2009 World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings

Civil Society Policy Forum

Scheduled events are included under each day's events

Time: various

Location: World Bank (1818 H St. NW)

Time: 9:00am

Location: Main Press Briefing Room, Room B-702 (Blue Level), IMF Headquarters (700 19th St. NW)

Closed to the public.

Gender Tools for IFI-Watchers

A workshop for civil society groups to learn about user-friendly tools for ‘engendering’ their work on the IFIs.

Time: 2:00pm - 3:30pm

Location: Suite 1012

1875 Connecticut Ave NW

Gender Action

Open to all

For inquiries, please write to

Time: 9:00am

Location: Main Press Briefing Room, Room B-702 (Blue Level), IMF Headquarters (700 19th St. NW)

Meeting between CSO representatives and the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman of the International Finance Corporation and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, in coordination with CIEL, would like to invite you to a gathering to discuss the work of the CAO, its current activities and cases, the upcoming review of the Performance Standards, and issues of mutual concern.

Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm

Location:

Center for Environmental Law (CIEL), 1350 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite #1100, Washington DC

Compliance Advisor Ombudsman

Center for International Environmental Law

For more information, contact Kris Genovese:

Gender and the Economic Crisis:

Opportunities for Equitable Responses

Recent years have seen a convergence in global crises: commodity and energy prices on global markets, breakdown in global financial markets, deep recession in the real economy, and an increase in climate-related disasters.  As of March 2009, all developed economies were in recession with increasing numbers of developing countries feeling the effects of the financial crisis and spillover into the real economy.

This time of global hardship and insecurity, however, may also offer the opportunity for leadership and bold policy action to reduce inequalities among nations and across poverty and gender lines.

Without bold leadership and new thinking progress made in poverty reduction and women’s equality, two key developmental goals, may come to a halt and reversals may be on the horizon.  The panel seeks to provide responses to the following questions:

• How is the crisis impacting men and women differently across developed and developing economies? 

• How can governments develop recovery packages that address the immediate economic needs while advancing gender equality?

• Given the recent systemic failure, what does gender analysis offer in terms of redefining the macroeconomic structures and governance frameworks?

Featured Speakers: Rania Antonopoulos, Research Scholar at Levy Institute of Economics at Bard College, Lanyan Chen, Professor and Foreign Expert at the Institute of Gender and Social Development at Tianjin Normal University in China, currently in the US as a Fulbright Scholar, Heidi Hartmann, President, Institute for Women's Policy Research, Marie Shaba, Human Rights Activist, Tanzania, Mayra Buvinic, Sector Director of the Gender and Development Group, PREM at the World Bank

Moderator: Liane Schalatek, Heinrich Böll Foundation

Time: 1:00pm - 3:00 PM

Location: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Choate Room

1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW (close to Dupont Circle Metro Station)

Center of Concern

Heinrich Böll Foundation

Institute for Women’s Policy Research

For any questions or comments please contact Kristin Sampson at (202) 635-2757, x128 or .

Please RSVP by email addressed to

Confronting Corruption Risk in

IMF & World Bank Rescue Measures

How will the World Bank and IMF assure accountability for the promised $1 trillion in rescue funds from the G20? What mechanisms will be applied in countries, particularly where rule of law, transparency and public financial systems are weak, to ensure benefits flow to the vulnerable? 

View event flyer (PDF, 81KB)

Speakers: Thanos Catsambas, Assistant Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF

Jeffery Gutman, Vice President, Operations Policy and Country Services, World Bank 

Discussants: Chad Dobson, Executive Director, Bank Information Center

Karen Mathiasen (invited), U.S. Treasury, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Development Finance and Debt  

Christian Poortman, Director of Global Policy, Transparency International

Moderator: Nancy Boswell Transparency International-USA President, CEO

Time: 3:00pm to 4:30pm

Location: Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr,

1875 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20006

Transparency International USA

Please send RSVP to Siobhan Kelly at

Orientation Session on the World Bank and IMF

This session will focus on the IMF and WBG (IBRD, IFC, MIGA) origins, organizational structure, major policies, and operational work.  This briefing session is being co-sponsored with World Learning.

