2009 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings

Time: 9:30 a.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Time: 9:30 a.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Time: 9:30 a.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Closed to the public

Seminar: The United States Economic Outlook: Prospects, Risks, and Implications for Latin America and the Caribbean

Time: 10:30 a.m.

Location: Lütfi Kirdar, Topkapi B Room

Closed to the public

Time: 11:00 a.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Closed to the public

Orientation Session on the World Bank Group and IMF

This session will focus on the IMF and WBG (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) origins, organizational structure, major policies, and operational work. Space may be limited thus please RSVP to this session by sending email to: . Coffee, tea, and cookies will be served 

Speakers: John Garrison, Jeremy Mark, Aaron Rosenberg

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 5:00 p.m.

Location: Room Emirgan 1, Istanbul Congress Center

World Bank/IMF

Will have interpretation in Turkish, Arabic, French, and Russian

Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Robert Zoellick Townhall Event

Messrs. Strauss-Kahn and Zoellick will host this townhall for CSO representatives accredited to the Annual Meetings. The session will include initial remarks by Messrs. Strauss-Kahn and Zoellick to be followed by a general discussion on issues of concern to CSO representatives

Moderator: Archbishop Winston Njogo Ndungane(President, African Monitor)

Time: 6:15 p.m. -- 7:15 p.m.

Location: Room B2-Beyazit, Istanbul Congress Center

World Bank/IMF

Will have interpretation in Turkish, Arabic, French, and Russian

Civil Society Reception

The reception will be hosted by Carolyn Atkinson (Director of the External Relations Department, IMF) and Marwan Muasher (Senior Vice President for External Affairs, World Bank).

Time: 7:15 p.m. -- 8:30 p.m.

Location: B3-Prefunction
Room, Istanbul Congress Center

The sessions will deal with five key sub-themes:

(i) the global crisis and policy responses;

(ii) the financial crisis and the poor;

(iii) crisis, recovery and structural reform in emerging Europe & Central Asia;

(iv) the future of the international financial system; and

(v) private and public sector roles after the crisis.

View the Schedule and Session Descriptions for the Program of Seminars

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 4:45 p.m.

Location: Lutfi Kirdar Convention Center

World Bank/IMF

International Conference: Critical Debate on IMF & WB

IMF and World Bank had been established in order to prevent global crises and therefore have again assumed considerable importance under the circumstances of the present global crisis for at least three reasons. The first reason is that a crisis environment offers the chance for a reconsideration of the global roles of these organizations. The second is that many countries had to make a deal with the IMF as happened during the last few months. Finally, the policies the World Bank is going to implement in the times ahead will be of crucial importance since they will influence the course of the ecological and the economic crises in particular. Both of these organizations have to face a number of key questions that are on everyone’s agenda due to the current crisis:

- The relationship between the causes of the economic crisis and the neo-liberal policies; state-market and state-development relationships;

- The alternatives to the roles the World Bank and the IMF have been playing so far; the adequacy of the means employed; the need for a renewal of the corporate operating procedures;

- The requirement for a more holistic approach to the relationship between the ecological crisis and the economic/social crises; whether the IMF and the World Bank can satisfy this requirement given the traits of their corporate character.

The İstanbul Bilgi University’s Graduate Program on International Political Economy and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Turkey Representation will attempt to contribute to the search for alternatives by addressing such issues as the causes of the economic crisis, the ecological crisis, unemployment, poverty, and the roles of the international organizations at a conference they will hold jointly.

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 6:45 p.m.

Location: Bilgi University, Dolapdere Campus

Time: 9:00 a.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Closed to the public

Integrating Human Rights into the World Bank Group

The global financial crisis, climate change, and food shortages are driving millions of people into extreme poverty. As the World Bank Group (WBG) responds to these global crises, the legitimacy of its solutions depends on avoiding harm to, and providing benefits for, the world’s most vulnerable people. For years, there has been internal and external pressure on the WBG to integrate human rights into its operations. While human rights outcomes have been implicit in many of its operations, in many cases the WBG has had an inconsistent record.

This roundtable will discuss the following issues:
 
• What are the gaps in the World Bank’s and IFC’s coverage of human rights?
• What are the obstacles for incorporating human rights into WBG policies and operations?
• What is the value added of integrating human rights into the WBG’s environmental and social safeguards?
• What steps can be taken to clarify the WBG’s legal obligations under international human rights law?

Panelists: Kirk Herbertson (WRI), Kristen Genovese (CIEL), Leonardo Crippa (ILRC), and Juan Martin Carballo (CEDHA)

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 10:30 a.m.

Location: CSO Room B

IDA - Opportunities and Challenges in the context of the Global Financial Crisis

Speakers:  Axel van Trotsenburg (Vice President Concessional Finance & Global Partnerships, WB), Archbishop Njogo Ndungane (Director, African Monitor), Sam Worthington (CEO, InterAction)

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 10:30 a.m.

Location: CSO Room A

The Crisis in Emerging Europe

Speaker: Marek Belka, Director, European Department, IMF 

Emerging Europe has been seriously affected by the global financial crisis. Governments, with the support of the IMF and the international community, have taken decisive steps to address the challenges The crisis demonstrated that while the integration of Europe's economies has been a tremendous success story, economic integration has gone further than economic policy coordination. What impact will this have on EU convergence and the process of further integration? Has Europe done enough to reform its financial system? What are the future drivers of growth for emerging Europe?

Time: 11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Toward a Common Transparency Standard Applicable to all Aid Flows?

The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) aims to deliver a step shift in public availability and accessibility of information on aid flows and activities, globally. Launched in the margins of the Accra High Level Forum (HLF) in September 2008, the IATI now has 17 donor signatories and a growing number of endorsements from partner countries. The IATI aims to bring together donors, partner countries and civil society organizations to agree on a set of common information standards applicable to all aid flows.  The session will discuss the feasibility of common information standards applicable to all aid flows (ODA, new donors, CSOs).

Speakers: Romilly Greenhill (Co-ordinator, IATI), Karin Christiansen (Director, Publish What You Fund Campaign), Marta Cumbi (Advocacy Manager, Foundation for Community Development/Mozambique), Kyle Peters (Director for Strategy and Country Services, OPCS / WB)

Time: 11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

The Gender Impacts of (Illegitimate) IMF and World Bank Debt

Massively expanding IMF and World Bank loans to least developed countries are significantly increasing LDC debt and undermining LDC social spending. This burden falls most heavily on women who constitute the majority of the poor, and who are most likely to lose their livelihoods and gain additional care burdens for family members during public sector cutbacks. This session will examine the specific gender impacts of increasing LDC debt and explore policy recommendations and advocacy strategies for reducing debt's disproportionate impacts on poor women.

