TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2014 /CNW/ - Toronto International Microfinance Summit announced today that Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, KCMG, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC, the global grassroots organization winning the fight against poverty, will open its 2014 Summit. Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010, Sir Abed was ranked #32 of Fortune magazine's World's 50 Greatest Leaders in 2014. Global trailblazers, Rupert Scofield, Co-founder, President and CEO of FINCA International and Marilyn Fitzgerald, PhD, author of If I Had a Water Buffalo (with Forward by Nobel Peace Laureate, Muhammad Yunus, PhD) will provide additional keynotes to frame the day.
Microfinance for Social Justice
How Can Microfinance Lead the Way?
DATE: Saturday, October 4, 2014
TIME: 8:00 am Registration & micromarketplace open;
9:00 am - 5:30 pm Program; Reception follows
PLACE: Allstream Centre, 105 Princes' Blvd (Exhibition Place, Toronto)
TICKETS: $100 Early Bird (until Sept 22), $125 Regular
Canada's Premier Microfinance Event is sponsored by Oikocredit Canada-Central, Alterna Savings and JVL Global Corp, with The MasterCard Foundation providing financial assistance for 100 students to attend. Breakout panel sessions include:
"This year we examine social justice through a microfinance lens," said Dr. Carol Golench, President of Toronto International Microfinance Summit. "We ask how microfinance can break through social and economic barriers, leading the way to social justice and a new generation of job creators."
According to influential political philosopher, John Rawls, social justice is the "ability people have to realize their potential in the society where they live" (Theory of Justice, 1971).
"Poor people are not the problem. They are the solution," stated Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, BRAC founder. "When you create the right conditions, poor people will do the hard work of defeating poverty themselves."
How can microfinance – financial services, capital and a "hand up"- bring social justice? Can it bring the building blocks - security, clean water, food, housing, sanitation, education, healthcare and decent work? Participants decide during an interactive day spent with development professionals and social finance innovators who fight poverty at home and overseas.
There's more Q&A and expert speakers including: Susan Davis, BRAC USA, Chafika Eddine, Hudbay Minerals; Jessie Greene, Développement International Desjardins (DID), Susan Henry, Alterna Savings; Richard Librock, Oikocredit International; Kerry Max, MEDA; and Lawrence Wright, LaunchDetroit.
Isadore Day, Chief of Serpent River First Nation, updates us on the 2013 call for a National Microfinance Strategy for on- and off-reserve Aboriginal Peoples with support from 3 levels of government.
Everyone is welcome. Join microfinance, development and business leaders, social innovators, government officials, politicians, entrepreneurs, academics, students, the media and anyone with an interest in entrepreneurship, social and economic innovation, sustainable development, poverty reduction and social justice.
Follow the Summit @microfinanceTO. Join the conversation at #tims14. Visit the micromarketplace. Watch the microwalk video and post to microbookclub blog www.torontomicrofinancebookclub.com
For TICKETS: www.microfinanceconference.ca or www.bit.ly/1opvsBx
Our thanks to CNW Group for sponsoring this announcement.
Boilerplate
Toronto International Microfinance Summit is Canada's premier event focusing on domestic and international microfinance. Founded in 2009 and incorporated as a nonprofit in 2011, the organization was inspired by the Rotarian Action Group for Microfinance and Community Development (RAGM) and Rotary District 7070 Microfinance Committee. The Summit's signature Conference (Gala and Course) are run entirely by volunteers of diverse backgrounds and ages. Our vision is a world without poverty through microfinance. Our mission is to hold an annual event that: educates our community on microfinance as a poverty reduction tool; brings diverse people together for dialogue and action; and raises profile and/or funds for those making an impact. The 2014 theme is Microfinance for Social Justice. www.microfinanceconference.ca
Video with caption: "Video: Take a microwalk with Toronto International Microfinance Summit from man in the streets of Toronto to women in the developing world, and back.". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JvSV51rlE4
Image with caption: "Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, KCMG, Founder & Chairperson of BRAC, the world's largest NGO, opens the Oct 4 Summit with keynote entitled "Microfinance Multiplied". (CNW Group/Toronto International Microfinance Summit)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140926_C2128_PHOTO_EN_6082.jpg
Image with caption: "Toronto International Microfinance Summit (CNW Group/Toronto International Microfinance Summit)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140926_C2128_PHOTO_EN_6048.jpg
SOURCE: Toronto International Microfinance Summit
and press passes, contact: Wendy Bodnoff, Marketing, Media & Public Relations, 905 334 3660, [email protected]
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