The Microfinance Insights Annual Photo Contest 2009, “Global Shades of Development” has launched and we would like to invite entries from enthusiasts of microfinance, photography and social enterprise around the world.

The objective of the competition is to provide a fresh context to the subject of Microfinance – one that resonates with our increasingly diverse, global audience. Images transcend geographical and cultural boundaries, and we would like to use this medium to help our audience understand Microfinance better.

The winning photos will be displayed at Zenzi in Bandra, Mumbai, India, followed by a three-week long exhibition. The contest provides photographers with a great public forum in which to display their talent; gain valuable feedback from our judges; and, benefit from the satisfaction of having contributed to the social development sector.

The entries will be judged by a combination of readers’ votes and a panel that includes S. Paul, who has been called the Henry Cartier Bresson of India, and renowned social documentary photographer, Ken Light.

The contest, which is open to the general public, will be accepting entries until Sept. 31, 2009. Each participant is allowed to submit a maximum of 10 photographs and there is no participation fee. So, let your imagination flow and try to create a unique, unseen perspective for Microfinance Insights’ readers and judges!

For more information and submission of your entries, please visit our website www.microfinanceinsights.c

Hi All,

Please email Savinay Chandrasekhar at savinay@global.t-bird.edu if you are interested to go to Nepal to visit microfinance organization and recepient on August 23-29.

From: Savinay Chandrasekhar [mailto:savinay@global.t-bird.edu]

I apologize in advance for the unannounced email, but I found your names as chapter leads for Net Impact at Marshall, Stern, Stanford GSB, Haas, and Graziado. My name is Savinay Chandrasekhar and I’m an MBA student at Thunderbird School of Global Management (www.thunderbird.edu) with a strong interest in poverty reduction and global development.

As such, I was immensely excited to hear that Thunderbird was offering a field trip to Nepal for a course on microfinance taught by a Wharton professor, Dr F Gerard Adams. This trip will also involve meetings with global microfinance organizations (such as Grameen Bank), NGOs (such as Winrock), local banks (such as Bank of Kathmandu), government entities (such as Central Bank of Nepal), and of course, the actual end recipients of microfinance themselves, the villagers of Nepal.

The only problem is, as with many events such as this, we need to get more people interested in the trip for it to be financially viable. This should be easy if we promote this opportunity to as many people as possible with our shared interests, which is why I figured socially conscious students such as yourselves at other fantastic B-schools might be able to help get the word out.

The cost will be $1,500 for all ground expenses (food, accommodation, ground transportation), not inclusive of whatever airfare the participants incur to get to Kathmandu. In addition, visas can be purchased at Kathmandu airport itself for a small fee (it’s currently $30 for a single-entry visa, but there may be some minor service fees as well).

I’ve attached a document that has the basic information for the program. Please note that the dates are currently scheduled for 17-26 Aug on this document, but there’s a likelihood the trip will be delayed to 23-29 August. If any of your friends/classmates are interested, please have them let myself (savinay@global.thunderbird.edu) and Lisa Adams (lisa-adams@global.thunderbird.edu) know. In addition, if they have any questions, they can get in touch with Dr Jane Ives at ivesj@thunderbird.edu.

Thanks in advance for spreading the word!
Savinay

SCHEDULE:

Nepal.08.17.09.doc

Please note that events with speakers involved may not be able to be hosted in the location that people prefer in the poll above. This poll is more for networking events, where LAMN has greater flexibility to decide on the place. Thanks!