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Message on the Launch of the International Year of Microcredit

Keynote Speakers

Speakers

Conference Content

Target Audience

Post Conference Microcredit Workshop

Message on the Launch of the International Year of Microcredit

Microfinance has proved its value, in many countries, as a weapon against poverty and hunger. It really can change peoples' lives for the better -- especially the lives of those who need it most.

A small loan, a savings account, an affordable way to send a pay-cheque home, can make all the difference to a poor or low-income family. With access to microfinance, they can earn more, build up assets, and better protect themselves against unexpected set-backs and losses. They can move beyond day-to-day survival towards planning for the future. They can invest in better nutrition, housing, health, and education for their children. In short, they can break the vicious circle of poverty.

If we are to reach the Millennium Development Goals, that is exactly the kind of progress we need to make.

Let us be clear: microfinance is not charity. It is a way to extend the same rights and services to low-income households that are available to everyone else. It is recognition that poor people are the solution, not the problem. It is a way to build on their ideas, energy, and vision. It is a way to grow productive enterprises, and so allow communities to prosper.

Where businesses cannot develop, countries cannot flourish. Let us use this International Year of Microcredit to put millions of families on the path to prosperity.

Kofi Annan
United Nations Secretary General

Keynote Speakers

We are delighted to announce the participation and contributions of the following distinguished Keynote Speakers:

Mr Gregory Casagrande
Mr John Hatch
Dr Michael Sherraden
Ms Catherine Snyers

Speakers

The Hon. Bruce Billson MP
Mr Gerard Brown
Mr Tim Costello
Dr David Cousins
Ms Colette McInerney
Mr Barclay O'Brien
Mr Tim O'Leary
Mr Gerhardt Pearson
Ms Cath Scarth

Conference Content

An innovative and dynamic Conference Program has been drafted with input and consultation from all key stakeholders in the development/microfinance sector in order to ensure that those issues of most relevance are addressed. Whilst the conference will focus on raising awareness amongst the corporate sector of the effectiveness and potential of Microfinance in reducing poverty, a wide range of more specific issues regarding Microfinance will also be addressed to ensure those already working in the field also derive full benefit from attendance.

All sessions will be facilitated by individuals who are leaders in their field. Conference topics these experts will address include:

The Potential of Microfinance to Help Reach the Millennium Development Goals

Microfinance in the Australian Aid Program

Inclusive Financial Services – Making them Work in the Pacific

Microfinance: Policies, Regulations and Systems which Promote Sustainable Financial Services

Microfinance: Building a Sustainable Microfinance Sector

Microfinance and its Potential for Empowerment of Indigenous Australians

Financial Inclusion Initiatives and the Formal Banking Sector – Developing Effective Linkages

Assets, Poverty and Public Policy

Building Microfinance Programs in France - The Success Factors

Microfinance – Building Strong Communities

Bridging the Gap: Forging Partnerships between Businesses and NGOs

Target Audience

Whilst it is envisaged that the Conference will attract interest across a wide range of social sectors, the core group of delegates will be drawn from the following sectors:

Corporate Sector

Financial institutions such as banks, credit societies and investment funds as well as corporates working outside the financial sector.

Development/Aid Sector

Professionals working for NGOs in the development and aid sectors both in Australia and abroad.

Academia

Academics in the development, economics and international studies fields.

Government

The conference will also provide a professional development opportunity for federal, state and local government employees working in the fields of development, aid and welfare.

The Hon. Bruce Billson MP

Federal Member for Dunkley

Parliamentary Secretary (Foreign Affairs)

Parliamentary Secretary (Immigration, Multicultural & Indigenous Affairs)

Mr Gerard Brown

Group General Manager, Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations, ANZ Bank
Gerard Brown is Group General Manager, Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations. His team includes the Group functions of Investor Relations, Media Relations, Communications, Community Relations, Government and Regulatory Affairs and Environment and Sustainability. Previous positions held by Gerard at ANZ include Head of the Office of the CEO and General Manager of Government and Regulatory Affairs. Gerard joined ANZ in 1999 from the Allen Consulting Group, a public policy, regulatory economics and external affairs management consulting firm, where he was a Principal.

