OVERVIEW
Originally planned to be an in-person event in Cape Town, the third annual Market Systems Symposium adapted & pivoted in response to COVID-19 so that participants could enjoy the rich dialoguing & networking MSS is known for in a safe, responsible, and socially-distant format. As a result, the Symposium was able to host its broadest participation yet, virtually convening 343 participants representing 80 different organizations and 61 distinct projects. MSS2020 Online shared impactful content and deep dialogues across a range of innovative & participative platforms, highlighting issues related to the pandemic & its impact on market systems development.
Highlights included:
-
Specialized sessions on COVID-19 & its implications for market systems development and our work
-
Discussions and debates with donors and practitioners
-
Collaborative co-creation sessions and deep-dive consultations with smaller groups of experts using smart collaboration technology to discuss and build strategies and approaches
-
Particular focus on 3 key themes within the context of COVID-19:
-
Resilience of Market Systems
-
Private Sector Engagement
-
Financial Market Systems
-
-
Access to voice & video recordings of thematic sessions
-
Online polls & surveys to feed into donor research areas and influence the industry
-
Individual highly-personalized profile on our exclusive online networking hub
-
Informal online happy hour networking sessions