Livelihoods Asia Summit 2015 was being held on December 10 and 11 in New Delhi, India. The Summit sessions were on topics like skill development, impacts of climate change on livelihoods, inclusive value chains, policy innovations, and private sector partnerships, among the approaches that offer a pathway out of poverty. The summit has more than a hundred delegates working as sector specialists, practitioners, and advocates in the livelihood sector. Panel sessions and other live events are great — especially the Q&A &, which ranges from absurd to tricky.
There was a focus on policies, programs, private players, and potential in the poor during the sessions. There was emphasis by panelists to think of poverty as a dynamic and multidimensional phenomenon. There were numerous policy-level talks on SHG and FPO, but the dialogues on the next generation of institutions were lacking at the summit. The summit also ignored rights-based approaches to livelihood development, while a strong body of literature exists showing the correlation between empowerment and economic productivity.
There are two schools of thought emerging in the usage of the poverty alleviation fund. One views the establishment of the community institution through participation of the civil society organizations, while others pitch for direct benefit transfers to the beneficiaries. A government official from the Rural Development Ministry pointed to the success of universal primary education and connectivity to rural areas through PMGSY. The welcome part was an eye-opening session on the impact of climate change on the livelihood of the ultra-poor. Experts suggested that people need risk transfers and insurance protection for livelihood recovery post-disaster.
I enjoyed much of the time at the summit. As much as I got out of the conference, I know there is still more to learn and more to share. Yet, I have always wondered about these summits where every leader talks about what needs to be done! But they are the ones who should be doing it! Underlying message of the summit - No one organization can eradicate hunger and reduce poverty alone; only in partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders can all of us achieve the goals.