Moderator: Elaine Zuckerman, Gender Action and Jubilee USA Council

Speakers: Beverly Keene, Jubilee South; Anna Rooke, Gender Action

Time: 12:30 p.m. -- 2:00 p.m.

Location: Hotel Grand Star Conference Room

Gender Action

For inquiries, please write to info@genderaction.org

The UN Conference and the G-20 Summits: The Gap in Legitimacy, Inclusivity and in Addressing the Development Crisis Created by the Financial Crisis

The UN Conference on the world economic and financial crisis produced substantive policy content on the ways in which the current financial crisis is impacting developing countries, and what kinds of policy measures are required.  The Conference was also a historic event that marked the voice of the United Nations in economic policy, and demonstrated a truly inclusive and participatory forum for addressing the financial crisis through the G-192, in sharp contrast to the self-selected and unaccountable body of the world’s richest countries, the G-20.   This event will explore policy issues such as debt distress in low-income countries, policy space in finance and trade measures, loan conditionalities of the IMF and World Bank, trade and financial protectionism, the need for a new global reserve system, and meaningful cooperation between the Bretton Woods Institutions and the United Nations system.  These issues are critical to address the development crisis created by this financial crisis, and the gap between how the UN addressed these issues while the G-20 omitted them is important to consider. 

The panelists in this event will make a comparative assessment between the substantive outcome of the UN Conference and the three G20 Summits that have occurred thus far.  Such an assessment will increase understanding of where and how the priorities differ between G-192 and the G-20, and how political will from world leaders is falling short when it comes to addressing the development crisis.

Speakers:  Professor Joe Stiglitz (Columbia University and Chairman of the UN Commission on the Financial Crisis), Bert Koenders (Minister for Development Cooperation in the Netherlands), Benno Ndulo (Central Bank Governor of Tanzania and Member of the UN Commission on the Financial Crisis) (TBC), Zeti Aziz (Central Bank Governor of Malaysia and member of the UN Commission on the Financial Crisis) (TBC), Roberto Bissio (Executive Director, Social Watch) (TBC), Bhumika Muchhala  (Development Finance Programme, Third World Network)

Time: 12:30 p.m. -- 2:00 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Climate-Smart Development and the World Development Report

Most people agree that unchecked climate change poses a threat to the global economy. So how can the transition to a low carbon world be realized? This session will explore ‘ground-up’ solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation. It will also explore the economics of climate change and how to transcend the tension between growth, energy access and a cleaner planet. Presenters will use the recently launched “World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change” as a launching point for discussing the optimal path for climate smart development

Speakers: Marianne Fay (WDR Co-Director and Chief Economist for Sustainable Development Network, WB), Nick Stern (IG Patel Professor of Economics, London School of Economics), Akin Ongor (.Board Chairman, World Widlife Fund – Turkey)

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

CSO Workshop and Strategy Session on Extractive Industry Contract Disclosure

Event Description: This workshop will include a contract expert to help CSOs dissect extractive industry contracts and specialists from Azerbaijan and Mongolia to share their experience with contract disclosure practices.  The session will also discuss strategy for the longer-term campaign on EI contracts, including the consultation on the IFC’s Performance Standards and Sustainability Policy (5 October) and help plan for a meeting with Pak Emil Salim and World Bank Executive Directors (please see related event on 4 October).

Specialists include:

Susan Maples - Revenue Watch Fellow, Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute

Gubad Bayramov - Chairman of the Management Board, Economic Research Center, and Coordinator of NGO Council for Improving Transparency in Extractive Industry in Azerbaijan

Dorjdari Namkhaijantsan - Director, Open Society Forum, Mongolia and Coordinator Publish What You Pay Mongolia Coalition

Heike Mainhardt-Gibbs – Senior Consultant, Bank Information Center

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 4:00 p.m.

Location: Hotel Grand Star Conference Room

Bank Information Center

CSOs Only

Civil Society In Turkey

A vibrant and robust third sector is vital to ensuring that democratic practices are deepened and that diverse sets of voices are represented and empowered in public life. Today, civil society organizations (CSOs) have come to play an important role in building mechanisms to encourage participation and civic engagement in Turkey. This session will aim to give the audiance a sense of where Turkey stands in the global civil society movement, the sector’s strenghts, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities ahead. The first part of the session will give an overview of the state of civil society in the world and in the region. The second part will present an in depth assessment of the state of civic participation, values, impact and environment of civil society in Turkey. The final section will draw the profile of CSOs in Turkey in detail. Panelists will be drawing their conclusions from recent studies such as the CIVICUS Civil Society Index and Civil Society Culture in Voluntary Organizations Research of YADA supported by TUBITAK.

Speakers:  Ingrid Srinath (Secretary General, CIVICUS), Zeynep Meydanoglu Programme Director (TUSEV), Mehmet Ali Caliskan (YADA Foundation)

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Agriculture And Food Security: Are the Recent Commitments to Boost Agriculture in Africa Irreversible or Another Fad?

On the one hand, nearly all African countries are net food importers. On the other hand, there is a proliferation of acquisition of African farmland by foreign countries for their own agricultural production. What if commitments to agricultural development were fully carried out, existing technical solutions and best practice applied, an enabling policy environment created and Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) refocused to, amongst others, coordinate the leasing and procurement of arable land and assist African governments with strategies for dealing with cyclical famines?

This session will discuss the proposition that if the renewed focus on agriculture is not to be another passing fad and the proposed concrete actions are taken, Africa should be able to feed itself. 

Speakers:  Andrew Kumbatira (Executive Director, Malawi Economic and Justice Network), Marta Cumbi (Cooperation & Advocacy Director, Foundation for Community Development / Mozambique), Warren Nyamugasira (Managing Director, African Monitor), WBG Speaker (TBC)

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

The Global Financial Crisis and its Impact on Africa

Speakers: Antoinette Sayeh, Director, African Department (IMF), and Hugh Bredenkamp, Deputy Director, Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, (IMF)

The global financial crisis originated in the advanced economies and has had its most visible impact on the emerging market countries. However, a third wave of the crisis has threatened the remarkable economic achievements many African countries have made over the past decade. Please join us for a panel discussion to discuss the continued impact of the financial crisis on Africa and the Fund's response in terms of policy advice, scaling up financial assistance, and innovative program design.

