Original source: Next Billion
As we mark World Refugee Day 2019 (June 20) and reflect on the fate of displaced communities all around the world, we are convinced, now more than ever, that cross-pollination of experience and expertise is the only way we will surmount the major challenge in front of us. Others increasingly seem to agree – last week the World Bank, European Investment Bank and Danish Confederation of Industry hosted a conference on the private sector’s role enabling refugees. This need for collaboration is precisely why USAID and Mastercard established the Smart Communities Coalition (SCC) last year. A network comprised of 35+ public and private organizations, the SCC seeks to demonstrate a new way of working, to show that companies, NGOs, governments and United Nations agencies can co-design and co-implement programs that empower people and enable growth. We chose to focus on energy access, connectivity and digital tools; all inadequately addressed by the humanitarian system but in today’s economy are as essential as food and shelter to people in need.
How did we go about it all?
Click here to read more.
