal for Boosting Income or raise additional household income to reduce poverty.  We should always try to lawfully act and live within our means.

 

• • How to Access This Resource

 

The resource will be available as a booklet from CENFACS e-Store.  It is normally free of charge, but we will appreciate a donation of £5 to help us help reduce poverty and the cost of renewing and producing this resource on an annual basis.  As the side effects of cost-of-living continues and the resilience of voluntary sector is fading, we need financial help like many voluntary and charitable organisations do.

The 2024 FIB resource is a great way to start and set up yourself into 2025.

To order and or find out more about the Autumn ICDP resource, please contact CENFACS with your contact details.

_________

• References

 

(1) https://www.tableau.com/en-gb/learn/articles/data-visualisation (accessed in November 2024),

(2) https://www.knowi.com/blog/data-visualisation-for-effective-communication/ (accessed in November 2024)

(3) https://www.tealhq.com/skills/data-visualisation (accessed in November 2024)

(4) https://www.unicef.org/esa/press-releases/unicef-alarmed-continued-attacks-education-conflict-zones-africa (accessed in October 2024)

(5) https://hbr.org/2018/07/learn-to-get-better-at-transitions (accessed in November 2024)

(6) https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/06/the-roadmap-for-leaders-navigating-through-crisis (accessed in November 2024)

(7) https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/11/1156456 (accessed in November 2024); https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/cop16-concludes-several-landmark-eu-championed-outcomes-2024-11-05_en (accessed in November 2024)

(8) https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/climate-investment-funds-cif/just-transition-initiative# (accessed in November 2024)

(9) https://www.wits.ac.za/real/events/just-transition (accessed in November 2024)

(10) https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/income-definition-meaning/ accessed in November 2024)

(11) https: //www.thetimes.com/money-mentor/income-budgeting/boost-your-income (accessed in November 2024)

(12) https://www.dictionary.com/browse/goal (accessed in November 2024)

(13) Mikkelsen, B. (2005), Methods for development work and research: a new guide for practitioners, 2nd ed., Sage Publications, New Delhi, California & London

(14) https://www.sprucemoney.com/resource-center/help/spending/what-is-income-goal/# (accessed in November 2024)

(15) https://www.thewordling.com/income-goals/ (accessed in November 2024)

(16) https://www.denisedt.com/blog/set-an-income-goal (accessed in November 2024)

(17) https://www.deborahmacdonald.com/how-to-set-goals-that-increase-your-income (accessed in November 2024)

(18) https://ppsaccounting.com/setting-your-income-goal-a-roadmap-to-financial-success/ (accessed in November 2024)

(19) https://www.upwork.com/resources/best-ways-to-increase-income (accessed in November 2024)

_________

 

• Appendix

 

Women and Children FIRST Development Day (WCFDD) Timeline: 2010 to 2023

 

Since its inception in 2010, the WCFDD provides an opportunity and scope to communicate CENFACS’ anti-poverty work/message and the need to develop new ideas and proposals and improve practices to enable us to enhance the quality of life of multidimensionally-deprived women/mothers and children.  The following are the milestones so far for WCFDD.

In 2010, the WCFDD was devoted to AWARENESS on SUSTAINABLE ACCESS TO & PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGIES

In 2011, CENFACS’ WCFDD tackled the challenging issue of BARRIERS TO POVERTY REDUCTION, with a special emphasis on one particular way of overcoming them, which is participation.  Women & Children’s Participation was looked at within the context of Race in the Road to Poverty Reduction.

In 2012, our Development Day in Putting Women and Children FIRST went further with the sub-theme of participation as it was organised around the theme of IMPROVING WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION IN THE RACE TO REDUCE POVERTY.

In 2013, WCFDD at CENFACS extended and deepened the idea of more and better participation by focussing on Infrastructures for Women’s and Children’s contribution to poverty relief.  The theme for 2013 was “INFRASTRUCTURES FOR A POSITIVE ECONOMY TO REDUCE POVERTY”.

In 2014, we guesstimated and compared the cost for acting to the cost for inaction to reduce poverty.  The theme of COSTING DOING NOTHING FOR POVERTY RELIEF improves our understanding on an early prevention that helps reduce costs and avoid escalating or detrimental effects for poor Women and Children.

In 2015, WCFDD was dedicated to MAKING THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WORK FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN (W&C).  This was the local community response from the W&C of CENFACS to the 2030 Global Agenda and Goals for Sustainable Development.

In 2016, the theme for our Development Day was ENSURING HEALTHY LIVES AND PROMOTING WELL-BEING FOR WOMEN & CHILDREN.  This was the continuation of 2015 Development Day.  Ensure-Healthy-Lives-and-Promote-Well-being is itself Goal no.3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  One day of development thoughts does not make the 2030 Agenda works as we need more times and days. But it helped to look at Goal 3 (G3) as both global and local concept, G3 as a practical response and G3 as Protection for W&C in the CENFACS’ Year of Protections.

In 2017, ENDING POVERTY IN ALL ITS FORMS EVERYWHERE FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN was our working theme for the WCFDD

In 2018, we thought ways of working together to come out of the linear model that consists of make, use and dispose goods and resources; to embrace the CIRCULAR ECONOMY

In 2019, we discussed and put ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY into practice via three specific activities which were: advice, art and design, and clothes recycling as an example to end clothing poverty.