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

IMF

Civil Society Strategy Session on the Implementation of the World Bank's Disclosure Policy

The WB’s Board of Directors should be approving the new Policy on the Disclosure of Information on Oct 22, 2009. We expect progress in the language of the new policy, however, as far as we know, the Bank has not yet prepared an implementation plan for the revised policy. The goal of our campaign is to pressure the Bank to develop a comprehensive implementation plan and ensure its execution.

The goal of this session is to coordinate CSOs efforts in this campaign and garner our partners’ input on our campaign strategy

Time: 4:30 p.m. -- 6:00 p.m.

Location: Hotel Grand Star Conference Room

Bank Information Center

CSOs Only

Press Briefing: Climate Change World Development Report

Time: 8:45 a.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

World Bank/IMF

Closed to the Public

Program of Seminars (Con't): Country/Regional Issues

View the Schedule and Session Descriptions for the Program of Seminars

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 12:15 p.m.

Location: Lutfi Kirdar Convention Center

World Bank/IMF

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Civil Society Energy Strategy Session

The focus of this meeting and panel discussion will be to learn about the aspects of the approach paper to the revised Energy Strategy, explore key issues and advocacy strategies, and learn about the opportunities for civil society involvement in shaping the Energy Strategy. Particular attention will be paid to strategies for reducing carbon emissions while increasing energy access for the poor, and how to ensure strong civil society input during the planned World Bank consultations on the Energy Strategy. This session is an opportunity to gather feedback from CSOs and to use the inputs to provide early comments on the Bank’s Energy Strategy approach paper.

Speakers: Athena Ballesteros and Michael Totten

Time: 10:00 a.m. -- 12:00 p.m.

Location: Hotel Grand Star Conference Room

Bank Information Center

By invitation only

The IMF's Future: Promise and Peril

This panel describes the nature and impact of IMF reforms in Turkey and Brazil; nature of the reforms undertaken by the IMF in 2009 and their implications, particularly for low-income countries; and questions about the institution’s future.  For instance, how might the anticipated IMF governance reforms (which would give some of the G-20 Finance Ministers greater voting power on the Board of Executive Directors) affect the institution’s policy direction?  How might the IMF integrate the lessons of the global financial crisis?   What are the impacts of the IMF on "policy space" in developing countries?  Are there are good examples of governments implementing heterodox policies that respond to the needs and aspirations of citizens and their elected representatives? 

Moderator: Nancy Alexander (Heinrich Boell Foundation-North America)

Speakers:  Erinc Yeldan (Professor, University of Bilkent, Ankara), Robert Wade (Professor, London School of Economics), Nuria Molina (Executive Director, EURODAD)

Time: 10:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: Bilgi University, Dolapdere Campus

Time: 11:00 a.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Time: 11:00 a.m.

Location: TBA

World Bank/IMF

Closed to the public

The Aid System: Does ‘Mutual Accountability’ Encourage Outcomes?

The development community has identified and promoted several principles, embodied in the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action, to make development assistance more effective.  A principle that has been one of the focal points of these reform efforts is the promotion of mutual accountability between funders and developing country governments.  Has that focus on mutual accountability of funders and recipients to each other distracted from their accountability respectively to their taxpayers and their own citizens? Has that focus encouraged concern with inputs rather than outcomes?  At this event, we seek to discuss accountability in the context of an emphasis on outcomes.

Speakers: Donald Kaberuka (President, African Development Bank), Nancy Birdsall (Director, CGD), Sasja Bokkerink (Policy Advisor, Oxfam Novib), Hilde Johnson (Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF)

Time: 11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Time: 11:00 a.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

World Bank/IMF

Closed to the public

Global Economic Governance - Lessons from the Financial Crisis 

The financial crisis has added new impetus to ongoing international discussions on the reform of the international financial system and architecture, including the further reform of the governance of the Bretton Woods institutions. This discussion is not limited to the Bretton Woods institutions themselves. Based on the recommendations of the Commission of Experts of the President of the General Assembly (Stiglitz Commission) the outcome of the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis provides a number of important recommendations for improving global economic governance structures. This policy dialogue session provides the opportunity for CSOs to interact with the German Minister for Economic Co-operation & Development on both strands of reform discussions.

Moderator: Hubert Schillinger (Globalization Dialogue Coordinator, FES)

Speakers: Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (German Development Minister), Kemal Derviş (Vice-President, Brookings Institutio - TBC), Bettina Luise Ruerup (Director, FES Istanbul)

Time: 12:30 p.m. --2:00 p.m.

Location: Hotel Hilton Istanbul, Vista Room -  9th Floor
(Cumhuriyet Caddesi 34367, Harbiye – immediately adjacent to the Congress  Center)

Time: 1:30 p.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

World Bank/IMF

Closed to the public

What Role for the World Bank and MDBs in an equitable Climate Finance Architecture

With the G8 supported funding of a portfolio of Climate Investment Funds (CIFs), the World Bank and the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have really assumed a large financing role for climate change adaptation and mitigation projects in the developing world that was assumed to be the prerogative of the UNFCCC and the Global Environment Facility just a few years ago.  While the World Bank argument is that the CIFs fulfill a temporary financing gap until the UNFCCC might agree on a global post 2012-financing deal, Southern governments and critical civil society fear a permanent undermining of the UNFCCC and point out that as a large financier of fossil fuel projects the WB and MDBs might be ill-suited to best use climate change funds.  The panel will discuss the role of the WB in climate financing and the future desired shape of the global climate finance architecture.

Speakers: Athena Ronquillo-Ballesteros (World Resources Institute), Sagar Ambuj (Indian Institute of Technology), Beverly Keene (Jubilee South), Liane Schalatek (Heinrich Böll Foundation North America), Anna Roeke (Gender Action) (tbc), Omer Madra (Open Radio Turkey) (tbc)

Time: 1:30 p.m. -- 4:00 p.m.

Location: Bilgi University, Dolapdere Campus

Extractive Industry Contract Disclosure:

Review of the IFC’s Social and Environmental Sustainability Policy

The most widely supported recommendation stemming from the World Bank's Extractive Industries Review (2003) was the need to strengthen governance surrounding the extractive industries and, specifically, transparency.  As such, the World Bank’s Management committed to improving transparency of extractive industry revenues and contracts. 

As part of this commitment, the IFC's Social and Environmental Sustainability Policy required contract disclosure from “significant” projects.   However, since the inception of the Sustainability Policy in 2005, no IFC project has triggered this requirement. 

The IFC’s Sustainability Policy is currently under review. This session includes an expert panel discussion on reasons to strengthen the World Bank’s performance and, specifically, the IFC’s Policy on extractive industry contract disclosure.