Speakers: Aaron Rosenberg (IFC); John Garrison (WB);  Judith Pearce (MIGA); TBC (IMF).

Time: 3:00pm -  5:00pm

Location: Room MC C1-100, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

International Monetary Fund,

World Bank Group

Bank Information Center Happy Hour!!!

Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Location: BIC, 1100 H Street, NW, Suite 650

(entrance is on 11th St.)

Bank Information Center (BIC)

For more information, please contact Ben Bryan ()

Welcome Breakfast and Introduction to the Civil Society Forum and Spring Meetings

Staff from the Civil Society Teams at the IMF and WBG will welcome accredited CSOs, present the schedule of the Civil Society Policy Forum, and discuss the policy agenda for the Spring Meetings.

Time: 8:30am - 9:00am

Location: Room MC C1-100, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

International Monetary Fund,

World Bank Group

Africa Food and Financial Crisis:  Impact and Policy Responses

This session will start with an overview of the extent of the food and financial crisis in Africa, its impact on the poor, and the responses adopted by donors and governments to protect the poor from the crisis.  A case study for Liberia of the cash-for-work program implemented by the government with World Bank support will then be presented.  Next, two civil society organizations (Catholic Relief Services and Food for the Hungry) will discuss how they have adapted their own programs to respond to the crisis.  Presenters will focus their remarks not only on the key characteristics of their programs and policies to respond to the crisis, but also on the challenges faced in implementing these programs and on ways that could be used to evaluate such programs so that they achieve the largest possible positive impact on the poor.

Speakers:  Shanta Devarajan (Chief EconSpeakers:  CHAIR: Quentin Wodon (Adviser, WB), Shanta Devarajan (Chief Economist, Africa Region, WB), Giuseppe Zampaglione (Senior Operations Officer, WB), Bruce White (Policy Advisor, Catholic Relief Services), Andy Barnes (Director of Food Security, Food for the Hungry).

Time: 9:00am - 10:30am

Location: Room MC C1-100, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

World Bank (Development Dialogue on Values and Ethics and the Civil Society Teams)

Time: 9:30am

Location: Main Press Briefing Room, Room B-702 (Blue Level), IMF Headquarters (700 19th St. NW)

Session on Broad Community Support in IFC Projects

Please join us for a discussion and workshop on the concept of broad community support (BCS).   This session will build upon the discussion and work during the World Bank Group’s 2008 Annual Meetings.  Our last workshop clarified the World Bank and IFC requirements in this regard, and touched on challenges in operationalizing BCS requirements.  This workshop will build upon this discussion, and examine the practical elements and challenges of establishing BCS.  The session will begin with updates on the ongoing reviews of IFC’s performance standards and disclosure policy.

Speakers: Greg Radford (Director, Environment and Social Department, IFC),  Aaron Rosenberg (Chief, Public Affairs, IFC), Amar Inamdar  (Office of the Compliance Advisor and Ombundsman for IFC & MIGA), Motoko Aizawa (Advisor, IFC Corporate Standards), Kirk Herbertson (World Resources Institute),  Lee Swepston (Human Rights at Work),  Armstrong Wiggins (Indian Law Resources Center – TBC)

Time: 9:30am - 11:30am

Location:

L - 103
IFC Building
2121 Pennsylvania Ave

Reducing Vulnerability to Climate Change: World Bank and CSO Approaches

This session will start with an overview of the challenges ahead to reduce the magnitude of climate change as well as its impact, with the discussion based on findings from the draft World Development Report on climate change.  The relationship between climate change, weather shocks and nutrition in developing countries will then be discussed.  Thereafter, two civil society organizations (CARE and Catholic Relief Services) will discuss their programs to help the poor cope with shocks related to climate change.  The last presentation will focus on the role to be played by civil society organizations in advocating for policies in developing countries to reduce the risk of climate change and help fund programs in developing countries to deal with the impact of climate change.

