Dear Colleague,
As this July was the hottest month in Earth's recorded history, the recently released IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, which warns us of the drastic impacts of climate change, could not be more relevant. As humanity has joined forces over the past 1.5 years to fight COVID-19, the same energy, coordination, and cooperation must also be applied to the climate emergency, and ensuring that no one is left behind as we do so.
Our work in the decade ahead to tackle these multiple crises and build resilience must be innovative, agile, and inclusive. One such avenue that has gained traction in the wake of COVID-19 is that of basic income and social protection. Join UNDP this Thursday, 19 August for a Roundtable on Basic Income, featuring experts, from across the UN System, the World Bank and the IMF at the BIEN Congress 2021, to discuss perspectives on basic income as a form of protection for all people.
Curious on the role of data in addressing these complex challenges? Join the CoP on SDG Integration for Data Thursdays, beginning on 19 August.
Share your views or ask how this community can support you by sending a message to cop-poverty@undp.org.
Stay tuned,
Ricardo, Samantha, Rishi, and Renata
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UNDP Roundtable Event on Basic Income: Perspectives on Leaving No One Behind
UNDP EVENT - 19 AUGUST 2021 - REGISTER HERE
Please join UNDP for a Roundtable Event on Basic Income: Perspectives on Leaving No One Behind this coming Thursday, 19 August at 12:00pm-13:15pm (New York). Featuring speakers from ILO, UNIDO, UNESCO, the World Bank, the IMF, BIEN and UNDP (among others!), this event will offer perspectives and discussion from practitioners that lead this area of work, moderated by CoP Advisor Renata Rubian. This event is part of the 22nd Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) Congress. Register here!
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Integrating GBV Prevention into Livelihoods Programming: Learnings from Lebanon [Recording]
UNDP EVENT - 10 AUGUST 2021- WATCH HERE
In partnership with ABAAD and ACTED, UNDP hosted an interactive session on "Integrating GBV Prevention into Livelihoods Programming: Learnings from Lebanon." The first in a series of three webinars, the event discussed key lessons, challenges, and benefits of integrating evidence-based gender-based violence (GBV) prevention into economic empowerment projects. Speakers included Renata Rubian, Policy Advisor, Inclusive Growth/Cities & Urbanization, UNDP; Dr. Anik Gevers, Technical Lead for Integration Pilots of the UNDP Ending GBV and Achieving SDGs project; Sawsan Nourallah, National Gender Analyst, UNDP Lebanon; Joseph Nakhle, Project Manager, ACTED; and Gary Zeitounalian, Gender Program Technical Support / Senior Grants & Partnership Coordinator, ABAAD. Watch here.
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Data Thursdays: How to Use Data and Analytics to Solve 21st Century Challenges [CoP SDGi Series]
ONGOING SERIES - EVERY THURSDAY, STARTING 19 AUGUST - FIND MORE HERE
Accelerating and scaling impact towards the Sustainable Development Goals and anticipating and responding to complex development challenges requires actionable data and analytics. UNDP has to build not just new skills, like systems thinking, but a new culture: one that embraces complexity, actively manages risk, continually adapts, and seeks to learn alongside delivering results. Join the SDGi team every Thursday at 8.00 AM New York (3.00 PM Addis Ababa, 7.00 PM Bangkok) starting on 19 August for a 60-minute hands-on, applied learning session on data and analytics. The sessions, centered around four main themes, including: an Introduction to Data and Analytics at UNDP; Data Models; Survey Data; and Data Science and Applications, will explore challenges and best practices at country level and across the organization for working with data and analytics in both programmatic and operational areas. Learn more and find links to sessions (and past recordings) here.
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Paraguay: Participatory Employment Formalization Laboratory (LabMTESS)
COUNTRY OFFICE INITIATIVE- JULY 2021 - EXPLORE HERE
In Paraguay, some 64% of the economically active population works in the informal sector, with women, young adults, and people living in rural areas showing higher rates of informality than the national average. Thus, identifying and removing the barriers to employment formalization has become a top priority for the government as the country struggles to recover from COVID-19. To that aim, in July 2020, the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTESS), with the support of UNDP and the ILO, launched the Participatory Employment Formalization Laboratory’s (LabMTESS). The Lab uses a design-research methodology that consists of three phases: 1) discovery of barriers to employment formalization in specific value chains, 2) exploration of potential policy solutions, and 3) controlled experimentation with prototypes of interventions. Last April, the Lab completed the discovery phase of the research with a focus on the construction sector - findings indicate that informal workers in this sector are predominantly private and self-employed young adult men who lack higher education experience and social protection, with incomes on average up to 47% lower than those of formal workers in the construction sector. The Lab is now conducting the exploratory phase of the learning cycle. Learn more.