Gerard holds a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Letters in history. He is a Director of the Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman and the Consumer Law Centre of Victoria.

Mr Gregory Casagrande

President, South Pacific Business Development Foundation, Apia, Samoa
Gregory Casagrande is an Advisor for the International Year of Microcredit 2005. He is the President of the South Pacific Business Development Foundation (SPBD), an organization he launched in the remote island nation of Samoa in January 2000. He has led SPBD, a Grameen Bank style microfinance organization, to become the largest and first successful microfinance institution in the region. SPBD has helped hundreds of poor Samoans launch or significantly expand a wide variety of small businesses. These businesses are all based around existing livelihood skills. They are businesses which the poor implicitly understand and at which they can succeed. Gregory also serves on the board of PlaNet Finance and the The Prague Institute. He has a BA from Colgate University, an MS from New York University and an MBA from the Kellogg School and is also a CPA.

Mr Tim Costello

Chief Executive of World Vision Australia
Tim Costello has long been the public face of social conscience for Australians having led many debates on tough domestic issues, including gambling, urban poverty, homelessness, reconciliation and substance abuse.

His career commenced by studying law and education at Monash University, theology at the International Baptist Seminary, Rueschlikon in Switzerland then obtaining his Masters in Theology at the Melbourne College of Divinity. After being ordained a Baptist Minister in 1986, Tim established a vibrant and socially active ministry at the St Kilda Baptist Church between 1986 and 1994 and demonstrated his commitment to serving the community, running successfully for Mayor of St Kilda in 1993. From 1995 to 2004, Mr Costello held the dual position of Minister, Collins Street Baptist Church and Executive Director of Urban Seed, a Christian not-for-profit outreach service for the urban poor. In addition between 1999 -2002 he was National President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Undeterred by the government's dependence on gambling revenue, Mr Costello assumed the role of spokesperson for the Interchurch Gambling Taskforce for nine years and was also a member of the National Advisory Body on Gambling.

In late February 2004, Mr Costello took on the huge challenge of running Australia's largest overseas aid organisation, World Vision, having been drawn to the organisation's philosophy of helping the poorest of the poor. Within months of his appointment, Tim had travelled to Cambodia, Myanmar, Zimbabee, Uganda, and Sudan where in Darfur he experienced first name the overwhelming humanitarian disaster, which saw historic ethnic tensions erupt into violence resulting in countless deaths. He described Darfur as another world with tens of thousands of people struggling to survive on very limited food, water and sanitation. Again, after the Asian Tsunami Boxing Day 2004, Tim responded instantly by travelling to the disaster area - his presence and media profile adding significant weight to the WV appeal which ultimately raised more than 80 million dollars.

In July 2004, Mr Costello was named 2004 Victorian of the Year in recognition of his years of Public and Community Service. Mr Costello is currently Chairman of the National Australia Bank external Stakeholder forum, a member of the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation and a member of the National Aid Advisory Council.

Tim has written several books including: Streets of Hope: Finding God in St Kilda; Tips from a Travelling Soul Searcher and Wanna Bet? Winners and Losers in Gambling's Luck Myth, which was co-written by Royce Millar.

Mr Costello and his wife of 25 years, Merridie have three adult children, Claire, Elliot and Martin.

Dr David Cousins

Director, Consumer Affairs Victoria
Dr David Cousins was appointed Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria and Executive Director Consumer Affairs, Department of Justice in June 2002.

Prior to joining the Department of Justice he was a Commissioner with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and before that a Director with KPMG Consultancy. From 1989 to 1995 he was a Member of the Prices Surveillance Authority (PSA). He was Chairman of the PSA from 1992 to 1995 when it merged with the Trade Practices Commission to form the ACCC.

