Press conference on ‘women, development and microcredit’

 

The worlds of fashion and international development come together this evening to pay tribute to 11 women whose efforts had made them symbols, icons and examples to the women of the world.

Briefing correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this morning was William Martin, of Women Together, the foundation hosting this evening’s event entitled, “Women, Development and Microcredit:  A Step Forward, the Millennium Development Goals”.  Joining Mr. Martin were Ela Bhatt, President of Sewa Bank, India; and Benjamin Atienza of the Astroc Foundation, Spain.

The Together Awards will be presented to the following women for their outstanding commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, and in recognition of their work for humanitarian causes:  Queen Rania of Jordan; United States Senator Hillary Clinton; Ela Bhatt; Consuelo Ciscar, Managing Director of the government of Valencia’s Cultural and Artistic Programme; Actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie; United States lawyer and human rights activist Kerry Kennedy; fashion model Karolina Kurkova; Cristina Macaya, President of the Spanish Red Cross; Brazilian writer and journalist Nélida Piñon; and Latin pop artist Shakira.  Two institutions -- Finca International and Porcelanosa -- had also been chosen for their commitment to the Millennium Goals.

The awards ceremony will be followed by a fashion for development show, featuring the works of designers who had helped make microcredit an effective tool for development in their respective countries.  The participating designers included Augustina Alcorta, Uruguay; Otto Pachay, Ecuador; Bibi Russell, Bangladesh; Nandita Basu, India; Giuliana Testino, Peru; Helen Breebaart, Panama; Amelia Toro, Colombia; Cristina Pineda Covalin, Mexico; Community of Designers from Savador de Bahia, Brazil; and Ines Cerezo, Inma Corroto, Morocco.

The microcredit system, said Mr. Martin, had been proven as a successful way to eradicate poverty.  More than 80 per cent of the beneficiaries of microcredit were women.  It was important that the products resulting from microcredit enterprises be sold in markets, and those markets were in the developed world.  The fashion show made it possible to get to know some of the producers and their products.  It had been shown that the rate of payback of credit for microcredit institutions was nearly 100 per cent, which had astounded regular banks, whose rate of non-payment was very high.

Ms. Bhatt, who started out as a worker in India’s textile industry before founding Sewa Bank -- the world’s first microcredit organization providing small loans to women -- noted that the majority of those working in the informal sector were women.  Sewa Bank not only provided credit, but also provided insurance, social security and other services such as shelter finance.  The microcredit movement was about organizing women and helping them come out of poverty on their own.  In addition to finances, they also needed access to markets and tools, such as information and technology.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record