- March Newsletter -

"Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human
rights challenge in our world."
United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres

This month we celebrated an International Women's Day that was perhaps the most high profile in our history. In the UK we await the release of companies' gender pay gap data. A historic referendum has been announced for women's rights in Ireland. Meanwhile, there is a background context in many countries that cannot be ignored - the #MeToo campaign has empowered women to speak out and have their stories about sexual harassment and assault heard. What feels different in March 2018 is it seems like there might be consequences, for the first time.

We are dedicating this newsletter to the theme of gender inequality.

This newsletter is where you will find dedicated resources, community  events, and training all about social value - so read on.

*Don't forget! Please don't miss this important note from us*

You'll know that GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) was adopted by the European Commission on 27 April 2016 and is enforced from 25 May 2018. If you would like to keep receiving our newsletter (we hope you do) then please give us your consent to send you future newsletters by clicking through to the link below. 

News from Social Value International

Q&A: Khulood Hindiyeh becomes the first Accredited SROI Practitioner in Jordan

Social Value International are delighted to announce that Khulood Hindiyeh has become the first ever Accredited Practitioner in Jordan. To celebrate Khulood’s success we did a Q&A with Khulood about this exciting new stage in her career. Read the full article.

Sinzer supports new tool for arts and culture organisations to measure impact - the Europeana Impact Playbook

Europeana, the network for the cultural heritage sector in Europe, has launched it's 'Impact Playbook', a step by step guide to help Museums, Libraries and Archives define and assess their impact. Social Value International members, Sinzer supported Europeana on their initial impact journey and the development of the Playbook. 

The aim was to help organisations in the cultural heritage sector - such as museums, libraries and archives - to articulate their motivations for impact and show them a way to conduct an impact assessment. 

The Understanding and use of the Social Value Principles 2018 survey is now open

At Social Value International we are calling for a change across all sectors. It is a long established practice that organisations think only in terms of the financial value they create. We want to introduce the inclusion of the 'social' value organisations and individuals create.

We believe that widening the definition of value from the traditional understanding of value as simply monetary worth, to include social value, will vastly improve decision making, reducing inequality and damage to the environment.

Social Value International members, with representation across all sectors, use the Social Value Principles in order to account for, measure and maximise the social value they create. 

We are conducting our annual survey in order to learn about how the Social Value Principles are used in practice. This is so that we can gain an understanding of where we can better support organisations to record their social value, interpret the results and make decisions that truly take into account their impact on society and the environment.

We are reading...​

Kurdish women call on women around the world to come together to build a radical movement for women's liberation. An article in the India Development Review about the need for greater diversity in the social sector in India from the communities it seeks to serve. How micro-finance empowers Kenyan women with small loans. And an opposing view of micro-finance in the Guardian arguing that small loans add to poverty and undermine people by saddling them with unsustainable debt.  The Microfinance Foundation have an interesting FAQ page to explain how they work. Steps in the right direction for women in Saudi Arabia as Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Says Women Are 'Absolutely' Equal to Men. The New York Times wants to make amends for their part in writing women out of history, because since 1851, their obituaries section has been dominated by white men. Now, they are adding the stories of remarkable women. Journalist and broadcaster Afua Hirsch has published a book 'Brit(ish)' about race, identity and life as a black woman in Britain.

Social Value Bulletin

Jeremy Nicholls will be speaking at a three-day executive program:
How to use public funds to attract private investment for high-impact enterprises addressing the SDGs.

When
29 - 31 August 2018

Where
University of Zurich, Switzerland
Programme details here

**Early bird discount available until 30 April**
To register contact Christina Moehrle at cmoehrle@roots-of-impact.org

Events we recommend

And finally

If you have any feedback, would like to suggest a theme or have something to contribute to a future newsletter, please don't hesitate to email Lucy.