Media Contact: Alejandra Viveros: (202) 473-4306 aviveros@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, October 10, 2008─ The World Bank joined governments and the private sector today to launch the Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI) to promote the economic empowerment of adolescent girls in poor and post-conflict countries. The AGI is being piloted in Liberia through a partnership between the Bank, the Nike Foundation and the Governments of Liberia and Denmark. It will be expanded in the coming year to include Afghanistan, Nepal, Rwanda, South Sudan and a sixth country to be identified. The initiative provides funding of US$3 - 5 million per country, and is a new way for the World Bank to engage with the private sector. “Today, adolescent girls in poor countries are generally better educated than they were 20 years ago. But they remain far behind boys when it comes to the workplace,” said World Bank Group President Robert. B. Zoellick. “Investing in adolescent girls is precisely the catalyst poor countries need to overcome poverty. Investing in them is not only fair. It is a smart economic move.” “Girls are key for the economic future of our country,” said Liberia ’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. “We are proud of being the first country to adopt the Adolescent Girls Initiative, and we want others to join us in expanding this effort to improve the economic future of girls and young women around the world.” The Initiative was launched today during a conference co-organized by the World Bank and the Nike Foundation to underscore the importance of investing in girls because of their ability to bring unprecedented social and economic change to their families, communities and countries. “This collaboration is pioneering an innovative approach to unleashing the future economic power of today’s girls. Every global company should invest in the girl effect. Economists have demonstrated that it is the best possible return on investment,” said Mark Parker, President and CEO of NIKE, Inc. “With targeted investments linked to market demand, adolescent girls will reverse cycles of poverty with huge impact on our global economy.” Public and private sector partners pledged today around $20 million to fund the Initiative, including: · The Nike Foundation $3M · Denmark $5M · Norway $3M · Sweden $3M · United Kingdom £2M · City of Milan $3M The Bank also is developing partnerships with a core group of private sector entities interested in joining the AGI, including Cisco, Standard Chartered, Goldman Sachs as well as the Cherie Blair Foundation. In addition to the initial six countries, project preparation studies will also be conducted in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Papua New Guinea with a view to potentially expand the initiative to these countries. The AGI targets adolescent girls specifically because of their potential to bring unprecedented economic and social change to their families, communities and countries. Research has shown that control of resources by girls and women is fundamental to improving the well-being of girls and their families. They are central to supporting the transfer of wealth from generation to generation and breaking poverty cycles. The Initiative is also supported by the Clinton Global Initiative; the Cherie Blair Women’s Foundation; Peter Sands, CEO of Standard Chartered; and Dina Powell, Managing Director and Global Head of the Office of Corporate Engagement at Goldman Sachs, who participated in the launch alongside Zoellick and World Bank Group Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; NIKE, Inc. President and CEO Mark Parker and Nike Foundation President Maria Eitel; Nobel Laureate Michael Spence; Ethiopian supermodel Liya Kebede; and Grammy-winning Beninese singer Angelique Kidjo among other well-known figures. The Adolescent Girls Initiative is part of the World Bank Group’s Gender Action Plan--Gender Equality as Smart Economics, which is helping increase women’s economic opportunities by improving their access to the labor market, agricultural land and tools, credit, and infrastructure services.
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