ADFIAP, represented by the Group Head of ADFIAP Consulting (AC), Ms. Cora Conde, was a speaker at the EU SWITCH-Southeast-Asia networking meeting in Bangkok, Thailand held from November 13-15, 2012. Ms. Conde presented the topic, “Financing Options for Sustainable Tourism” during the thematic workshop 4 on “Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) and Finance” with the tourism sector as case study. The 2½- day international event gathered 160 participants representing project beneficiaries of the SWITCH-Asia programme from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, including representatives from the European Union and EU Delegations in Asia, representatives of the regional policy support component and other SWITCH-Asia stakeholders.
The networking meeting is an annual event of the SWITCH Asia Network Facility to bring together all EU-funded SWITCH-Asia projects to share knowledge and experiences about the sustainability of results achieved, communication and visibility of achievements, enabling replication of successful results, and stimulating wider policy uptake. The meeting also serves as platform for generating ideas on the design of present and future programs and building working relationships and friendships amongst the various project stakeholders.
The highlight of this year’s networking meeting was the introduction of the seventeen (17) Batch 3 projects with strong emphasis on strengthening project synergies with current projects and sharing of tools and methodologies existing within the SWITCH-Asia programme through the “Big Bazaar” interactive session where participants shared and traded services and agreed on concrete ways to collaborate. For example, SMART Cebu’s offer to provide SMEs Access to Finance services through ADFIAP matched with requests from China, Laos and Vietnam projects that needed financial access approaches for MSMEs. The event also focused on linking with the SWITCH-Asia policy support components and facilitating exchange of ideas and contacts with national policy makers.
There are 47 projects being implemented under the SWITCH-Asia programme in 16 out of the 19 eligible countries in Asia. The Philippines is a beneficiary of five (5) projects, namely: SMEs for environmental Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency (SMART-Cebu), Creating Green Philippines Islands of Sustainability, Zero Carbon Resorts, Lead Paint Elimination (together with Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam) and Establishment of the ASEAN Energy Manager Accreditation Scheme (together with Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam).ADFIAP is a partner in the SMART-Cebu project which aims to increase the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the gifts, toys and housewares, fashion accessories and furnitures and furnishings sectors in Cebu in southern Philippines by implementing and marketing cleaner production in compliance with SCP standards.
ADFIAP’s participation in the event was on the invitation of Mr. Frans Verspeek, Team Leader, SWITCH-Asia Network Facility, on behalf of the European Union and Europe Aid Development and Cooperation Directorate General. For more information on the SWITCH-Asia Programme, please visit www.switch-asia.eu .