Event chair: World Bank Country Executive Director (forthcoming)

The Importance of Contract Disclosure: Findings of the World Bank EIR

Karin Lissakers - Director, Revenue Watch Institute, former US Executive Director to the IMF

When is Confidentiality Necessary?

Susan Maples - Revenue Watch Fellow, Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute

Extractive Industry Contract Disclosure in Practice: Azerbaijan and Mongolia

Gubad Bayramov - Chairman of the Management Board, Economic Research Center, and Coordinator of NGO Council for Improving Transparency in Extractive Industry in Azerbaijan

Dorjdari Namkhaijantsan - Director, Open Society Forum, Mongolia and Coordinator Publish What You Pay Mongolia Coalition

The World Bank/IFC’s Current Position

Somit Varma (invited) - Director, IFC-World Bank Oil, Gas, Mining, and Chemicals Department

Time: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Youth, Volunteerism, and Social Capital

The international development agenda has been evolving and has adopted a much more comprehensive approach to development that not only contemplates economic growth, but the well being of its citizens.  One of the key indicators of this paradigm shift is the growth of social capital and how volunteerism is used to strengthen it.  Volunteerism is described as “the practice of people committing time, knowledge, and effort for other people without being motivated by financial gain”. Volunteer work not only plays a significant role in balancing the existing injustices in a society but also functions as a mean of sustaining social solidarity and personal development.  There is significant research that shows that those who volunteer, not only are more tolerant and respectful of democratic values, but become more self-confident social activists. This session will provide a panel discussion between the civil society representatives from different countries on recent developments in youth volunteerism and particularly its impact on social capital.

Moderator: Prof. Korel Goymen ( Sabancı University)

Speakers:  Bill  Reese (International  Youth Foundatoin), Ziad Abdel Samad (Arab NGO Network for Development), Nurdan Sahin (General Manager, TEGV)

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Time: 2:30 p.m.

Location: Lütfi Kirdar, Topkapi B Room

World Bank/IMF

Closed to the Public

Time: 3:00 p.m.

Location: Conrad Ballroom, Conrad Hotel

Time: Approx. 3:30 p.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Reengineering Urban Infrastructure:  How the World Bank and Asian Development Bank Shape Urban infrastructure Finance and Governance in India

Urban infrastructure remains the ‘Achilles heel’ in the ‘rising India’. The country needs an approximately $425 billion investment in infrastructure by 2010-2011; but it currently has a gap of $123 billion. The central, state and local governments cannot fill this hole due in part to fiscal constraints and efficiency problems. Can the entry of private sector in financing public goods make a viable solution? Based on the research commissioned by the Bank Information Center, this Panel will discuss the WB and ADBs’ role in restructuring urban governance and infrastructure finance in India that helps create an enabling environment for privatization. It will also present how this restructuring impacts municipalities and the delivery basic services particularly for the urban poor.

Key questions to be addressed:

• How do the World Bank and Asian development Bank shape policy reforms in the urban infrastructure governance in India? How do they gain buy-in from the government?

• Does the World Bank and ADBs’ ‘commercialized’ urban infrastructure approach (which uses a mix of private sector participation, public-private partnership, outsourcing local governance functions to consultants, among others) strengthen or weaken India’s local and national governments’ capacity and  accountability to provide the basic services to the poor?

• Do the Banks’ policy reform tools and lending instruments in urban infrastructure guarantee more efficiency in service delivery, transparency, public participation and safeguards in the design and implementation of public infrastructure projects?

Moderator: Sandra N. Smithey (Program Officer, Environment Program, C.S. Mott Foundation)

Speakers:

Lalitha Kamath (Independent Researcher based in India), Vinay Baindur (Independent Researcher based in India), Junaid Ahmad (Sector Manager, Urban and Water Unit / WB),

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

CSO Strategy Meeting on the IFC Policy and Standards Consultations

The meeting will help identify key issues and coordinate CSO positions before the public consultations on IFC Policy and Performance Standards on October 5

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: Hotel Grand Star Conference Room

Bank Information Center

CSOs Only

Dialogue with the IMF: How is the IMF Measuring Up to Its Promises of Reform?

The IMF’s lending levels collapsed in 2006-2007 – in part, due to the stigma associated with borrowing from the institution.  Some governments perceived the IMF as supporting difficult, but necessary, policy reforms in challenging times.   Other governments perceived the IMF as infringing on their sovereignty; prioritizing stabilization at the expense of growth; and lacking legitimacy due to its unrepresentative governance structure. In April, the London Summit of Heads of State called for IMF shareholders to nearly triple the institution’s resources.  At the same time, the IMF began to make reforms to its programs that are intended to provide greater policy flexibility to borrowing governments.  Plans are also underway to reform the institution’s governance structure.   

This panel addresses questions, such as:  What new reforms has the IMF undertaken?  What further governance and policy reforms are required in order for developing countries to fulfill their promise?  How should these reforms integrate the lessons of the global financial crisis?  At the national level, is the IMF ensuring that governments have sufficient "policy space" to respond to citizens and their elected representatives?  At the global level, how can the institution’s governance be democratized?"

Moderator: Nancy Alexander (Heinrich Boell Foundation)

Speakers:

-- Ranji Teja, Deputy Director of the Strategy, Policy and Review Department, IMF

-- Jomo K.S., Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)

--Erinc Yeldan, Professor, University of Bilkent, Ankara

--Nuria Molina, Executive Director, EURODAD

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Time: 4:30 p.m. -- 6:30 p.m.

Location: Lütfi Kirdar  Topkapi A Room

World Bank/IMF

Closed to the Public

Time: 4:30 p.m. -- 6:30 p.m.

Location: Lütfi Kirdar Dolmabahçe A" Room

IMF

Closed to the public

Time: 5:00 p.m.

Location: International Congress Center, Çamlica

World Bank/IMF

Closed to the Public

Reception for Launch of “World Bank - Civil Society Engagement: Review of Fiscal Years 2007 to 2009

The Civil Society Review represents a comprehensive accounting of Bank – civil society relations across the institutions over the past three years. Included are details of global consultation processes, performance of CSO grantmaking mechanisms,and civil society outreach initiatives by region and constituency teams,  There are also extensive annexes describing CSO involvement in the Country Assistance Strategies (CASs) and Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs).  Complementary copies of the reports will be distributed.

Speaker: Marwan Muasher, Senior Vice President External Affairs (WB)

Time: 6:00 p.m. -- 7:00 p.m.

Location: CSO Open Space

Program of Seminars (Con't): Beyond the Crisis

View the Schedule and Session Descriptions for the Program of Seminars

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 5:45 p.m.

