What's New! 

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK - Survey on the CSO eNewsletter and Website:  In the past six years, the World Bank External Affairs Civil Society Team (EXTCS) has been providing information and updates on the Bank’s civil society engagement policies and programs through our monthly Civil Society eNewsletter and the Civil Society Website.  Please take 5 minutes to provide us feedback on how these products can be better tailored to your work.  Please respond by January 15th.  Click here to take the survey.


 

Civil society organizations share their impressions of the Annual Meetings:  The largest number ever of CSO representatives, 600 from 85 countries, attended the 2011 Annual Meetings. They represented a variety of constituencies: non-governmental organizations, youth groups, foundations, faith-based groups, academics and trade unions. For the first time we asked them to share their impressions with us on camera.  Watch the video...

CSOs Assess Results of 2011 Annual Meetings:  The World Bank and IMF Civil Society Teams solicited feedback from CSO representatives on the 2011 Annual Meetings.  In general, respondents gave high marks for the logistics and policy sessions, as well as for the overall usefulness of the Civil Society Policy Forum, while providing useful critique and suggestions on how to improve the CS Forum in the future.  Click here to download the Results. 

THINK EQUAL: Gender Issues at the Heart of the 2011 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings:  The launch and discussion of the 2012 World Development Report on gender inequality marked the recent Annual Meetings. Another significant feature of these Meetings was civil society participation which was the largest to date, both in terms of the number of CSO representatives as well as number of policy sessions. More...

Zoellick Calls for Support of Civil Society in the Middle East:  The recent democratic uprisings in the Middle East served as the backdrop for a major speech given by Bank President Robert Zoellick on the emerging role of civil society.  The speech, “The Middle East and North Africa: A New Social Contract for Development” given at Washington’s Peterson Institute on April 6, may well mark a watershed in Bank – civil society relations.  He stated that “now it may be time to invest in the private, not-for-profit sector – civil society -- to help strengthen the capacity of organizations working on transparency, accountability, and service delivery.” Read the Full Speech...

Civil Society eNewsletter – January 2012 New!!: In this first edition, among several interesting stories, we are happy to bring to your attention and call for your participation in two important consultations process recently launched by the World Bank on Global Partnership for Enhanced Social Accountability and Governance and Anti-Corruption Updated Strategy.  Click here to read and to subscribe.