IFAD's Innovation Day

The Indigenous Navigator was invited by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to attend its Innovation Day 2023. The theme of the day was "How to make innovation and impact investments work for the rural poor?" The Innovation Day is a forum that brings together high-level representatives and international experts from IFAD's Member States, the private sector, academia, research organizations, civil society, United Nations agencies and other multilateral organizations.

The Indigenous Navigator participated in the Innovation Day under the theme of "Innovating for well-being: exploring the latest indicators for Indigenous Peoples". The event was an opportunity to showcase the Indigenous Navigator as a framework and a set of tools for and by indigenous peoples to monitor their rights and well-being, and to share experiences and best practices with other partners working on indigenous issues - and in directing funding directly to Indigenous-led and identified projects.

The Indigenous Navigator participated in a panel discussion with representatives from the International Indigenous Women's Forum (FIMI), Tebtebba Foundation, Samburu Women's Trust, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the IFAD Indigenous Peoples team.

The panelists discussed the development of innovative indicators for measuring the well-being of indigenous peoples, based on their own perspectives and priorities. They also highlighted how the Indigenous Navigator can support Indigenous Peoples' empowerment, advocacy and efforts to assert their rights, as well as foster dialogue and collaboration with governments, development agencies and other stakeholders who wish to implement projects to support Indigenous Peoples' well being.

The panel was followed by a Q&A session with the audience, which included IFAD staff, private sector, researchers, civil society and media.

The IFAD Innovation Day 2023 was a valuable platform for the Indigenous Navigator to showcase its achievements and potential, as well as to learn from other innovative initiatives for advancing the rights and well-being of Indigenous Peoples - particularly IFAD's Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility. The Indigenous Navigator thanks IFAD for the invitation and looks forward to continuing the collaboration and partnership with IFAD.