Location: Program of Seminars Conference Room

Consultation on IFC Performance Standards

Speakers: Greg Radford (Director, Environment and Social Department/ IFC), Aaron Rosenberg  (Chief, Public Affairs / IFC)

This session will allow stakeholders and CSO's to provide input into IFC's Performance Standards and Disclosure Policy Review.  A short presentation on the overall process will kick off the session, but maximum time will be reserved for discussion.  We will roughly divide the session into three parts - one hour devoted to environmental issues, one hour devoted to labor and social issues, and one hour devoted to community engagement and disclosure issues, with short coffee breaks in between topics.  For full background about the policy review, please go to www.ifc.org/policyreview

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: Lutfi Kirdar Building, Halic Hall

IFC

Will have interpretation in French and Turkish

Meeting of the Development Committee

Provisional agenda:

1. Supporting Global Development through the Crisis and Beyond - Review of World Bank Financial Capacity

2. Enhancing Voice and Participation of Developing and Transition Countries in the World Bank Group: Phase 2

Time: 9:45 a.m.

Location: Uskudar Room, ICC

Impact of Women's Empowerment on Building Democracy and a Sustainable Economy

This session will focus on the macro economic, social, and political impacts of women’s empowerment in Turkey and globally. Strengthening the economic and social position of women is critical to poverty alleviation, democratization, education, as well as sustainable development.  Socially, economically and politically empowered women represent a significant economic potential as well as a more democratic society based on equal access to rights and benefits.

The panelists, who are leaders in various MNC’s and leading financial institutions in Turkey, will share their own perspectives on the strategic relationship between development and women empowerment.  The speakers will analyze various approaches to empowering women and the specific positive impacts it can have in individual societies and the global economy.

Speakers: Kameron Kordestani (Partner, McKinsey Associates), Suzan Sabancı Dincer (Chairman, Akbank), Gulseren Onanc (CEO, Kagider), Kristen Clemet (Chair, Norfund)

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 10:30 a.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Change You Can Believe In? Critical Perspectives on Whether and How IMF Programmes Have Changed and Need To Change

Since the last Annual Meetings, the IMF has undergone a remarkable revival, agreeing on loans and credits for 2009 worth $4 billion – four times their 2008 lending. Has the revival been accompanied by a transformation? The IMF says it has changed: it has eliminated some of its structural conditionality, and is narrowing the conditions in its new lending. New facilities like the Flexible Credit Line and the Exogenous Shocks Facility promise sharply reduced conditions. What difference have these changes made on the ground? Civil society representatives and government officials will examine what conditions remain on IMF lending, and what the prospects are for changes in the perceptions, and the realities, of IMF programs in both middle-income and low-income countries.

Time: 11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Role of Donor Agencies in Budget Transparency and Accountability 

IBP and CISAS will present the findings from recent research evaluating the role of donor agencies in promoting or hindering transparent budgeting, increasing participation, and strengthening institutions of accountability in Afghanistan, Georgia, Ghana, Kenya, Nicaragua, and the Philippines. Official representatives from recipient and donor countries as well as international institutions will respond to the findings.

Speakers: Speakers: Maurice Nsabimana (Senior Analyst, IBP), Ana Quirós Víquez (Director, Centro de Información y Servicios de Asesoría en Salud, Nicaragua)

Time: 11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Promoting Accountability at the World Bank Group: Experiences of the World Bank Inspection Panel and the IFC-MIGA Compliance Advisor / Ombudsman

The Inspection Panel was established in September 1993 by the World Bank Board of Directors as an independent accountability mechanism. The primary purpose of the Inspection Panel is to address the concerns of people who may be affected by Bank projects and to ensure that the Bank adheres to its operational policies and procedures during the project cycle. The Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman was established in 1999 and is the independent recourse mechanism for projects supported by the private sector lending arms of the World Bank Group through the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The CAO works to address the concerns of individuals or communities affected by IFC/MIGA projects, enhance the social and environmental outcomes of IFC/MIGA projects, and foster greater public accountability of IFC and MIGA. The purpose of this session is to increase awareness about, and consider questions regarding, the World Bank Group’s (WBG) accountability mechanisms, namely the Inspection Panel and the CAO.

Moderator: Chad Dobson (Executive Director, Bank Information Center)

Speakers: Meg Taylor (Vice President, Compliance Advisor Ombudsman, IFC-MIGA), Werner Kiene (Chairperson, World Bank Inspection Panel)

Lunch will be provided

Time: 12:30 p.m. -- 2:00 p.m.

Location: Room CSO B

Global Economic Crisis and Emerging Markets: Turkish Experience

The crisis of 2001 forced Turkey to follow a new economic and financial structural reform program through a standby agreement with the IMF, which focused achieving sustainable growth, restoring macro-economic stability, increasing employment opportunities, and reforming the financial sector. As a result, between 2002 and 2007 Turkey experienced an average annual grow rate of 6 per cent and  grew to be the 15th largest economy of the World.  However, Turkey has been heavily impacted by the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, and the economic slowdown in its main export markets has led to enormous decline in exports, and resulting drop in industrial production employment. The Turkish economy has contracted by 13.8% in the first quarter of 2009 (the hight contraction rate among the OECD countries).
This panel organized by DEIK and TOBB will discuss the ways and means Turkey should adopt to cope with this financial crisis. Speakers from academic and business communities will address the impact of the crisis on Turkish foreign trade, foreign direct investments (FDI), and the Turkish growth model. Speakers will also suggest the instruments and mechanism which Turkey can adopt to manage the crisis in order to restore confidence and stabilize macro-economic indicators.Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) , Union of Chambers of Commerce and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB)

Moderator: Rona Yircali, Chairman, World Chambers Federation, Chairman of Executive Board (DEIK)

Speakers: Speakers: Prof. Dr. Serdar Sayan (TOBB Economy & Technology University, Ankara), Dr. Murat Üçer (Koç University, Istanbul), Zeynep Bodur Okyay (DEIK Board Member)

Time: 1:30 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Improving Developing Results Through Evaluation

This Panel will highlight the work carried out by the World Bank Group’s Independent Evaluation Group (IEG). The World Bank Group’s credibility is greatly enhanced by having a strong and independent-minded evaluation unit at its service. Its function is to generate lessons and provide for accountability. Yet it seems that much greater institutional efforts are needed to translate the valuable findings of IEG’s painstaking evaluation reports into practical policy changes. The Panel will discuss some of  IEG’s outstanding work, as well as the need for broader institutional reforms at the WBG to ensure that the lessons generated by IEG are adequately taken into account.