Speakers: CHAIR: Phil Hay (Adviser, WB), Marianne Fay (Co-Director, World Development Report on Climate Change, WB), Harold Alderman (Adviser, WB), Marcos Athias Neto (Director of Partnerships, Climate Change, CARE), Byrd Dorrett (Director, Program Quality Support Department, Catholic Relief Services), Walter Grazer (National Religious Partnership for the Environment).

Time: 11:00am - 12:30pm

Location: Room MC C1-100, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Press Briefing: IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn

Time: 11:00am

Location: Main Press Briefing Room, Room B-702 (Blue Level), IMF Headquarters (700 19th St. NW)

Closed to the public.

The Inspection Panel and Human Rights at the World Bank

This panel will consider how the World Bank Inspection Panel has dealt with human rights issues since its inception 16 years ago.  It will also include a discussion of how human rights issues more fundamentally relate to the mission of the Bank.  The panel will include perspectives from civil society, the Inspection Panel and Bank staff, as well as a Q&A session.

Speakers: Werner Kiene, Chairman of the World Bank Inspection Panel, Anne Perrault, Senior Attorney, Center for International Environmental Law  (CIEL), Steve Herz 

Time: 11:00am-12:30pm

Location: Room MC C1-200 World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

International Accountability Project

Center for International Environmental Law

Accountability and Participation in World Bank and IDB Loans: From Rhetoric to Action

Presentation of a study by the Bank Information Center and CARE which examines the extent to which the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) incorporate their policies on participation and accountability in the design of projects it finances. The study reviewed 25 projects from over a dozen countries in Latin America which supports development efforts in a variety of sectors: rural development, education, health, and policy reform.  Specifically, the study analyzes whether the World Bank incorporated its “accountability triangle” approach, and whether the IDB implemented its “strategy for promoting citizen participation” in the design of these projects. The study author will present the findings of the report and discussants from both Banks will comment.

Speakers: CHAIR: Josh Lichtenstein (LAC Program Manager, BIC); Vince McElhinny (BICECA Project Manager, BIC), Peter Solis, IDB, Pilar Larreamendy, LCSSO, WB

*A light lunch will be served

Time: 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Location: Room MC C1-200, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Consultation Roundtable on IMF Transparency Policy 

The IMF is seeking views on its transparency policy as part of a review process now underway. CSOs are invited to attend this informal roundtable to discuss whether the IMF meets its goal of providing useful and timely information on its work and assessments of member countries' economies, to a global audience. Please join staff from the Fund's Strategy, Policy, and Review Department to discuss what increased global integration, the financial crisis, and the imperatives of modern communications may mean for the evolution of the Fund's transparency and publication policy.

More information on the transparency policy and how to provide input into the review can be found here.

Speakers:  Tessa van der Willigen, Ulric Erickson von Allmen, (Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, IMF)

Time: 2:00pm - 3:30pm

Location: Room MC C1-200, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Hunger and Malnutrition: Challenges and Solutions

Recent estimates indicate that there are more than 923 million people worldwide that are still undernourished.  Chronic malnutrition is a hidden emergency – one that has an impact on all aspects of a person’s life.  The majority of the world’s chronically hungry people are women and children.  They tend to be concentrated in rural areas where growing numbers have fallen into poverty traps.  Growing evidence shows that malnutrition impacts cognitive development, educational attainment, income, and life expectancy.  This session will begin with a review of the scale of the problem, and its impact on chronic poverty.  It will then focus on how different actors can contribute to possible solutions.  New technologies, changes in public policy, and business innovations will be discussed.   

Speakers: CHAIR - Kim Hamilton (Senior Policy Advisor, Gates Foundation); John Hoddinott (Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI); Chris Shea (Senior Vice President,General Mills); David Kauck (Senior Policy Advisor, CARE); Eija Pehu (Science and Technology Advisor, WB)

Time: 2:00pm – 3:30 pm

Location: Room MC C1-100, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

This session will assess the main outcomes of the April 2009 G20 Summit, and consider their implications for the recovery of the global economy and assistance to developing countries, in particular Africa.  Participants will discuss the policy responses by the Bretton Woods Institutions, as well as hear the views of CSOs.