In 2020, we formalised and structured CORONAVIRUS TALKS BUBBLE by giving it purpose and objectives so that participants to it can measure its impact or output on their lives.

In 2021, we celebrated and thought of Foresight Skills to help improve our capacity to predict and forecast future risks and crises (similar to the coronavirus) as well as plan actions based on improved knowledge, estimations and prospect.

In 2022, we thought and celebrated the wins of our Crisis Response Skills to better respond to the side effects of the current crisis (i.e., the cost-of-living crisis) and future crises and risks.

In 2023, we shared and remembered the wins in terms of self-efficacy while using the occasion to improve or develop our Self-efficacy Skills to refresh ways of tackling crises.

• Note: For your information,

3W (What Women Want) is a CENFACS support network scheme to enhance the lives of multi-dimensionally deprived women/mothers and families.

PPS (Peace, Protection & Sustainability) is a CENFACS child and environmental protection programme to support multi-dimensionally vulnerable children, young people and families

W&CSDP (Women & Children Sustainable Development projects) – a CENFACS amalgamation of 3W and PPS projects

_________

 

• 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.

 

Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!

06 November 2024

Post No. 377

 

 

The Week’s Contents

 

• The Month of the Economics of Education and Skill Formation (Skills Development Month) 2024 with a 4-week Highlight on Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households

• Activity/Task 11 of the Transitions (‘t’) Year and Project: Motivate People to Learn Skills for Just Transition

• African Charities Investment Management Advice Project

 

… And much more!

 

 

Key Messages

 

• The Month of the Economics of Education and Skill Formation (Skills Development Month) 2024 with a 4-week Highlight on Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households

 

November is the Month of the Economics of Education and Skill Formation (or in short Skills Development Month) within CENFACS.  It is the month that we recognise the economic value of education as well as of the non-economic benefits from education even though there could be a dispute about these values or benefits.  It is also the month during which we pay a particular attention to the technology of skill formation; month during which we try to find out how skills are formed and how technologies relating to them can help us to further reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

So, our November work on economic issues relating to education has started today.  This work will first be about the link between education economics and poverty reduction, then between education economics and sustainable development.  This work will include the identification of causal relationships between African organisations’ work and outcomes in educational projects in 2024 and beyond.

In this identification, we shall refer to the human capital theory, which will be the theoretical and working paradigm to be used this month.  In other words, all along this month we shall work on this assumption: the importance and capacity of education and training (skills development) to help reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.

Skills formation and development will be about forming new skills (that is, any abilities to perform an activity in a competent way) to continue to fight poverty; for example poverty induced by the cost-of-living crisis or any other crisis.    This month, Skills formation and development will include three types of skills: data storytelling and communications skills, skills for just transition and transitionary skills.

 

~ Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households (DST&CS4Hs) will be households’ expertness or dexterity to gather data, extract insights, and translate those insights into a story as well as to impart the information making this story.  DST&CS4Hs will be covered throughout November 2024.

~ Loincloth Weaving Skills will be those needed by some of our users who may be interested in traditional skills of loincloth weaving, weaving techniques and raw materials used in the context of woven loincloth to run their families’ income-generating activities, to make ends meet and reduce their own poverty as well as others’ poverty.

~ Transitionary Skills to Progress from Ways of Tackling to Ending Crises,  which will make up our Development Day 0n 19 November 2024, will be those that people can learn and develop in order to freshly start or manage Autumn 2024.

 

This above-mentioned variety of abilities or skills will make our human capital this month.

Under the Main Development section of this post, you will find further information about this first key message.

 

 

• Activity/Task 11 of the Transitions (‘t’) Year and Project: Motivate People to Learn Skills for Just Transition

 

Our Transitions (‘t’) Year and Project have now reached Activity/Task 11, which is ‘Motivate People to Learn Skills for Just Transition’.  Perhaps, a good starting point to understanding these skills is to explain just transition.

 

• • What Is Just Transition?

 

There are many ways of defining just transition.  One of its definitions comes from the African Development Bank Group (1).  The latter defines Just Transition as

“A framework for facilitating equitable access to the benefits and sharing of the costs of sustainable development such that livelihoods of all people, including the most vulnerable, are supported and enhanced as societies make the transition to low carbon and resilient economies. A Just Transition affirms Africa’s right to development and industrialization based on the Paris Agreement-negotiated language of equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances”.

There are skills that underpin this definition; skills that one can develop and or motivate others to acquire or develop.

 

• • What Are Skills for a Just Transition?

 

According to ‘wits.ac.za’ (2),

“Skills for just transition are those help to drive regime change and work against the lock-ins that hinder structural and systemic change”.

For the same ‘wits.ac.za’, just transitions require an approach to skills formation that is strongly place-based and which can play a transformative role in local communities.

For those members of our audiences who would like people to play their transformative role in local communities, they can work with them so that these people can learn or improve their skills for just transition.  Working with people to learn or improve their skills for just transition is what Activity/Task 11 is about.  Like any other activities/tasks of the ‘t’ Year/Project, Activity/Task 11 needs support.