Moderator: Eli Whitney Debevoise II, United States Executive Director, World Bank

Speakers:

Vinod Thomas, Director-General IEG, World Bank Group

Eckhard Deutscher, Chair, Development Assistance Committee (DAC), OECD

Ajay Chhibber, Assistant Administrator and Director Regional Buerau for Asia and the Pacific, UNDP (taped message)

Korinna Horta, Bank Information Center

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: Room CSO B

Time: Approx. 3:00 p.m.

Location: Main Press Conference Room, Rumeli Building

Closed to the public

Climate Change, Finance and the Multilateral Development Banks

In 2008, the World Bank launched the Climate Investment Funds to scale up assistance to developing countries in order to address the challenges of climate change and strengthen the knowledge base in the development community.   The CIFs are governed by a sunset clause that mandates conclusion of its operations once a new UNFCCC financial architecture is effective. As the CIFs are operationalized over the coming year, the results of this program are likely to inform the post-2012 financial agreement. There are many lessons learnt from the development and design of these so-called ‘live experiments’. The panel will discuss the following questions: 

• What roles might the World Bank and Regional Development Banks play in facilitating, and monitoring international climate-related financial flows in a post-2012 agreement?
• What can the Bretton Woods institution do to help developing countries get the support and finance they need to address climate change as a development issue?
• What governance reforms – including management structures and staff incentives – might give the Bretton Woods institutions greater legitimacy as honest brokers in global efforts to address climate change?
• What lessons can be taken from the recent experience with the World Bank-administered Climate Investment Funds?

Moderator: Athena Ballesteros(WRI)

Speakers: Manish Bapna,(Vice-President / WRI), David Wheeler (Center for Global Development - TBC), Liane Schalatek, (Heinrich Boell Foundation), Ama Marston (Bretton Woods Project)

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Blind-sided by the Global Economic Crisis:  Should Experts Have Seen the Crisis Brewing?  Can they see the Solutions?

This session is both backward and forward-looking.   Looking backward, we see that most “experts” – including the financial press and think tanks -- didn’t see the global financial crisis coming.  Why might this be the case?  Are crises anomalous by nature and, therefore, unpredictable?  Or, along with “regulatory capture,” is there “media capture”?  “Ideology capture”?    Are the few experts who predicted the crisis (for the “correct” reasons) outside of the mainstream?  Do we have what some have described as a “Ponzi Scheme of Economic Knowledge” due to the lack of diversity in research, expertise, and “reliable sources”? 

Looking forward, the discussion highlights the fact that, unless the causes of the crisis are properly understood, appropriate solutions will be elusive.   Emphasis will be given to the implications of the depleted coffers of many developing countries for financing domestic needs and global public goods, including the climate change agenda.  In addition, the panel will assess the actual and potential responses to the crisis by the IMF,  World Bank, G-20, and other governments and institutions.

Moderator: Nancy Alexander, Heinrich Boell Foundation-North America

Speakers:

--Roberto Bissio, Director, Third World Network-Latin America and Social Watch

--Danny Leipziger, Professor of International Business at George Washington University, Vice Chair of the Growth Commission, Former World Bank Vice President

--Ngaire Woods, Director, Global Economic Governance Programme, Oxford University (invited)

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Book Launch and Reception of  “Accountability at the World Bank: The Inspection Panel at 15 Years”

The Inspection Panel will be hosting a reception to launch its publication entitled “Accountability at the World Bank: The Inspection Panel at 15 Years”. This publication, which also features the Panel’s 2008-2009 Annual Report, documents the evolution of the Panel since its establishment in 1993 and its major innovations over the years. Panel Chairperson Werner Kiene, Panel Member Roberto Lenton, and members of the Secretariat will welcome guests. The Keynote Address will be offered by Mr. Eckhard Deutscher, Chairman of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD and former Dean of the World Bank Board of Executive Directors. Copies of the publication will be available for distribution Book Launch Reception.

Time: 5:30 p.m. -- 7:00 p.m.

Location: Lütfi Kirdar, Dolmabahçe A

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 1:00 p.m.

Location: Hotel Grand Star Conference Center

Bank Information Center

By Invitation Only

Youth and Human Development

The growth of Turkish economy between 2002 and 2007 has not reflected positively on its human development record. Turkey continues to rank medium to low in literacy rate, standard of living, women’s rights/participation, and human development in general.  According to the 2007 census, 40% of the 15-24 age group population (approximately 5 million) is neither employed nor has access to education.  Unemployment rates are even high among educated youth. Women’s rights/participation is another area which needs serious attention in Turkey.

The number of unemployed and uneducated young women reaches millions. Yet, Turkey’s youth can also play a key role in spurring societal development and improving Turkey’s human development record.  Turkey needs to utilize the potential of its young population and explore ways in which the masses of young people can be transformed into social capital. This session brings together experts who have extensive experience in civil society and specifically with youth movements. Through this panel we hope to stimulate a discussion of the challenges facing youth and offer creative solutions to addressing them.

Moderator: Arda Batu ( ARI Movement Board Member)

Speakers:  Cüneyt Ülsever (Journalist Hurriyet), Serdar Değirmencioğlu (Associate Psychology Professor, Arel University), Ümit Kumcuoğlu (Kıraç Group), Aygen Aytaç (Youth Expert, UNDP/Ankara), Zeynep Dereli (Founder, Turkey’s Change Movement)

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 10:30 a.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Transatlantic Partnerships, Civil Society, and Fragile States

Since the end of the Cold War, the wave of up-raisings and political change in Eastern Europe have reinforced the view that these countries will transition from oppressive regimes to open societies based on rule of law and political and civil rights. Transatlantic donors in partnership with these nations envisioned a "Europe whole and free", many of them joining NATO and the European Union. But has the golden age of civil society building faded? Some countries are backsliding toward populism and nationalism. Others maintain quasi-democratic or authoritarian systems. Now, civil societies in these countries are threatened on numerous fronts: the economic crisis, increasing state fragility, and declining funding for civil society organizations.

