New message from Secretary General Kofi Annan on Microfinance quicktime / windows media player
	The Year of ... Microcredit? Listen to this story. The United Nations has proclaimed 2005 the Year of Microcredit. What is microcredit, you ask? Marketplace's Alisa Roth tells us. Also, will the Year of Microcredit could be another flash-in-the-pan theme for the UN - like the Year of Eco-Tourism or the Year for Mountains? Commentator Matthew Bishop says Microcredit is a different story. He says it's an idea whose time has come.
	Microfinance in the Philippines documentary
	Microfinance: In Their Own Voices is a film short produced for the International Year of Microcredit that presents real, personal stories of microfinance clients from different parts of the world, including Kenya, India and the Philippines. The film, directed and produced by Sterling Van Wagenen, is a good introduction to microfinance and the positive impact it has on people's lives. Click here to purchase.
	Click below to view a public service video by Michael Douglas quicktime / windows media player (English)
	Click below to view a public service video by singer Anggun quicktime / windows media player (English) quicktime / windows media player (French) quicktime / windows media player (Indonesian)
	Click below to view a public service video by singer Karina quicktime / windows media player (English) quicktime / windows media player (Spanish)
	Click below to view a public service video by Aishwarya Rai quicktime / windows media player (English) quicktime / windows media player (Hindi)
	Click below to view a public service video by Souad Massi quicktime / windows media player (French) quicktime / windows media player (Arabic)
	WEEK 7 to 17 MARCH 2005 - 15 minutes Regard sur le Monde: Microcredit in NY http://www.un.org/french/audiovis/radio/regard.htm
	MONDAY 7 MARCH 2005 - 4 minute feature: Portait of Souad Massi, singer and Microcrédit Ambassador http://www.un.org/french/audiovis/radio/latenews.htm

The Microfinance Distance Learning Course, written by Heather Clark, emphasizes sustainability – how to lend small sums of money to micro-entrepreneurs in a manner that ensures the long-term viability of the institution. The course brings together advice and best practices from successful practitioners and institutions around the world, from Latin America to Africa to Asia.

Though microcredit and microfinance continue to change and develop, this online interactive tool can provide you with some of the fundamentals from the comfort of your home or office. Rather than an academic course, this program is practical and hands-on and allows you to interact with clients, analyze the local environment, and evaluate products and their prices. Click here to begin!

The Food and Agricultural organization of the UN (FAO) released a feature on the Year of Microcredit on the FAO web site. You can hear the feature here.