IIED to host 2nd online artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) day

IIED is inviting ASM workers, researchers and other stakeholders around the world to collaborate online on 1 February, using the hashtag #shareASM. The aim is to provide an open online space to share ideas for building a safer, more inclusive, sustainable and productive ASM sector. 

Using the #shareASM hashtag will enable a wide range of stakeholders to engage on social media with colleagues across the globe. IIED and other organisations will share news research across a range of social media platforms using the hashtag. 

Follow the conversation

This second "digital day" is part of IIED's work on the artisanal mining sector. ASM involves many millions of people: while an estimated 3-4 million are employed in the formal mining sector, some 20-30 million people work in informal ASM. Many of those working in the sector are women and children in developing countries.

IIED believes that increasing communication, collaboration and trust between stakeholders is a key way to address the problems faced by ASM workers and secure better governance in the sector.

IIED's first #shareASM day took place in June 2015. Throughout the day, IIED and other organisations shared research, publications and videos on a range of online platforms. IIED also broadcast interviews with key stakeholders who had attended a 'visioning workshop' earlier in the year. You can read a summary of the first online ASM day on IIED's Storify site. 

IIED's ASM programme also employs dialogue events to bring together a wide range of stakeholders – including miners themselves –  to discuss ideas for delivering a more inclusive and accountable sector. IIED's first local ASM dialogue took place in Ghana in 2016. More than 50 representatives from government, civil society, academia, and industry attended the four-day workshop. The institute's work has since expanded to Tanzania and Madagascar.

Looking ahead

IIED's #shareASM day is being organised shortly before the opening of the world's largest mining investment conference, the Investing in African Mining Indaba.

This annual event brings together more than 6,000 delegates, representing global mining companies, international investors, and African and non-African governments. IIED will be participating in a range of events during the 2017 indaba, which takes place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 6-9 February.

IIED will also be participating in the 8th Alternative Mining Indaba (AMI2017), the parallel event set up by civil society organisations to provide African mining communities with a platform to voice their concerns and advocate for better governance in African mining. 

Share, comment and get involved

IIED's online 2nd ASM day will feature our latest research, resources and publications, as well as offering the opportunity to interact with IIED's mining experts, such as senior researcher Fitsum Weldegiorgis.

Add the date to your diary and on 1 February, 2017, join the conversation by using the hashtag #shareASM.

More information about IIED's ASM programme:

• Read this blog on Talking sustainable development in the troubled world of ASM
• Watch a playlist of interviews with stakeholders who attended IIED's 'visioning workshop'
• Read an overview of IIED's work on artisanal and small-scale mining
• Review a list of useful resources on the ASM sector – and share your own
• Download our publication: 'ASM-LSM-government relations: shaping an agenda for collaboration'
• Add comments to an illustration exploring the ASM world, based on literature reviews, interviews with key actors in the mining sector and IIED's experience
• Tales from Tanzania: see what happened when IIED travelled to Geita District to find out the human stories behind gold mining in 'Gold mining: the search for common ground'

ASM newsletter

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