This panel of experts will discuss several key questions. How are the relationships between citizens and states evolving in these countries? Are these states delivering on public goods - health, education and security? What are some new approaches to empowering civil society, fostering entrepreneurs, and building local institutions

Speakers:

Jim Kolbe (Co-chair of Transatlantic Taskforce on Development), Ivan Vejvoda (Executive Director, Balkan Trust for Democracy) Nilda Bullain (Executive Director, European Center for Not-for-Profit Law – TBC) Sarah Cliffe (Director of WDR 11 Team)

Time: 11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Financing Forest Conservation to Combat Global Warming:  Keys to Success

Forest clearing in developing countries is an enormous contributor to global warming, accounting for about 20% of annual greenhouse gas emissions.  The Bali Action Plan seeks ways to reward countries for reducing these emissions – an agenda known as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).  Effective implementation of REDD is an intense topic of discussion in the negotiations leading up to Copenhagen.  Many observers envision financial flows in the billions of dollars per year, and substantial pilot efforts are already being sponsored by UN-REDD, the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), and the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative.

Sustained international support for such enormous payment flows will hinge on the operational credibility of REDD programs.  The panel will discuss and illustrate three keys to a successful international agreement on forest conservation:

• Sustainable payment mechanisms and robust supporting institutions;
• Evidence-based evaluation of forest program impacts, illustrated by a global analysis of the impact of strictly protected areas, multiple use conservation areas, and indigenous areas on deforestation; and
• Transparent public monitoring of results; the rapidly-advancing potential for public oversight will be demonstrated using a new web-based system, FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action).
  

 *   Light lunch will be served

Speakers:  Ulla Toernaes (Minister for Development Cooperation, Denmark), Vinod Thomas (Director-General and Senior Vice-President, Independent Evaluation Group, WBG), Manish Bapna (Managing Director, World Resources Institute), Kenneth Chomitz (Senior Advisor, Independent Evaluation Group, World Bank Group), David Wheeler (Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development), Dan Hammer (Center for Global Development), Robin Kraft (Center for Global Development).

Time: 11:30 a.m. -- 1:00 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Consultation Meeting on Bank Environment Strategy

The World Bank Group (WBG) is preparing a new Environment Strategy to be presented to the Board of Executive Directors by December 2010.  The new Strategy will propose an approach for achieving environmental sustainability at the WBG to ensure that its support for developing countries leads to sustainable development outcomes. The WBG has made progress as an advocate for the environment since 1990, but it has not yet reached the level of full environmental sustainability the institution aspires to.  This is why the current environment strategy is being updated with IFC and MIGA active participation.   We are undertaking inclusive and transparent consultations with all WBG stakeholder groups, including governments, the private sector, civil society and representatives of vulnerable communities.  During this first phase of the consultation process, which will last through February 15, 2010, we are engaging in a dialogue based on the Environment Strategy Concept Note, available here in all official WBG languages.

We hope that you can join us and look forward to receiving your input in person.  Feedback may also be provided directly through the website through September 30, 2009.

Speaker: Michelle de Nevers (WB)

Time: 1:00 p.m. -- 4:00 p.m.

Location: Room ICC,
Üsküdar 2&3

World Bank

Will have Interpretation in Turkish , French, Russian, and Arabic

Lessons Learned from Two IFC-Financed Projects in the Former Soviet Union

Please join this session for a screening of two short films exploring the impacts of the IFC's funding of two projects: the Russkiy Mir Oil Terminal in Russia and the Karachaganak Oil and Gas Condensate Field in Kazakhstan. Presented by Crude Accountability, these 3-5 minute films provide a unique opportunity to view on-the-ground footage from the communities affected by the projects. Crude Accountability and the filmmakers will be present to share their impressions and to engage in dialogue about the lessons learned from these projects and the implications for IFC financing of future projects.

Time: 1:00 p.m. -- 2:00 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Gender Tools for IFI-Watchers

Gender Action will present its Gender Toolkit for International-Finance Watchers which contains tools, information and resources on gender and IFI-related topics like extractive industries, climate change, commercial banks, debt, indigenous rights and accountability measures for both IFI-watchers and non-IFI watchers alike wishing to address gender issues in their activities.  Several IFI watcher partners will discuss how they are integrating gender issues into their work.

Moderator: Elaine Zuckerman, Gender Action

Speaker: Anna Rooke

Contributors: Alvin Carlos, BIC; Ama Marston, Bretton Woods Project; Red Constantino, NGO Forum on ADB; Johan Frijns, BankTrack.

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: Hotel Grand Star Conference Room

Gender Action

For inquiries, please write to

A New Sovereign Debt Crisis? Creative Measures to Ensure Debt Sustainability and Safeguard Social Expenditures

Developing country debt is back on the official agenda of the Bank and Fund Annual Meetings. Many analysts have warned that the global financial crisis may heighten many low-income countries’ vulnerabilities to sovereign debt difficulties in the near future. Already, some countries have sought additional emergency finance from the IMF and World Bank, and both institutions have benefited from an injection of new funds. Additionally, the debt sustainability framework (DSF) has been ‘flexibilised’ to allow some countries more scope to borrow more. But is stepped-up assistance from the IFIs – and a more flexible DSF – the right international response to the pressures many poor countries face due to the global recession? What alternative measures do civil society organisations propose to safeguard social expenditures and address fears over a new sovereign debt crisis?

Speakers:  Hubert René Schillinger (FES), Gail Hurley (Policy Advisor, EURODAD),  Jürgen Kaiser (Political Coordinator, Erlassjahr.de), Carlos Braga (Director, Economic Policy and Debt Department, WB)

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Strengthening Civil Society in Nigeria

The signing into law of the Public Procurement Act in 2007 by the Nigerian Government ushered in a new era of government effort to promote transparency and accountability in government programs in Nigeria.  The Federal Government through a World Bank funded project was able to build the capacity of non-state actors to track implementation of the national development strategy (NEEDS).
 
This session will focus on the experience of the Federal government in the assessment of NEEDS and for strengthening of civil society to monitor public procurement in Nigeria.  The panelists will discuss the role of civil society in Nigeria in acting as watch dogs to promote accountability and transparency in project implementation in public and donor-funded projects in Nigeria, as well as the advances and constraints in this process.

Speakers: Chineme Ume-Ezeoke (Special Advisor to the President),  Virginia Ifeadiro, Coordinator (CCG), Stella Odife (WANGO), Edith Grace Ssempala (Senior Advisor / WB)

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Report Back on the Bank’s Information Disclosure Policy Review

The World Bank believes that transparency and accountability are fundamentally important to the development process and central to achieving the Bank’s mission to alleviate poverty and improve development effectiveness.  For this reason, it has worked to improve and fine tune is information disclosure policies over the years.  The Bank issued its first Directive on Disclosure of Information in 1985 and has periodically reviewed the policy and expanded its scope in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005.  The current policy has just undergone another major review process in 2009. 