David completed his PhD at Manchester University in the UK and Economics degrees at Monash University. He has had an active involvement in consumer and competition policy through university research and teaching, consulting and public administration for over 20 years.

Mr John Hatch

Founder, FINCA International
John Hatch is the founder of the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), one of the world's largest microfinance networks, operating throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. FINCA is the pioneer of the village banking method of microfinance, a method that has been adopted by over 400 organizations worldwide. The village banking method was conceived in 1984 by John Hatch, a Fulbright-trained economist and international development expert, as a radically different approach to poverty alleviation: a financial services program that puts the poor in charge. The village banking method gives the poor the opportunity to obtain loans without collateral at affordable interest rates, and provides them with the power to collectively disburse, invest and collect loan capital. To date, FINCA has benefited over 1 million families across 24 countries, creating 1.3 million self-employment jobs and $336 million in additional family income .

Mr Tim O'Leary

General Manager, Corporate Affairs, National Australia Bank
Tim O'Leary holds an Honours Degree in Arts and a postgraduate qualification in Philosophy (Ethics) from the University of Melbourne. Mr O'Leary joined Mobil Oil Australia as a graduate trainee in 1987 and progressed through a range of management roles in public affairs, government relations, industrial relations and human resources during 12 years in the oil industry. In 1999 Mr O'Leary joined the National Australia Bank as Head of Global Communications for the Products & Services Division. Mr O'Leary was appointed Head of Communications and Change Management for the Shared Services Division in 2001 before assuming his current role as General Manager, Corporate Affairs for the National's Australian business.

Ms Colette McInerney

Microfiance Manager, Good Shepherd Family and Community Services
Ms McInerney has 20 plus years experience in the credit union and retail banking sector in Australia and overseas. From 1995 - 2000 Ms McInerney was project manager on an innovative project called CreditCare. This project assisted rural, remote and Indigenous communities to gain access to basic financial services. Ms McInerney's career highlight during this time was the development and implementation of Australia's first national Indigenous credit union - First Nations Credit Union.

Following this Ms McInerney worked for the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) on the sustainable development of credit unions in the Republic of Georgia and Laos. Ms McInerney has also worked for local government on community building projects across the seven shires of Gippsland in Victoria.

Ms McInerney is currently Microfinance Manager at Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service. Microfinance services include: No Interest Loans Schemes (NILS®), Victorian NILS® Network coordination, National NILS® Network coordination, Good Shepherd Buying Service, Step Up loan (low interest loan in partnership with National Australia Bank), and Better Energy Appliance Loan (no interest loan in partnership with Origin Energy).

Mr Barclay O'Brien

Opportunity International
Mr Clay O'Brien works for Opportunity International (OI), a global microfinance provider.
Mr O'Brien raises debt, equity and donor funding for the network's Microfinance Institutions and also advises on acquisitions and investment funds set up by OI. Previously, Mr O'Brien managed OI's pilot project to bring microfinance to Indigenous Australian entrepreneurs.

Mr O'Brien is Chairman of the National Committee for the UN Year of Microcredit.

From 1988 to 2002, Mr O'Brien was employed by the ING Group, for the last three years as Managing Director of ING Barings Australia. Whilst at ING, he was involved in a broad range of transactions covering all aspects of corporate finance including: mergers and acquisitions; demergers; public company takeover bids; valuations; equity and debt issues; and asset sales.

Prior to joining ING, Me O'Brien was with Samuel Montagu (now HSBC) in London for two years. Mr O'Brien started his career as an attorney and worked for four years with Allen Allen & Hemsley in both Sydney and Singapore.

Mr O'Brien holds the degrees of Master of Economics (Macquarie University) and Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Sydney.

Mr Gerhardt Pearson

Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation
Gerhardt Pearson who is currently CEO of Balkanu CYC is a Bama Bagaarrmugu man from Cape York. Mr Pearson began his career in community administration as a Council Clerk both for Hope Vale and Pormpuraaw communities. In 1998 he formed the Aboriginal Council Clerk's Association, representing the fourteen Council Clerks. He was the first Indigenous person within the fourteen Cape York community councils to become Community Executive Manager replacing the State Government's Executive Officer.