 

• • Supporting This Activity/Task

 

Supporting Activity/Task 11 is about delivering in practice.  In other words, it is about finding people who need skills for just transition and working with them so that they can acquire or be in the process of acquiring these skills.

Those who would like to proceed with this activity/task by themselves can go ahead.

Those who would to be part of a working group helping in the realisation of this activity/task can let CENFACS know.

For those who need some help themselves before embarking on this activity/task, they can speak to CENFACS.  To speak to CENFACS, they are required to plan in advance or prepare themselves regarding the issues they would like to raise.

For any other queries and enquiries about the ‘t‘ project and this year’s dedication, please contact CENFACS as well.

 

 

• African Charities Investment Management Advice Project (ACIMAP)

 

ACIMAP, which is a new initiative, is part of CENFACS’ International Advice-, Guidance- and Information-giving Service to Africa-based Sister Organisations.   To explain this project, let us define it, present its aim, highlight its features, summarise the matters it covers, cover its helpfulness and cost-effectiveness.

 

• • What Is ACIMAP?

 

ACIMAP is an advisory management project designed by CENFACS to work together with Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) looking to plan and manage their investments so that they can realise their mission with peace of mind without having to worry to much about investment issues.  The project will help to avoid investment mistakes while tolerating risk at fairly acceptable and reasonable level.

 

• • What Is the Aim of ACIMAP?

 

The aim of ACIMAP is to reduce poverty by working with African charities so that they can find good charity investment solutions to reduce poverty amongst their users and beneficiaries.  Through this project, organisations will build generational investment management capacity and wealth that will help them and their beneficiaries to escape from intergenerational poverty.

 

• • Features of ACIMAP

 

ACIMAP is designed to offer higher quality advisory service levels to Africa-based Sister Organisations.  Our advice, which includes ethical and financial matters, is restricted to African charities’ specific investment needs.   It means that there are limits on what we can offer and what African charities can access.

Our advice is not one-size-fits-all.  Every African charity has its own investment needs and requirements which demands particular response.  In this respect, the advice should suit their individual requirements.

 

• • Matters Covered by Advisory Service 

 

They include the following:

 

√ setting up investment objectives and performance

√ improving attitude to risk or risk tolerance

√ undertaking changes to portfolios (especially for underperforming investments)

√ handling change of asset allocation

√ working on day-to-day trading of securities

√ finding out how to monitor portfolio and how to measure investment performance

√ reporting to African charities’ investment management boards

√ dealing with risk management

etc.

 

• • How Helpful Will Be This Advisory Service

 

ACIMAP will help ASOs become financially better off in the long term.

 

• • The Cost of Receiving Advice

 

Generally advice is free.  There is no fee, no rate and no commission.  However, those African charities that can afford can dedicate a percentage of the assets from their investment portfolios to a voluntary donation to CENFACS, provided that their giving is in their best interests.

To support ACIMAP or seek advice, please contact CENFACS.

For any further details about ACIMAP, please get in touch with CENFACS.

 

Extra Messages

 

• Goal of the Month: Reduction of Clothing Poverty

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign – In Focus for Week Beginning Monday 04/11/2024: Safekeeping Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri

• CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum e-discusses Public Transport Subsidy to Reduce Transport Poverty or Poverty Due to Lack of Transport Facilities

 

 

• Goal of the Month: Reduction of Clothing Poverty

 

This goal is the continuation of our last month’s work on Making Memorable Positive Difference Project via the History of African Woven Loincloth.  After dealing with the heritage, patrimony, legacies and gifts of the African woven loincloth, we are working on clothing poverty reduction in the current context and development landscape.  Some of you may know that poverty can change its faces.  Clothing poverty may be different in today’s life compared to century ago.  Equally, the reduction of clothing poverty may also evolve.

Our work on clothing poverty reduction is on what ‘justfair.org.uk’ (3) explains in the following terms:

“To ensure people don’t slip below the poverty line, a minimum level of clothing is required for survival, hygiene and protection”.

Those who may be at risk of slipping below clothing poverty line may include the following groups:

 

√ Those with unwashed or damaged clothes

√ Those using clothes banks

√ Those unable to afford weather-appropriate clothing (like during the cold weather)

√ Those suffering or exposed to life-threatening heat disease and who do not have adaptive clothes to deal with this threat

√ Those without adequate clothing as a result of lack of means to afford it

√ Those failing to maintain their well-being, self-esteem and a place in society because of poor clothing

√ Those being denied the rights to clothes

√ Those suffering from deprivation of freedom of belief and expression because the lack of adequate clothing

√ Disabled people not having adaptable clothes to carry out their life as normal

etc.

 

All the above-mentioned groups of persons may suffer from clothing poverty.

The goal of this November 2024 is about working with them or help them to reduce and possibly end the type of clothing poverty they are experiencing.

Therefore, we are asking to our audiences and supporters to help or promote this goal.

For any enquiries and/or queries about this goal, please do not hesitate to contact CENFACS.

 

 

• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature in Existence) Campaign – In Focus for Week Beginning Monday 04/11/2024: Safekeeping Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri

 

To keep safe Estuarine Pipefish, also known by its scientific name as  Syngnathus Watermeyeri, we have composed our note around the following headings:

 

σ What is Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri?