Speakers:  Alan Gelb (Director Economic Policy, WB); Antoinette Sayeh (Director, African Department, IMF), Hugh Bredenkamp, Deputy Director, IMF Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, Others (TBC)

   ** Interpretation will be provided in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish

Time: 4:00pm – 5:45pm

Location: MC 13-121, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Reception with WBG President and IMF Managing Director

Robert B. Zoellick (WBG President), and Dominique Strauss-Kahn (IMF Managing Director) will welcome CSOs and make informal remarks about the G20 Summit and their institution’s responses to the global financial crisis.

Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm

Location: MC 13-121 World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Civil Society Strategy Session: The World Bank's Transparency Review.

The objective of the session is to plan and coordinate civil society advocacy efforts aimed at increasing the transparency of the World Bank in the context of their review of the information disclosure policy.

See event flyer (PDF, 29KB)

Time: 9:00am - 12:00pm

Location:

Oxfam America

1100 15th St., NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC  20005 USA

Phone: (202) 471-3063

Bank Information Center

Global Transparency Initiative

For CSOs only.

For more information or to RSVP please contact Rebecca Harris: or call BIC at (202) 737-7752

How Effective is the World Bank’s Civil Society Engagement Strategy?

The Bank is in the process of updating is civil society engagement policies and practices through an internal and external review process.  It has sought the views of Bank staff, civil society interlocutors, and others on the evolving nature of civil society, on the effectiveness of the Bank’s civil society engagement strategy, and ways to improve these relations.  The authors of the paper will report on the consultation efforts date, analysis of the findings, and draft recommendations.

Time: 9:00am - 10:30 am

Location:  MC C1-200 World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Safeguarding Development and Social Protection: Challenges for a New Global Financial Architecture

The global financial crisis presents new challenges for safeguarding development and social protection, as steps taken to mend the struggling financial system – in both its regulation, institutional organization, and governance – have now been put forward at the G-20 Summit. This panel will address specifically the need for more transparent and democratic political processes to ensure that the new financial arrangements are accountable to the needs of people and not only of the financial system and its primary actors. The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung invites representatives of civil society to take the occasion of the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank to discuss these urgent matters.

Speakers:  Arturo O’Connell, (Director, Central Bank of Argentina), Dean Baker (Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research), Damon Silvers  (Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO)

Moderator: Werner Puschra (Director, FES/New York) 

Time: 9:00am - 10:30 am

Location: 1-200
I Building
(1850 I Street, NW)

Press Briefing: Sub-Saharan Africa Economic Outlook by Antoinette Sayeh, IMF African Department Director

Time: 10:30am

Location: Main Press Briefing Room, Room B-702 (Blue Level), IMF Headquarters (700 19th St. NW)

Closed to the public.

Evaluation Lessons in Unusual Times

The World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) assesses what works, and what does not; how a borrower plans to run and maintain a project; and the lasting contribution of the Bank to a country's overall development. The goals of evaluation are to learn from experience, to provide an objective basis for assessing the results of the Bank's work, and to provide accountability in the achievement of its objectives. This session will explain IEG's mandate within the World Bank Group and share how new challenges now define development effectiveness, including climate change, financial crises, and the resurgence of poverty on a global scale. It will draw examples from recent evaluations to illustrate what has been done and what needs to be done differently.