Mr Pearson has been actively involved in Cape York at a State and National level including a six years as the ATSIC Commissioner for the Far North West Zone.

Mr Pearson serves on a wide range of committees and Boards in relation to Education, Social Welfare, Economic Development, Training, Housing and Infrastructure, and Communications. He is also currently Chairman of the Indigenous Stock Exchange and NAILSMA.

Ms Cath Scarth

General manager of Community Services, Brotherhood of St Laurence
With a background in employment and training development in the UK, Ms Scarth has worked at the Brotherhood of St Laurence since 1993, during which time she has managed a number of community services and developed various innovative programs.

Among Ms Scarths achievements at the BSL, there has been the development of a number of micro credit initiatives including a business loans scheme in partnership with Kangan Batman TAFE and the Fitzroy Carlton Credit Co-op, a personal loan program with Bendigo Bank which built on the Brotherhood's successful delivery of a no interest loans program, and more recently the exciting partnership with ANZ to bring the first matched savings program to Australia.

The current role of General Manager includes providing strategic direction and leadership for the BSL as part of the Executive team and ensuring the effective operational management of a broad range of community services from early childhood, young people, public tenants, refugees and asylum seekers. Catherine is currently a member of a Victorian Government enquiry in to Energy Hardship.

Dr Michael Sherraden

Professor of Social Development, and Director of the Centre for Social Development, Washington University, USA
Michael Sherraden founded the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University. In his role as Director of CSD, Michael works on creating, implementing, and studying policy and community innovations, focusing on the least advantaged, and drawing lessons from historical and international examples. Michael is the author of 'Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy', a book that mandated a paradigm shift to measuring poverty using assets as well as income. Michael developed the Individual Development Accounts (IDA), a matched savings account intended to promote home-ownership, post-secondary education or training, business ownership or other approved asset uses. It is estimated by the Corporation for Enterprise Development that IDA programs exist in 500 communities throughout the United States alone. Michael has served as an adviser and consultant to the White House, Department of Treasury, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Health and Human Services, Progressive Policy Institute, Carnegie Council, and other organizations. He is a recipient of the Flynn Prize, given to "a scholar who has connected social work research to other fields or new contexts, creating demonstrable change in social well-being." Michael's work has been funded by many foundations and government agencies, including the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, CS Mott Foundation, German Marshall Fund of the United States, and National Science Foundation.

Ms Catherine Snyers

The Association for the Right to Economic Initiative
Catherine Snyers Bresolin is a MBA graduate and has worked 18 years for financial institutions such as Citigroup, General Electric and BNP-Paribas, both in France and in the UK. Ms Snyers started her career as a relationship manager for large corporations developing tailor-made products for debt financing, such as swaps, options. She then moved to mergers and acquisitions where she continued on managing top executive relationships. She specialised in the utilities and oil and gas sector, advising on both valuation and negotiation mandates.

As a director of Development and Training for Paribas, she developed and run in-house Development and Training programmes.

In 2000, Catherine Snyers created her own strategy and management development business, and has been a consultant or a management educator with a number of firms in Europe and Africa. In 2001, she joined Adie first as a volunteer Human resources consultant, and then as a Human Resources Director. She contributed to the implementation of new management structure and business processes through a global change and training programme.

Post Conference Microcredit Workshop

Proudly Sponsored by National Australia Bank

Wednesday, 31 August 2005
09:00 - 17:00

Facilitator: John Hatch, Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA)

John Hatch will facilitate this full day workshop covering a variety of Microcredit topics.

The topics include:

Poverty and its Cure

Today’s Microcredit Movement

Village Banking

Program Methodology and Financing

Program Administration and Governance

Technical Assistance, Training and Crisis Management

Mission Compliance

Looking to the Future

We encourage you to book early as places for this workshop are limited.

Click Here to Register