σ The conservation status of Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri

σ What can be done to Keep Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri Safe.  

 

In addition, we shall provide the themed activity we have planned for this week.  This themed activity is a survey on Ethical Treatment of Fishes.

Let us look at each of the headings making this note.

 

• • What Is Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri?

 

According to ‘mongabay.com’ (4),

“The estuarine pipefish is the world’s only critically endangered pipefish species, among more than 200 species of pipefish within the Syngnathidae family”.

The same ‘moongabay.com’ explains that the critically endangered estuarine pipefish is known from only two estuaries (i.e., Bushmans and Kariega) on the eastern coast of South Africa.

 

• • The Conservation Status of Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri

 

As indicated above, Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri is critically endangered.  Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri was assessed for the IUCN Red List (5) of Threatened Species in 2016.  Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri was listed as Critically Endangered under criteria c2a(i)b.

 

• • What Can Be Done to Keep Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri Safe

 

There are many initiatives that have been taken and need to be undertaken to Keep Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri Safe.   They include the following:

 

σ protection of its habitat

σ increase in the flow of freshwater into estuaries

σ combatting droughts

σ reducing over-extraction of water from river upstream home to Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri

σ maintaining nutrients in the estuary and keep river flow

σ keeping resources for Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri

σ developing projects that help freshwater inflow into the estuaries (the Bushmans and Kariega estuaries)

σ limiting extraction of water upstream for agriculture

σ providing a home to Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri

σ keeping estuaries healthy as conserving the Estuarine Pipefish Syngnathus Watermeyeri is tied up with preserving the health of estuaries

etc.

 

 

• • Add-on Activity of the Week’s Campaign: A Survey on Ethical Treatment of Fishes

 

The fish themed activity of this week is a Survey on Ethical Treatment of Fishes.  

 

• • • What is this activity about?

 

We are trying to gather information using questions from a sample of people with the aim of understanding the ethical problems stemming from the use of genetic engineering technologies to alter fish and their effects on fish, as highlighted in the report of the Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (6).  These ethical issues include the use of fish in experiments, medical and spa treatments.

As part of this survey, we would like you to answer the following question:

How much do you know about the use of genetic engineering technology to alter living creatures like fish?

This is because there are some issues with this practice and other practices on human and animals health.  For example, the use of antibiotics in animal production (like in intensive fish farming) can lead to negative effects on the health of both humans and animals.

Those who may be interested in responding to the above-mentioned survey question or fish themed activity, they can contact CENFACS.

To find out more about the entire “A la une” Campaign and Themed Activities, please communicate with CENFACS.

Before closing this note, we would like to remind every body that from the 11th to the 17th of November 2024, we shall carry out Impact Monitoring, Evaluation and Review of the “A la une” Campaign and Themed Activities conducted.  For those who may be interested in this exercise of monitoring, evaluation and review; they should not hesitate to engage with this campaign and activities.  Please do not miss the opportunity to affect this campaign.

 

 

• CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum e-discusses Public Transport Subsidy to Reduce Transport Poverty or Poverty Due to Lack of Transport Facilities

 

In developed countries, public transport, especially in large urban areas, is subsidized by the State.  In Africa, governments do not have the means to subsidize public transport, except for some countries.

And yet, the urbanization of large African cities or towns means that there is a rise in the urban population in Africa.  In addition, it is necessary to recognize the lack of resources of certain layers of the population, the majority of whom lack means of transport.  The lack of means to pay for transport can only exacerbate the poverty linked to the lack of transport.  What is poverty related to lack of transportation?

According to ‘europarl.europa.eu’ (7),

“Transport poverty refers to a lack of adequate transport services necessary to access general services and work, or to the inability to pay for those transport services”.

Due to this inability, CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum is wondering how to help African states so that they are able to subsidize their public transport systems.

In other words, CENFACS’ be.Africa Forum is questioning about the policies and strategies likely to mobilize resources for African States to become able to subsidize public transport, which is normally expensive if we take into account the cost of the market.

CENFACS would like to know your views on Public Transport Subsidy to Reduce Transport Poverty.  CENFACS wants to know what can be done in terms of much-needed support to Public Transport Subsidy to Reduce Transport Poverty or Poverty Due to Lack of Transport Facilities.

If you have answer or argument to make about this matter, please do not hesitate to let CENFACS know.

Those who may be interested in this discussion can join our Poverty Reduction pundits and or contribute by contacting CENFACS’ be.Africa, which is a forum for discussion on matters of poverty reduction and sustainable development in Africa and which acts on behalf of its members in making proposals or ideas for actions for a better Africa.

To communicate with CENFACS regarding this discussion, please use our usual contact details on this website.

 

 

Message in French (Message en Français)

 

• Le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS e-discute des subventions aux transports publics pour réduire la pauvreté des transports ou la pauvreté due au manque d’infrastructures de transport

Dans les pays développés, les transports publics, en particulier dans les grandes zones urbaines, sont subventionnés par l’État.  En Afrique, les gouvernements n’ont pas les moyens de subventionner les transports en commun, à l’exception de certains pays.