Speakers: Vinod Thomas (Director General, IEG), Cheryl Gray (Director IEG), Marvin Taylor-Dormond ( Director, CEXEG)

Time: 11:00am - 12:30pm
 

Location: MC C1-200, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Development Programs and Policies and Vulnerable Groups: Sessions on Disability and Indigenous Groups

Session 1: People with Disabilities

This session will start with an overview of the extent of disability in the world, and especially in developing countries.  Estimates suggest that up to 800 million people may suffer from various forms and degree of disability.  Issues related to framing the issue of disability (definition, causes, diversity of disabilities) will be discussed, together with ways to improve disability data (including new survey questions developed by the WCG.  Two case studies will then be discussed.  The first will focus on  recent analytical work done by a World Bank team to help for the design of a strategy towards people with disabilities in Sierra Leone.  The second will focus on work done by faith networks and organizations in helping people with disabilities.  Finally, the session will conclude with a presentation of the advocacy and analytical work carried under the auspices of the Global Partnership on Disability and Development.

Speakers:  CHAIR: Charlotte McClain (Senior Operations Officer, WB)
John Kemp (U.S. Business Leadership Network), Giuseppe Zampaglione (Senior Operations Officer, WB), Maria Veronica Reina (Global Partnership on Development and Disability), Interfaith group (TBC)

Time: 11:00am - 12:30pm

Location: MC C1-100, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Development Programs and Policies and Vulnerable Groups: Sessions on Disability and Indigenous Groups

Session 2: Indigenous Peoples

This session will start with an overview of the size of indigenous populations in the world, and especially in developing countries.  Estimates suggest that up to 400 million people belong to various indigenous peoples.  Issues related to framing issues related to indigenous peoples (definition, diversity of groups, vulnerability and disadvantages in terms of poverty status, education, health, and employment patterns) will be discussed.  Two case studies will then be presented.  The first will focus on recent analytical work done by a World Bank team to help for the design of a strategy towards pygmies in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The second will focus on work done by faith networks and organizations in helping indigenous peoples.  Finally, the session will conclude with a discussion of broader advocacy efforts that have or could be undertaken to help indigenous people improve their well-being in a way that would respect their particular traditions.

Speakers:  CHAIR: Estanislao Gacitua-Mario (Lead Specialist, WB)
Biorn Maybury-Lewis (Dean of Academic Affairs, Digital Media Arts College), Harry Patrinos (Lead Economist, WB), Mohamed Arbi Ben-Achour (Lead Specialist, WB), Faith-based Organization (TBC)

Time: 1:00pm – 2:30pm

Location: MC C1-100, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Economic Outlook

This session will begin with a presentation of the main conclusions from the IMF's Sub-Saharan Regional Economic Outlook (REO) which focuses on the macroeconomic impact of the global financial crisis on Sub-Saharan Africa, and particularly the impact on financial systems in the region.

Speakers: Norbert Funke and Paulo Drummond (African Department, IMF)

Time: 12:30pm - 2:00 pm

Location: MC C1-200, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Supporting Civil Society Engagement in Gabon: A Conversation with Marc Ona

Marc Ona led efforts to publicly expose the unlawful agreements behind a Chinese-led mining project in Gabon involving infrastructure development, which threatened the sensitive ecosystems of his country’s rainforests. For his hard work, Marc has been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize 2009, which recognizes individuals for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk. He will discuss: his experiences in being involved with the EITI process, civil society efforts and challenges in promoting these issues in Gabon, and how the World Bank and other international donors can further support civil society engagement.

Speakers: Marc Ona (Brainforest), Clive Armstrong (COCPO), Jeff Thindwa (CST)

Time: 1:00 – 2:30 pm

Location: Room: F 10K-184
IFC Building
(2121 Penn. Ave)

Latin America and the Global Crisis: Towards a Rapid Regional Recovery

The World Bank has assembled a group of high-level Latin American experts to help provide Latin American and Caribbean countries with current information on the economic crisis and its implications for the region, and political and governmental leaders to discuss the crisis and its repercussions.  In an open discussion forum, key experts such as Jorge Castaneda and Julia Swieg, and political figures such as Fernando Lugo, Paraguay’s President, and Mauricio Funes, El Salvador’s President-elect, will provide their perspectives on the crisis and its impact on the region.

Time: 2:00pm - 6:00 pm

Location: Eugene Black Auditorium
H Building
(600 19th St NW)

Meeting between the World Bank Inspection Panel and CSO representatives

The Inspection Panel, in coordination with BIC and CIEL, would like to invite you to a gathering to discuss the work of the Inspection Panel, its activities and current investigations, and issues of mutual concern.

