Pablo pointed me to this event, which will be held tomorrow in DC:

Top Down, Bottom Up: Searching for New Ways of Financing Development

August 23, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

The Center for Global Development. 3rd Floor, 1776 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC

The funding of international development efforts is all too frequently inefficient and ineffective.  Donors operate in a fragmented system with disparate worldviews and methods, while corruption and capital flight siphon resources away from those that need them most.  Are there better ways of financing social development programs? And can innovative financing structures better allocate development resources to where they are most useful and most needed?

Addressing these issues will be Arthur Wood, who directs the Social Financial Services program at Ashoka.  Mr. Wood has had over 20 years of experience in the finance sector, having held a number of senior positions in product development, change management, sales, and strategic marketing.

RSVP to developmentseries@ypfp.org

The Inter American Development Bank (IADB) recently hosted a video competition called "The Faces of Exclusion." The purpose of this competition was to expand beyond traditional research techniques in socio-economics; the IADB was particularly looking for documentary films that stimulate reflection on social issues. All IADB member countries were invited to participate.

The winner was announced earlier this month, and is a very compelling video on the Prestes Maia building in São Paulo, Brazil, here's the video:

Prestes Maia, a 22 story abandoned building in deplorable conditions in São Paulo was the shelter of roaches and rats. Since 2002, it has been occupied by hundreds of homeless families when they united and formed the Downtown Roofless Movement (Movimento Sem Teto do Centro or MSTC) of São Paulo.

The government of São Paulo and other authorities are pressing for an eviction of the homeless people in Prestes Maia and this is causing intense controversy. Amnesty International says

According to estimates by the UN Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 10,000 people sleep rough on the streets of São Paulo. The city has a chronic shortage of housing for low-income families, who are often forced to live in the shanty towns on the outskirts. With the help of local NGOs, these families have begun squatting empty buildings. This has led to a series of violent evictions, carried out by the riot police using batons, CS gas, pepper sprays and rubber bullets. In August 2005, 79 families occupying a five-storey building on Rua Plínio Ramos, in the centre of town, were
confronted by riot police. During the eviction, the police ordered all women and small children to leave, and then entered the building and beat several of the men and boys, some as young as 14. This was one of five evictions carried out by the municipal government during 2005, some of which involved riot police and use of excessive force.

Continue by clicking the "read more" link below

 

After reestablishing New Ventures Mexico as its own independent organization, growing the program to incorporate a broader range of enterprise development services and creating a flashy new site worthy of a Webby (in our opinion), we at New Ventures global would have thought country director Rodrigo Villar could finally rest on his accomplishments. Apparently, we were wrong - building off a highly successful year for the Mexico team, it was announced recently that Rodrigo has been awarded as one of the newest class of Ashoka fellows.

Ashoka describes its fellows as being "social entrepreneurs who we recognize to have innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society. They demonstrate unrivaled commitment to bold new ideas and prove that compassion, creativity, and collaboration are tremendous forces for change." These words are an apt description for Rodrigo, who has worked relentlessly over the past four years to pioneer a new model of sustainable enterprise development in the region. The project for which Rodrigo was selected is a new "Green Pages," a sustainable products and services guide that will be a clearinghouse of information for new generations of green consumers in Mexico. Rodrigo noted the crucial timing of this project: "The idea now is to feed growing demand for sustainable lifestyles by providing easy access for consumers to this new class of products in a massive way."

The five new fellows in Mexico were announced at an induction ceremony last week, and the group had a chance to mingle with other Ashoka members at an event celebrating the organization's 20 years operating in the country. Congratulations to Rodrigo on this new partnership, it is a major milestone in a career of promoting sustainable enterprise growth in Mexico - just one achievement of many more to come.