Et pourtant, l’urbanisation des grandes villes africaines signifie qu’il y a une augmentation de la population urbaine en Afrique.  De plus, il faut reconnaître le manque de ressources de certaines couches de la population, dont la majorité manque de moyens de transport.  Le manque de moyens pour payer les transports ne fait qu’exacerber la pauvreté liée au manque de transport. 

• • Qu’est-ce que la pauvreté liée au manque de transport?

Selon ‘europarl.europa.eu’ (7),

«La précarité des transports fait référence à l’absence de services de transport adéquats nécessaires pour accéder aux services généraux et au travail, ou à l’incapacité de payer ces services de transport».

En raison de cette incapacité, le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS s’interroge sur la manière d’aider les Etats africains à pouvoir subventionner leurs systèmes de transport public.

En d’autres termes, le Forum s’interroge sur les politiques et stratégies susceptibles de mobiliser des ressources pour que les États africains deviennent en mesure de subventionner les transports en commun, qui sont normalement coûteux si l’on tient compte du coût du marché.

Le CENFACS aimerait connaître votre point de vue sur les subventions aux transports publics pour réduire la précarité des transports.  Le CENFACS veut savoir ce qui peut être fait en termes de soutien indispensable aux subventions aux transports publics pour réduire la pauvreté des transports ou la pauvreté due au manque d’infrastructures de transport.

Si vous avez une réponse ou un argument à faire valoir à ce sujet, n’hésitez pas à le faire savoir au CENFACS.

Ceux ou celles qui pourraient être intéressé(e)s par cette discussion peuvent se joindre à nos experts en réduction de la pauvreté et/ou contribuer en contactant le me.Afrique du CENFACS (ou le Forum ‘Une Afrique Meilleure’ de CENFACS), qui est un forum de discussion sur les questions de réduction de la pauvreté et de développement durable en Afrique et qui agit au nom de ses membres en faisant des propositions ou des idées d’actions pour une Afrique meilleure.

Pour communiquer avec le CENFACS au sujet de cette discussion, veuillez utiliser nos coordonnées habituelles sur ce site Web.

 

 

Main Development

 

• The Month of the Economics of Education and Skill Formation (Skills Development Month) 2024 with a 4-week Highlight on Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households

 

The following items make up our Skills Development 2024:

 

∝ Month of November within CENFACS

∝ Poverty as a Lack of Skills and Knowledge

∝ CENFACS Community’s Skills Data Bank

∝ CENFACS and Its Work on Skills Formation and Development

∝ Data Storytelling and Communications for Households (as part of Data and Insight Advocacy and Skills Project)

∝ In Focus from Wednesday 06/11/2024: Data Science and Communications Skills for Households

∝ Homework for the End of the Week: Get Basic Health Assistance from Chatbots.

 

Let us summarise these items.

 

• • Month of November within CENFACS

 

November month has two features within CENFACS, which are: Skills evaluation (or audit) and training implementation.

 

• • • November as a month of skills evaluation or audit

 

November at CENFACS is the month of education and training, which revolves around the development of skills for life, for work, for poverty relief and sustainable development.  It is the month during which we look into ourselves and try to assess, explore and learn the skills we need in order to further help reduce poverty in a sustainable way amongst ourselves and re-engage with the business of sustainable development.

 

• • • November as a training implementation month

 

November is also the training implementation month during which we pay attention to the following: educationally related projects or projects that involve training, skills development and acquisition of new knowledge to help our users and Africa-based Sister Organisations (ASOs) to empower themselves with the educational tools and training resources they need to further help reduce poverty.

For example, one of the skills development projects to support ASOs is skills to hybrid work (that is, the flexibility to split time between working remotely and from the office), in particular when there is handicap for people to meet in-person and work.

 

• • Poverty as a Lack of Skills and Knowledge

 

It is known that poverty is not only material or the lack of monetary income; it is even more the lack of knowledge, skills, knowhow and technologies than anything else.   Therefore, knowing and learning a skill can help to further reduce poverty, particularly but not exclusively poverty induced by the cost-of-living crisis, and can set one on the right course of the development process.  In this respect, there could be relationships between economics of education and poverty reduction, between skill formation and poverty reduction.

 

• • • Relationship between the economics of education and poverty reduction

 

The economics of education is generally defined as the study of economic issues relating to education.  According to ‘oxfordbibliographies.com’ (8),

“The economics of education is a rapidly growing and evolving field that applies a diverse array of economic theories, models, and quantitative methodologies to understand, analyse, and improve the performance of education systems”.

The paradigm used in the economics of education is human capital theory.  This theory suggests that investment in education and training lead people to become productive.

However, education and training do not only lead to the improvement of productivity.  They can also pave the way for poverty reduction.  As people get more educated and trained, these further education and training can provide them with the means to overcome poverty.  As a result of this, there could be relationship between the economics of education and poverty reduction.

There could be disagreement about this link between the two.  However, despite this disagreement we are working on the assumption that education and training can lead to poverty reduction.

 

• • • Link between skill formation and poverty reduction

 

Let us briefly try to understand skill formation by highlighting its definitions.  One of its definitions comes from an online dictionary at the website igi—global.com (9), which explains the following:

“Skill formation is the process by which individuals achieve and develop innate or acquired skills to cope with everyday life challenges.  Besides heredity, it includes formal and informal training activities and life experience”.