Time: 2:00pm - 3.30pm

Location:

Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), 1350 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite #1100, Washington DC

World Bank Inspection Panel

Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Bank Information Center (BIC)

Limited space; for more information please contact Ben Bryan at .

Update on IFC Response to Food Crisis through Agribusiness Financing

CSOs are invited to hear an update and overview of IFC's agribusiness operations, and food crisis response initiatives.

Speakers: Oscar Chemerinski (Director, Agribusiness Department, IFC) Larissa Luy (Sr. Environmental and Social Specialist, IFC), Richard Henry (Chief Economist Agribusiness Department, IFC)

Time: 2:00pm - 3:30pm

Location: MC C1-200 World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

The World Bank's Programs on Forests and Climate Change

Please join us for a briefing and round table discussion of World Bank programs on forests and climate change alongside the Spring Meetings of the Board of Governors. The World Bank has a long history of engagement in the forest sector in developing countries, and it is now playing a major role in informing international efforts to address the links between forests and climate change. Panelists from the World Bank will update us on the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility's ongoing efforts to prepare countries to harness carbon markets to reduce emissions from deforestation, and on the development of the Forest Investment Program of the Strategic Climate Fund. The following roundtable discussion will consider the challenges of addressing fundamental issues of governance, rights, and equity in the forest sector in this context.

Time: 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Location: World Resources Institute Main Conference Room

10 G Street NE Suite 800, Washington DC (Nearest Metro: Union Station)

World Resources Institute

Please contact Emily Chessin () to RSVP or for any questions or clarifications.

IFC and Karachaganak:

Financing an Environmental and Human Rights Disaster

Crude Accountability and the Bank Information Center invite you to a session addressing civil society concerns with the IFC's investment at the Karachaganak Oil and Gas Condensate Field in Kazakhstan. Six years of engagement by local activists with the IFC has failed to resolve human rights violations at the Field, which become more serious as time goes on.

On January 8, 2009, Lukoil repaid its loan from the IFC, ending the official relationship between the Lukoil and the IFC. However, serious unresolved social and environmental problems remain at Karachaganak, including human rights violations related to IFC's and KPO's failure to relocate the village to a safe location. Villagers continue to live inside the Sanitary Protection Zone, suffering daily risks to their health. An official complaint filed by Crude Accountability and the Kazakhstani NGO, Green Salvation, remains open with the Office of Compliance, Advisor/Ombudsman related to IFC violation of its own resettlement policies. An additional complaint filed by the Berezovka Initiative Group remains open with the CAO due to noncompliance with environmental monitoring standards.

A lawsuit filed by civil society organizations in Kazakhstan claiming negligence on the part of the Kazakh government is currently before the Kazakhstani court, and will be heard in the coming weeks.

Crude Accountability, BIC and Svetlana Anosova, a representative of the affected community in Berezovka will discuss the outstanding environmental, human rights, and social concerns at the Karachaganak Field. We invite the IFC project team, CAO representatives and Executive Directors from the US, Italy, the UK, Russia and Kazakhstan to participate in the discussion.

Speakers: Svetlana Anosova, Leader of the Berezovka Initiative Group, Kazakhstan

Time: 3:00pm - 4:30pm

Location: Room L-103, IFC, 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Crude Accountability

Bank Information Center

African Trade and Debt in the Global Financial Crisis: Assessing the G20 Summit and  UN Responses

Trade is the main channel by which the financial crisis will affect African countries. This is a function of the lower demand, and lower prices for African exports triggered by the global recession. The global financial crisis is also threatening a renewed debt crisis in Africa, including for some countries that had received debt cancellation under the HIPC/MDRI initiative.  Group of 20 Leaders recently committed to significant sums for low-income countries but nearly all of it is in the form of new loans. Trade measures were focused on market access, neglecting the financial structures needed to ensure African countries can benefit from trade. Meanwhile, the upcoming June UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis offers an opportunity to consider additional and structural official response measures on trade and debt.

