Video

Pact's Roger-Mark De Souza: SID-US Annual Conference 2022 Pop Up Studio

June 8, 2022

This interview was recorded with Roger-Mark De Souza, Pact's vice president for sustainable markets, at the Society for International Development's 2022 Annual Conference.

De Souza discusses the importance of focusing on larger visions for global development rather than individual projects -- a highlight of the conference. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, he notes that this is especially important in the areas of climate change, equity, inclusion, resilience and localization.

"How do we bring in marginalized communities and mobilize blended finance -- USAID and the private sector -- what does this mean for a rights agenda, and how do we continue to learn and grow as a development community?"

While conversations about systems-level change and sector-wide impact are important, De Souza says, they must also be made practical so that implementers can take action at the organizational and programmatic level.

"We need to break down complex elements into what's manageable now, recognizing the privilege that we have to be able to meet in person, to be mindful of our colleagues internationally who are not able to do that, and to continue to think about how we can center their voices and perspectives as we work in collaboration with them."

De Souza discusses his work at Pact, overseeing the organization's sustainable markets portfolio, which includes Pact's livelihoods, energy and environment work, as well as its work with small-scale mining communities.

Video credit: SID-US, TechChange, Counterpart International.