From this definition, it is possible to deduct that individuals who are poor can use their innate or acquired skills to cope with the challenge of poverty by developing survival and coping strategies.  If they continue to use their skills and those strategies, they can navigate their way out of poverty.  When they reach the point at which their skills and strategies effectively enable them to reduce poverty, then one could argue about the link between skill formation and poverty reduction.

However, Kenneth King and Robert Palmer (10) think that

“The translation of skills development into skills utilisation, and therefore poverty reduction and/or growth, is dependant on many factors, including good quality education/training and the presence of a supportive environment” (p. 71)

The Skills Development Month provides us with the opportunity to learn these factors and find ways of turning them in favour of poverty reduction.

 

 

• • CENFACS Community’s Skills Data Bank

 

As part of our Skills Development Month, we would like to remind every member of our community that they can register their skills to our data bank, which is repository containing information about CENFACS and the data of the CENFACS’ Community.  The register is free.  Skills and information are stored on it in accordance with the latest regulations on data protection.

Knowing the skills that one possesses; it makes easy when opportunity arises to match them with registered skills.  It also helps to point those in need of support to the right and relevant a skilful person and direction.

To register your skills to make up the CENFACS’ Community of skilled people, please contact CENFACS.

 

• • CENFACS and Its Work on Skills Formation and Development

 

As far as CENFACS is concerned, we strive to support those who want to learn a skill while we at CENFACS as an organisation plan our own training, learning and development programme from time to time when we can access both funding and training.

This month, Skills Formation and Development will include three types of skills: data storytelling and communications skills, skills for just transition and transitionary skills.

 

~ Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households (DST&CS4Hs) will be households’ expertness or dexterity to gather data, extract insights, and translate those insights into a story as well as to impart the information making this story.  DST&CS4Hs will be covered throughout November 2024.

~ Loincloth Weaving Skills will be those needed by some of our users who may be interested in traditional skills of loincloth weaving, weaving techniques and raw materials used in the context of woven loincloth to run their families’ income-generating activities to make ends meet and reduce their own poverty as well as others’ poverty.

~ Transitionary Skills to Progress from Ways of Tackling to Ending Crises,  which will make up our Development Day 0n 19 November 2024, will be those people can learn and develop in order to freshly start or manage Autumn 2024.

 

This above-mentioned variety of abilities or skills will make our human capital this month.

In brief, DST&CS4Hs are our every Wednesday’s focus, this November 2024.  Loincloth Weaving Skills are the skills that contribute to our goal of the month.  Transitionary Skills  will be developed on our Development Day.

Let us kickstart the Skills Development Month 2024 with Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households.

 

 

• • Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households (as part of Data and Insight Advocacy and Skills Project)

 

Data are deeply embedded in households. Households need appropriate communications and storytelling skills about data to properly express by themselves what is behind data.  To better communicate the story behind their data households, they do not need to be data scientists.  But, they may need some of the skills that data scientists use.  It is those skills that this note is about.

So, DST&CS4Hs aims at empowering user households with skills to tell and visualise data (i.e., words and numbers) as well as get explained information that run their life.  It will help them to have control over their data and life.

We are going to look at these skills via DST&CS4Hs, which will make our Data and Insight Advocacy and Skills Project this Autumn 2024.  This project is amongst those making our 2024 Starting XI Campaign.

In order to understand DST&CS4Hs, we are going to define data storytelling as well as provide the types of skills it may contain.  Before that, let us briefly explain data, information and insight.

 

• • • What is data, what is information, what is insight?

 

Data, information and insight can be explained in many ways.  Amongst these explanations is what Carolyn Sansom (11) argues about them, which is

“Data, which can be quantitative and qualitative, is raw, unorganised and unprocessed facts… Information – which can be in the form of graphs, reports and visualisations – is processed and organised data… Insight is analysed information”.

Like businesses, households use data, information and insight to run their lives.  Households making the CENFACS Community do the same.

Knowing what is data, what is information and what is insight; it is possible to explain Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households.

 

• • • What are Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households?

 

To explain them let us start with data story.

 

• • • • What is data story?

 

The website ‘thoughtspot.com’ (12) states that

“Data story is a narrative constructed around a set of data that puts it into context and frames the broader implications”.

The same website goes further in arguing that

“Telling a story with data is important because it allows the narrator to put the data into context of a broader objective and use tools such as visual aids to help break down the results so that the audience, regardless of their background, domain expertise, or technical sophistication, can easily understand them and their implications”.

Knowing what is data story, it is possible to explain data storytelling.

 

• • • • What is data storytelling?

 

There are various definitions or explanations of data story.

For instance, ‘elearning.adobe.com’ (13) argues that

“Data storytelling is the general term we use to describe the full act of gathering data, extracting insights, and translating those insights into a story.  It’s a compelling narrative crafted around and anchored by compelling data, used to guide decision-making, reveal an interesting trend, or provide valuable information to your audience”.

Another view of data storytelling comes from ‘lazarinastoy.com’ (14) which describes it as

“The ability to tell stories behind the raw data through a methodology that presents information, tailored to a specific audience with a compelling narrative”.