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Publications and Resources
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Humans in the Climate Crisis: UN Virtual Exhibit
VIRTUAL EXHIBIT - AUGUST 2021 - EXPLORE HERE
The recently released IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (August 2021) presented a sobering analysis of what scientists have been warning for decades: climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying, and that we are on a track to actualize the dangerous 1.5 degree global temperature increase by 2040. While the impacts of climate change will be felt in all realms of life and in all regions of the world, the human impact runs counter to sustainable development agendas and inherent human rights and should mobilize us all to action. In this UN Virtual Exhibition, stories of the human toll of climate change are highlighted, urging us to leverage the UN Climate Summit (COP 26) in November to act on the climate emergency for the future of all humanity. Explore the exhibit here.
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This is How Much Work is Left to Vaccinate the World Against COVID-19
WEF REPORT - AUGUST 2021 - READ HERE
Global inequality in COVID-19 vaccine availability is one of the largest threats to global recovery from the pandemic and the achievement of the SDGs. Using data from the Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity (a joint initiative by UNDP, WHO, and Oxford University), this blog post showcases an alarming gap between high-income nations, with vaccination rates above 50%, and low-income countries, with just about 1% of their populations vaccinated. Moreover, if assessed by region, Africa, Oceania, and Latin America lag far behind Asia, Europe, and North America. We need urgent action to accelerate vaccine supply in developing countries and ensure vaccine equity towards inclusive recovery. Read more.
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Five Things to Know about the Informal Economy
IMF BLOG POST - JULY 2021 - READ HERE
Globally, around 2 billion people (60% of all workforce) work in the informal economy (IE). Since most informal workers live in emerging and developing countries, it is extremely important to understand the key aspects of the IE, along with its broader implications. This short IMF blog post outlines five things you should know about the IE: 1) IE activities have market value, yet are not formally registered; 2) By its very nature, the IE is hard to measure; 3) Informal workers have endured the biggest losses in income and livelihoods from the COVID-19 pandemic; 4) Informality is closely related to economic growth, poverty and inequality; 5) A gradual approach to reducing informality is crucial as it is the only source of income and livelihoods for millions of people. Read more.
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Book Recommendation: Inequality in the Developing World
Carlos Gradín, Murray Leibbrandt, and Finn Tarp - MARCH 2021 - FIND MORE HERE
Persistent levels of high inequality pose a challenge to human development, the fulfillment of human rights, social cohesion, peace and security, and healthy economic growth. With this important book, leading development economists join the global discussion on the determinants, measures, and implications of inequality by focusing on the five largest developing countries—Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa. The volume presents a thorough assessment of critical distributive challenges ranging from high income concentration to gender gaps and social mobility. Access the book.
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Podcast Recommendation: Collective Thinking for the Common Good
THE NEW POSTNORMAL - JULY 2021 - LISTEN HERE
'Collective intelligence' refers to the enhanced capacity of people working together to mobilize a broader range of information, knowledge, and ideas, often through technology. In this podcast episode by The New Postnormal, Geoff Mulgan, Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London (UCL), explores the power of collective intelligence to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and recover better. Drawing on a recent UNDP publication on Collective Intelligence for Sustainable Development, Professor Mulgan outlines several key collective intelligence methods for public policy design and implementation. By bringing together people, data, and digital technologies, we can create innovative, powerful solutions to our complex development challenges. Listen here.
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UNDP's COVID-19 Adaptation and Response: IEO Reflections Series on Lessons from Evaluations
WEBINAR AND E-DISCUSSION - 26 AUGUST 2021 - LEARN MORE HERE
COVID-19 has required UNDP and many of its projects to ‘pivot’ to address the new and prominent issue of a global pandemic and its socio-economic consequences, especially on the most vulnerable. The pandemic has led many projects and agencies to be flexible and innovative in addressing this new challenge by assigning funds for COVID-19-related support or broadening target groups to include those impacted or to include new needs and those who have been impacted. This third "Keeping People Out of Poverty" related installment from the Independent Evaluation Office's Reflections Series presents an evaluation report on UNDP's COVID-19 adaptation and response, and invites you to participate in this lively e-discussion on the topic (moderated by CoP Advisors Renata Rubian and George Gray Molina). The webinar will be held at 8:00AM (New York) on 26 August, and the-discussion opens immediately after, running through 9 September 2021. Find the links to the report, webinar, and e-discussion here.
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Africa Kaizen Annual Conference (AKAC) 2021: Accelerating Industrialization and Trade in Africa
ONLINE EVENT - 24-25 AUGUST 2021 - REGISTER HERE
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), and the Government of the Union of Tanzania will host the 2021 the Africa Kaizen Annual Conference (AKAC). AKAC serves as a platform for stakeholders to expand their networks, share knowledge, and deepen their understanding of the Kaizen method of organizational transformation and improvement. This year's theme is rooted in advancing "Opportunities to Accelerate Industrialization and Trade in Africa: Streamlining Kaizen/QPI with Digital Technologies, Start-ups, SMEs Development and Home-Grown Economic Activities in Africa." Learn more about the Kaizen method and the conference here.
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Your CoP team would love to hear from you! Contact us at cop-poverty@undp.org to send feedback or share content and events to be featured in our CoP Communications.
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