This session, structured in two panels, will take stock of the impact of the crisis and the crisis response on African trade and indebtedness from a range of official and civil society perspectives and consider the policy solutions that are urgently needed to avoid a renewed debt crisis on the continent. 

First Panel –Trade (3 – 4:30 pm)

Speakers: Ransom Lekunze (South Centre), Jane Nalunga (SEATINI), Tetteh Hormeku (Third World Network Africa), Martin Tsonkeu (African Development Interchange Network), Tina Nanyangwe (Jubilee Zambia)

Second Panel –Debt (4:30 – 6 pm)

Speakers: Matthias Rau (UNCTAD), Leonardo Hernandez (World Bank), Ransom Lekunze (South Centre), Kiama Kaara (Kenyan Debt Relief Network), Morlai Kamara (Voluntary Services Overseas, Sierra Leone), Vitalis Meja (African Network on Debt and Development/ AFRODAD)

Time: 3:00pm – 6:00pm

Location: MC C1-100 World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Center of Concern

Jubilee USA Network

IMF Policy Support Instrument Review

The Policy Support Instrument (PSI) was established by the IMF in  2005 to support low-income that no longer need/want Fund financial assistance,  but still seek Fund endorsement/assessment of their policies. The Fund is conducting a review of the experience since the PSI was created. IMF staff will present an update on the findings of the review and also reflect on specific country experiences. 

** Interpretation will be provided in French

Speakers: Roger Nord (African Department) and Thomas Dorsey (Strategy,  Policy, Review Department)

Time: 3:30pm – 5:00pm

Location: J 1 -050
(701 18th St.)

CAO Compliance: Challenges to Enforcing Environmental and Social Due Diligence & Institutional Accountability around IFC and MIGA Projects.

The CAO will elaborate on its process for initiating compliance appraisals & audits of IFC/MIGA projects. Staff will discuss the compliance caseload in FY09 including audits of IFC's involvement in the Karachaganak (Kazakhstan) and Wilmar (Indonesia) projects.

Speakers: Meg Taylor,  (Compliance Advisor, Ombudsman), Henrik Linders, (Senior Specialist, CAO)

Time: 4:00pm - 5:30pm

Location: MC C1 - 200, World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Inspection Panel Open House

CSO Representatives are welcome to meet Werner Kiene, Chairman, and other Panel Members and colleagues from the Panel Secretariat. You will have the opportunity to learn about the Panel understand how it operates. Come share your experiences working with the Panel at the country level and also hear stories and anecdotes about the Panel operations from some of its most experienced staff.

Refreshments will be served.

Time: 4:00pm - 7:00 pm

Location: MC 10-507

World Bank Main Complex, 1818 H. St. NW, 10th floor, Room 507

World Bank Inspection Panel

For more information, contact Tatiana Tassoni at

Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm

Location: Buffalo Billiards (1330 19th St., NW)

Bank Information Center (BIC)

Contact: Ben Bryan at BIC

G20 stimuli: the end of the Debt Sustainability Framework?

The G20 communiqué of April 2, 2009 requests the IFIs to flexibilise the Debt Sustainability Framework. The need for stimuli programs of a significant number of IDA countries, now increasingly being affected by the financial crisis, have been pointed out. To much stimuli debt will but pose a challenge to the DSF and its application through IDA and otherwise. But LIC economies need stimuli support. How will the Bank and the Fund respond to the flexibilisation request? Lowering the DSF access criteria (traffic light system)? Lower its grants/loans criteria? Suspend it for a time or even stop applying it altogether.