Data storytelling involves the use of skills.  There are key skills for data storytellers.  They include hard and soft ones.  These are the skills we are dealing with this November 2024.

Furthermore, inside Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households, there are also data story communications skills.

 

• • • • What are data story communications skills?

 

They are the dexterities to transfer or move stories with data from one place to another one.  This November, we are also working on these communications skills.  We are doing it despite the fact that ‘peopleresults.com’ (15) distinguishes communication and storytelling by arguing that

“Communicating is static and single-use.  Storytelling is dynamic and continuous.  Communicating is focusing on what you need your audience to know and do.  Storytelling is about how you want your audience to feel”.

Knowing what is data storytelling and what are communications skills, it is possible explain Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households.

 

• • • • What are Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households?

 

They are the naturally acquired or developed talents and accomplishments that will allow our project beneficiaries (here households) to tell the stories of their households with data.  They are the abilities to craft their narrative by leveraging, contextualising and presenting data to various audiences that are involved in their lives.

The project, which is also an advocacy one, will help families/households to improve their data storytelling and communication skills in the following ways:

 

∝ to gain sufficient skills and knowledge to tell their stories with data making their lives

∝ to attach value to data storytelling and communications

∝ to tell and communicate their stories behind their data

∝ to capture household data and turn them into storying values and numbers

∝ to create trust in data systems they use to tell stories of their lives

∝ to support both technical skills building and efforts to enhance a culture of data storytelling and communications within and outside household systems

∝ to improve family/household limited data communication skills

∝ to keep learning data storytelling and communications skills at family/household level

∝ to empower and inform household data storytellers and communicators

∝ to build the skills of household decision-makers in relation to data storytelling and communications

etc.

 

From these various ways of enhancing households’ lives through data storytelling and communications, it is possible to have customised types skills to match each household’s specific data needs.  Amongst these skills, we can mention hard skills and soft skills.

Key hard skills for data storytellers will include mathematics, statistics, data analysis, essential programming skills, data wrangling and pre-processing skills, data visualization skills, etc.

Key soft skills for data story tellers will consist of communication, creativity, lifelong learning, business acumen, etc.

The households making CENFACS Community would need some of these skills in order to successfully tell and communicate their stories with data.  They can choose a data storytelling and communication model that is suitable for them.

In the context of this note, we have selected the definition of ‘lazarinastoy.com’ (op. cit.) to organise our 4-week Highlight on Data Storytelling and Communications Skills for Households.  This selection of definition comes with a choice of four types of data storytelling skills, which are:

 

a) Data Science Skills  (DSS)

DSS are the abilities to extract knowledge and insight from data, to combine different data sources and to manipulate them.

b) Data Visualization Skills (DVS)

DVS are the dexterities to best form a clear mental image of data based on the data type, to promote change and experiment different visualization platforms and tools.

c) Data Narrative Skills (DNS)

DNS are the competences to convey insights and communicate wins.

d) Stakeholder Relationship Skills (SRS)

SRS are expertness to build connections with stakeholders and extract the most important aspects of these relationships and put that in the context of data storytelling and communications.

 

The above four-mentioned skills make up our Wednesdays’ Skills Focus or Outlook.  To each of these skills of our Skills Focus or Outlook, communication skills will be added.  It is important to add them for households.

To explain this importance, the website ‘progmaticinstitute.com’ (16) makes this remark for data analysts:

“Beyond the numbers and algorithms lies a skill equally critical but less discussed: communication”.

For ‘progmaticinstute.com’, communication is a skill…

 

σ to effectively convey your findings

σ to diverse audiences not only have an advantage in the job market but also to shape the future of business with data-driven decision-making

σ to explain your analysis, data models and findings to others

σ and to share justifications for your conclusions.

 

Therefore, a clear communication will help to align project goals, timelines and deliverables.  Households can also use communication to align goals, timelines and deliverables whether it is within or without households.

 

• • • Wednesdays’ Skills Focus

 

The following table (table no. 1) summarises our plan (Wednesdays’ Skills Focus) for approaching the above pulled-out skills this month.  It highlights a set of skills to focus on from every Wednesday of each week of November 2024 starting from 06/11/2024.

Besides that, there will a weekend homework for those households wanting to indulge in the study of their data storytelling and communications.

 

 

After delivering the key notes to DST&CS4Hs, there will be impact monitoring and evaluation of the same DST&CS4Hs.

Let us start with the first area of our Wednesdays’ Skills Focus or Outlook, which is Data Science and Communications Skills for Households.

 

 

• • In Focus from Wednesday 06/11/2024: Data Science and Communications Skills for Households

 

To deal with Data Science and Communications Skills for Households, we are going to briefly explain data science, data science skills in the context of households or families as well as the types of communications skills that can involve when households or families are undertaking data science.

 

• • • What is Data Science?

 

To explain data science, let us refer to what ‘ibm.com’ (17) argues about it, which is:

“Data science combines mathematics and statistics, specialised programming, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning with specific subject matter expertise to uncover actionable insights hidden in an organisation’s data.  These insights can be used to guide decision making and strategic planning”.

