The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISFD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) successfully organized a special side event during the 78th UN General Assembly last week. The event ”Empowering Civil Society: Unleashing Innovation and SDG Finance through the Power of Community“ brought together 200+ participants, including civil society organizations (CSOs) and partners, to explore different ways of leveraging innovation and alternative financial mechanisms to empower CSOs that are addressing a range of critical development issues.
The event was attended by high-level representatives, including Haoliang Xu, the Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of UNDP, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, IsDB Vice President of Operations, and Ambassador Hameed Opeloyeru, OIC Permanent Observer to the UN, and Dr. Hiba Ahmed, Director General of the ISFD. Their inspirational and compelling opening remarks and statements underscored the significant role of civil society and the innovative tools available to strengthen organizations’ work on the ground.
At the heart of the event was a lively discussion, moderated by Syed Husain Quadri, Director, of the Resilience and Climate Action Department at IsDB, that highlighted the importance of innovative finance and cutting-edge technologies in advancing the work of CSOs. It featured key speakers: Edward Bitar, Founder and President of Live Love Lebanon, Nasser Diallo, Founder and CEO of Clinic+O, Chris Blauvelt, Co-founder and CEO of LaunchGood, Dorothee Unger-Lee, Head of Education and Inclusion at the Algorand Foundation, and Gina Lucarelli, Team Leader of UNDP Accelerator Labs.
The conversation centered on emphasizing the crucial role of the community in gaining a deep understanding of the challenges and creating solutions that fit the local context. Moreover, it brought attention to alternative funding mechanisms, like crowdfunding for CSO-led projects, and the use of cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain to educate grassroots changemakers in tackling global challenges. These insights underscored the necessity of consistently monitoring and embracing new solutions and technologies to address pressing challenges in our ever-changing world.
In addition, Dr. Robert Pasicko, NGO Empowerment Project Manager, UNDP RBEC, presented the impressive results of Tadamon’s program, four years into the initiative. He shared the progress and impact of contributing not only to civil society development but boosting critical sustainable development financing. As a result of the program, a total value of $2.2 million has been effectively raised by over 80 crowdfunding campaigns powered by CSOs to underpin impactful projects that have changed the lives of over 80,000 people in areas related to education, healthcare, disaster relief, and more. Additionally, 500 CSOs have been trained and have created a $14 million pipeline of innovative projects supporting the SDGs.
The event ended with an exploration of potential partnerships, priority issue areas to address such as climate and youth, and innovative mechanisms to tap into in the next phase of Tadamon in supporting CSOs on the frontline to further drive innovation in development and sustainable financing.
For more information, please see our Tadamon website or contact us via email: team@tadamon.community
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