The World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) jointly organized the Global Forum on Remittances (GFR) 2013. The forum was held from May 20 to 23, 2013 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. Over 400 delegates from the private sector, civil society, and policymakers from all over the globe participated in the forum.
The Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) was represented by its Chief Operations Officer, Ms. Emilenn Kate Sacdalan. SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises (GSE) Board of Directors, Ms. Cristina Liamzon and Ms. Leila Rispens-Noel were also part of the delegation. Ms. Rispens-Noel was a speaker on a panel discussion on the second day of the forum.
The GFR 2013 is the fourth in a series of international events dedicated to highlighting the importance of international migration and the resulting vital flow of remittances.[1] The main objective of the forum is to stimulate the debate on today’s market realities and tomorrow’s opportunities.[2] A common agenda for the Asia-Pacific remittance market is hoped to be created as a result of the forum discussion.
The first day of the forum focused on the principles behind remittances and development. Day 2, on the other hand, was about the discussion of market trends, innovations, and opportunities of the remittance markets. Financial literacy and investment models were discussed on the third day. And finally, the fourth day had breakout sessions about the scaling-up strategies for effective national remittance programmes for the Philippines and Nepal.
During the forum, Mr. Massimo Cirasino, Manager of the Financial Infrastructure Service Line and Head of the Payment Systems Development Group of the Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency (FPD) of the World Bank, expressed that remittances are becoming more present in the objectives of the government all over the world. The reason he mentioned is because remittances are usually the first financial services encountered by poor people, and therefore needs to have an enabling environment. This was supported by the statement of Ms. Hoonae Kim, the Director for Asia and the Pacific Division (APR) of IFAD. She conveyed the message that remittances is a significant source for increasing livelihood and creating a better future, specifically in rural areas.
At the end of the forum, the participants were introduced to the successes and challenges in making every money sent by migrants to their families count. The forum was concluded with the message of that empowering both the remittance senders and receivers and other remittance stakeholders can provide a pathways out of exclusion, and may lead to improvement in the quality of life of the people behind the remittances.