Inputs from Herve Michel Joly, IMF, Carlos Braga World Bank, Vitalis Meja, AFRODAD, Peter Lanzet, EED and Nuria Molina EURODAD

Time: 9:00am - 10:30am

Location: (Room TBD) World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

BWI Policies on Teachers Wages in Context of Financial Crisis

Speakers:  TBC

Time: 9:00am - 10:30am

Location: MC C1 - 100 World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

IMF Crisis Response – An Exchange

The G20 London Summit cemented commitments by the international community to triple IMF resources in response to the global financial crisis, securing a rapid “come-back” from the IMF’s position just a year ago.  In the rush to channel resources, many of the details of how those funds will be used have not been made clear. In this session, representatives of the IMF, governments, inter-governmental organizations, and civil society will exchange information and views on the IMF facilities that will be used to address the crisis and the terms and conditions that will accompany IMF assistance.  In light of the upcoming review of its facilities for low-income countries, special attention will be devoted to the IMF’s operations in LICs and what impact its new resources and role will have there. 

Speakers: (TBC)

Time:  11:00am - 12:30pm

Location: MC C1 - 200 World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Consultation on Information Disclosure Review

The World Bank has launched a comprehensive review of its disclosure policy to ensure that the core approach is well aligned with its values and priorities.  It proposes to shift its approach to one of ‘presumption of disclosure’ in which the Bank would disclose any information in its possession that is not on a list of exceptions.   As part of this review process, the Bank is undertaking an extensive consultation process through face-to-face meetings in over 20 countries, video conferences, and requesting input via the web. A presentation of the draft paper “Toward Greater Transparency: Rethinking the World Bank's Disclosure Policy” will be made, followed by a general discussion.  For multiple language versions of the paper please visit the consultations website.

Speakers: Peter Harrold (Director, WB); Global Transparency Initiative (TBC)

*A light lunch will be served

** Interpretation will be provided in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish

Time: 12:30pm - 3:30pm

Location: J B1– 080
(701 18th St.)

Beyond The G20 Summit: The Future Of Financing For Development In Africa

One key area where the effects of the global financial crisis have been deeply felt in the developing and emerging economies is in development financing. This is particularly true for many African Countries, a majority of whom are heavily reliant on ODA for financing their development efforts. The short fall on the Gleneagles commitment is now estimated at $240 billion.  As part of that effort, the ABR plans to organize a high level roundtable that will bring together top policy makers from both developed and developing countries as well as executives of multilaterals to look at these issues within the context of the London G20 summit.

Speakers: (TBC)

Time: 2:00pm - 3:30 pm

Location: MC C1 - 100 World Bank Main Building, 1818 H Street, NW

Africa Business Roundtable

NEPAD Business Group

Time: 10:00am

Location: Meeting Hall, IMF Headquarters (700 19th St. NW)

Closed to the public.

Time: 3:30pm

Location: Main Press Briefing Room, Room B-702 (Blue Level), IMF Headquarters (700 19th St. NW)

Closed to the public.

Civil Society Strategy Session on IFIs / Global Economy

Meeting open to all civil society groups working on the IFIs to discuss strategy on IMF (especially related to outcomes of G20), World Bank (including climate, transparency, VFF), UN Stiglitz Commission, and G8.

Time: 10:00am to 4:00pm (bagels & coffee at 9:30 - starting promptly at 10!)

Location: Institute for Policy Studies 1112 16th St., N.W. - 6th Floor - Washington, DC (Building will be locked. For entrance, pick up building phone and say you're coming for a meeting at IPS - code word "Institute." If no answer -- or no cooperation -- use a mobile to call 202-299-4531.)

More information:  or .

Development Committee (DC) Meeting

Provisional Agenda:

1) Implications of the Global Economic Crisis for Developing Countries and the Role of International Financial Institutions

2) Update on Voice and Participation

Background Documents

1) Global Monitoring Report 2009

Other Reports

1) Enhancing Voice and Participation of Developing and Transition Countries in World Bank Group: Spring 2009 Progress Report.

2) Review of Bank Group Internal Governance

Time: 9:45am

Location: Preston Auditorium, World Bank Headquarters (1818 H St. NW)

Closed to the public.

Time: TBD

Location: Main Press Briefing Room, Room B-702 (Blue Level), IMF Headquarters (700 19th St. NW)