The new policy incorporates a paradigm shift in the Bank’s approach to disclosing information, from an approach that spells out what documents the Bank discloses (a “positive list”) to one under which the Bank would disclose any information in its possession that is not on a targeted list of exceptions.  This will make the Bank’s policy more consistent with a presumption in favor of disclosure, and more in line with recognized international best practice.

This session will highlight the policy review process and the role carried out by CSOs, discuss the main recommendations of the Approach Paper “Toward Greater Transparency: Proposed Revisions to the World Bank’s Disclosure Policy”, and focus on the implementation of this policy and its implications for other international organizations.

Speakers: Jeff Gutman (World Bank), Amy Ekdawi (Bank Information Center)

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: Room Emirgan 1, Istanbul Congress Center

Bank Information Center, World Bank

Will have Interpretation in Turkish, French, Russian, and Arabic

Listening to the Voices of the Poor

Poverty eradication is an issue around for which there is broad universal consensus, as exemplified in the first Millennium Development Goal. The poor, through the work of people-based movements such as Grameen Bank and SEWA, have shown capacity and will to resolve their plight when provided with the opportunity and resources.  However, governments and international donor agencies have generally not acknowledged and supported these home-grown approaches and solutions.  This panel will discuss these experiences and reflect on an initiative to draw on the convening powers of the World Bank to create strategic alliance of key development stakeholders (governments, donor agencies, think tanks, and companies) to promote a coalition for poverty elimination, and facilitate networking of peoples organizations. 

Moderator: John Garrison (Civil Society Specialist, WB)

Speakers: Jyoti  Macwan (Chairperson of Self-Employed Women’s Association) SEWA; Ingrid Srinath (CIVICUS); Ibrahim Makram (CEOSS), John Ruthrauf (Policy Officer, Interaction), Baquer  Namazi (Hamyaran, Iran NGO Resource Center),

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 6:00 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

The IFC Policy and Performance Standards:  A View From the Ground

This session is a roundtable discussion led by civil society groups and communities to describe experiences on the ground with projects implemented under the IFC Policy and Performance Standards.

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Location: Istanbul Congress Center

Location: Istanbul Congress Center

Closed to the public

Communities Driving Resilience and Recovery

This panel will convene civil society organizations who will present partnership mechanisms that empower organized community based organizations, including grassroots women’s groups to advance collaborative programs that reduce the vulnerability of poor communities to natural disasters, climate change and conflict. They will cover strategies that address housing, basic services, infrastructure and governance in the context of recovery, reconstruction, disaster risk reduction; and analyze mechanisms that facilitate citizen-government engagement in disaster-prone communities.  Panelists will also make recommendations on how institutions such as the World Bank can promote grassroots-government partnerships that scale up effective solutions, increase accountability to the poor and reduce their vulnerability to both climate change and disaster.

Speakers: Suranjana Gupta (GROOTS International and Huairou Commission), Sengul Akcar (Director of the Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work, Turkey),  Baquer Namazi (Hamarayan NGO Resource Center, Iran)

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 10:30 a.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Transforming Transportation in Cities

Speakers:  Dr. Nancy Kete (Director, EMBARQ), Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (TBC)

Rapid urbanization and even more rapid motorization rates in cities of the developing world are resulting in congestion, pollution, noise, accidents, losses in productivity that hinder economic development and causing a general degradation in quality of life. The good news is that pioneering cities, with examples from across the globe, have discovered relatively low cost, highly effective strategies to tackle this suite of challenges in a financially sustainable way.

Development banks, aid agencies, national policy makers and private investors all have a role in scaling up these proven strategies to a more sustainable urban transport sector.  This session will analyze and discuss what has worked and how these pilots can be taken to scale.

Time: 9:00 a.m. -- 10:30 a.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Good Governance, Investment Climate and the Challenge of Increasing Capital Flows to Africa

With recent positive economic performance of countries such as France, Germany, Japan and encouraging signals from Europe and U.S.A, it is becoming increasingly clear that the world economy is on the road to recovery. Booming Capital and trade flows are bound to resume as competition for resources between countries and regions of the globe becomes intense. The investment climate of economies will play a key role in deciding the direction of capital flows. 

The key challenge then for most Countries of Africa in the coming months will be to put in place investment friendly policies that will attract and retain a share of global capital flows. Measures in this regard will include instituting good governance in corporate and macroeconomic management, rule of law, accountability, transparency and due process, changing the culture and perception of corruption and ensuring policy continuity.  These are huge challenges for Africa and how will they be overcome, what lessons have been learned and what is the road ahead for Africa in building a more friendly continental economic environment?

Speakers: Donald Kaberuka (President, African Development Bank), Bamanga Tukur  (President, African Business Roundtable and Chairman, NEPAD Business Group),  Abdulahi Janneh (Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (TBC), Farida Waziri (Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) (TBC)

Time: 11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Time: 11:00 a.m. -- 12:30 p.m.

Location: Private

Evolving Financial Market Regulation on the Face of Global Financial Crisis: Lessons from Turkish Experience

Turkey experienced devastating financial crises in 2000 and 2001. The Turkish financial sector has shown remarkable progress in the period following the 2001 crisis. There was at least one good side to this devastating crisis. It provided regulators with the suitable environment to initiate a structural reform process, which included regulations on many issues including foreign exchange exposure, connected lending practices, and capital adequacy standards. State banks were relieved of the burden of duty losses and some measures were taken to enhance their efficiency.

The convergence of the regulatory framework with the Basel-II international standards, and the proactive policies of the regulators are among the main reasons for the current soundness of the financial sector. Redefining the risk groups of certain balance sheets assets, and increasing the provisions for certain off-balance sheet items and credit card installments are some examples of the proactive measures taken by the regulators in order to control banks’ asset growth and risk taking before the global financial crisis has erupted in recent years. Having adopted such sorts of regulations, the Turkish financial market has been relatively less affected by the recent global crisis.

Recent Turkish experience with financial market regulation, prior and after the current crisis, provides an invaluable lesson for both developed and developing countries today. This session will analyze the lessons from the Turkish experience, and shed light on the prospect of financial market regulations within G20 initiatives.

Speakers: Ahmet Faruk Aysan (RAD and Associate Professor of Economics, Boğaziçi University / Turkey), Others (TBA)

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room A

Lessons Learned from Compliance Mechanisms

Speaker: Meg Taylor (Vice President, CAO)

Time: 2:00 p.m. -- 3:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B

Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and Development

This session will present and discuss the findings of the Global Human Development Report 2009

Speakers:  Olav Kjorven (Deputy Administrator, UNDP)

Time: 4:00 p.m. -- 5:30 p.m.

Location: CSO Room B