The same website ‘ibm.com’ states that a data science project typically undergoes the following stages: data ingestion, data storage and data processing, data analysis and data communication.  There are skills that can be associated to each stage.  In other words, we can have data ingestion skills, data storage skills, data processing skills, data analysis skills and data communication skills.

 

• • • Data Science Skills in the context of households/families

 

As argued above, households do not need to be data scientists to handle data science.  But, they may be required to have some basic skills in data science to handle their lives.  They need to have the skills to extract knowledge and insight from data, to combine different data sources and to manipulate them.  In this respect, they need both hard and soft skills.

In the context of data science and communications skills, they need data ingestion skills, data storage skills, data processing skills, data analysis skills and data communication skills.

For example, one can interpret data of their household and come out with actionable recommendations to improve their household wellbeing.

 

• • • Data Communication Skills in the context of households/families

 

Communication skills are critical for data science.  They can help in the following ways:

 

σ to communicate data science results and knowledge

σ to work with others effectively

σ to present data and findings

etc.

 

Sensible households would like to tell and communicate the findings or stories from their data.  The households making the CENFACS Community too want to describe the findings or stories from their data.

 

• • • CENFACS Working with the Community Members through Data Science and Communications Skills for Households

 

We would like to emphasise that the purpose of working with the community members on data science and communication skills is to help them as follows:

 

√ To create trust in data systems

√ To learn and build technical skills like data science skills

√ To enhance a culture of data use and insight generation within household

√ To improve household/family the overall data science and communication skills

√ To attach value to data science and communications

√ To empower and inform household data scientists and communicators

√ To encourage the community members to register their skills on CENFACS Skills Data Bank

√ Above all, to reduce poverty linked to poor data science and communications skills; yet data science and communications skills are necessary to deal with life-saving household/family matters.

 

As ‘cambridgehealth.edu’ (18) puts it,

“Data is one of the most important assets for any organisation”.

For households and families, data is an asset like other assets.

 

• • Homework for the End of the Week: Get Basic Health Assistance from Chatbots

 

The exercise below is a real-world application that comes from ‘coursera.org’ (19).  This is the exercise:

“Use AI-powered mobile applications, such as chatbots to get basic health assistance.  You can describe your health concerns or ask any health-related questions, and you’ll receive critical information on your health status based on a large network of clinical symptoms and signs.  Apps can remind you to take your prescription on time and, if necessary, make a doctor’s appointment”.

This exercise is all part of data science.

Those who have any queries about this homework, they can submit their queries to CENFACS.

For those community members of our community who will be interested in Data Science and Communications Skills for Households, they can contact CENFACS.

Additionally, for those who would like to register their skills on CENFACS Skills Data Bank, they are welcome to do so.  This registration will help in matching the support in terms of skills and the needs in the community.

To get further insight into Skills Development Month at CENFACS, please continue to read our weekly posts.

_________

 

• References

 

(1) https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/climate-investment-funds-cif/just-transition-initiative# (accessed in November 2024)

(2) https://www.wits.ac.za/real/events/just-transition (accessed in November 2024)

(3) https://justfair.org.uk/home/blog/guest-blog/this-is-a-human-rights-issue-the-hidden-truth-about-clothing-poverty (accessed in November 2024)

(4) https://www.mongabay.com/2022/05/saving-the-near-extinct-estuarine-pipefish-means-protecting-estuary-health (accessed in November 2024)

(5) https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41030/67621860 (accessed in November 2024)

(6) https://www.ekah.admin.ch/inhalte/ekah-dateien/dokumentation/publikationen/e-Broschuere_Ethischer_Umgang_mit_Fischer_pdf (accessed in November 2024)

(7) https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_ATA(2022) 738181 (accessed in November 2024)

(8) https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199756810/obo-9780195756810-0055 (accessed in October 2023)

(9) https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/is-entrepreneurship-a-bio–social-phenomenon/92105 (accessed in November 2021)

(10) King, K. & Palmer, R. (2006), Skills Development and Poverty Reduction: The State of the Art, Post-basic Education and Training Work Paper Series – No. 9, Centre of African Studies< University of Edinburgh at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/ (accessed in October 2023)

(11) Carolyn Sansom at https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/insights/six-key-skills-for-turning-data-into-insight/ (accessed in November 2022)

(12) https://www.thoughtspot.com/data-trends/best-practices/data-storytelling (accessed in November 2024)

(13) https://elearning.adobe.com/2022/11/how-to-become-a-data-storyteller-key-skills-career-tips/ (accessed in November 2024)

(14) https://www.lazarinastoy.com/ultimate-guide-to-data-storytelling-for-marketing-and-data-consultants/ (accessed in November 2024)

(15) https://peopleresults.com/why-telling-a-story-matters-most-in-effective-communications/# (accessed in November 2024)

(16) https://www.progmaticinstitute.com/resources/articles/data/5-effective-communication-techniques-for-data-analysts/ (accessed in November 2024)

(17) https://www.ibm.com/topics/data-science (accessed in November 2024)

(18) https://www.cambridgehealth.edu/data-management/become-a-data-manager/what-are-data-management-skills/ (accessed in October 2023)

(19) https://www.coursera.org/gb/articles/what-is-data-science (accessed in November 2024)

 

_________

 

• 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.