The World Bank Institute e-newsletter (WBI News), issued monthly, provides a concise selection of WBI news with related links. Let us know what YOU would find most useful for us to include in upcoming issues of WBI News by sending an email with "Comments" in the subject line to: wbinews@worldbank.org.  If you would like to request information, please include "Info Request" in the subject line of your email. Please visit the WBI front page to sign up to receive WBI News. In this issue: 1. Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure (PPPI) Days 2008 The third annual WBI flagship event: Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure (PPPI) Days, will be held in Washington, DC Dec 15-18. Co-organized this year with the Asian Development Bank Institute, PPPI Days 2008 will feature topics related to PPPI finance including the possible impact of the global financial crisis. Some 150 ministerial and other high-level officials from 65 countries are expected to attend in addition to representatives from multilateral and donor agencies, as well as private financial, legal, and consulting firms, and other businesses around the world. These professionals will explore how the public and private sectors can share the financing, risks and benefits of infrastructure projects in sectors such as energy, transport, water, and sanitation in which the private sector delivers services, as well as in social sectors such as education and health. Because PPPI has grown worldwide as a tool for infrastructure financing, PPPI Days seeks to facilitate the exchange of knowledge among practitioners and to inform them of new capacity-building activities including a Global PPPI Core Learning Program that WBI and other multilateral partners are planning to delivery in 2009.
Related link: http://info.worldbank.org/etools/PPPI-Portal/2008PPPI/index.htm
2. Daniel Kaufmann leaves World Bank Institute for Brookings Daniel Kaufmann, outgoing Director of Global Programs at the World Bank Institute, scholar on governance, anti-corruption and development, and co-author of the Worldwide Governance Indicators will deliver a farewell lecture entitled "Governance, Crisis, and the Longer View: Unorthodox Reflections on the New Reality" on December 9, 9 a.m. at the World Bank, Washington, D.C. Mr. Kaufmann will share his reflections on governance and corruption, based on years of experience and empirics, and, in view of the current crisis and evolving new world reality, he will also suggest possible directions for the future. This special lecture will take place on International Anti-Corruption Day. After a long and distinguished career at the Bank, Mr. Kaufmann is moving on to become a senior scholar at the Brookings Institution where he will research, write, and advise on his fields of expertise. The lecture will be webstreamed and accessible to all at www.worldbank.org/wbi. You can also send your questions prior and during the event to governancewbi@worldbank.org, for Mr. Kaufmann and the discussants to address. If you would like to attend in person, please contact Ekaterina Svirina at esvirina@worldbank.org. Relevant blogs:
http://governanceblog.worldbank.org/blog/kaufmann
http://thekaufmannpost.net/
3. World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China, November 3-6, 2008
The World Urban Forum, organized every two years by UN-HABITAT, is the world’s leading conference on urban development and human habitat. This year’s forum, held in Nanjing, China on November 3-6, covered energy, environment, land, housing, infrastructure, healthcare, education, safety, and reform of ghettos. National and local governments, NGOs, experts and scholars, entrepreneurs, and private citizens from many fields all participated in the discussions. In partnership with the International Center of Urban Management and Municipal Development Partnership for Eastern and Southern Africa, WBI organized a session on participatory budgeting, highlighting recent innovations in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. With UN Habitat, WBI also delivered a training session on How to Use Distance Learning to Build Municipal Management Capacity. Presentations described current distance learning technologies, which range from CD-Rom-based and online learning programs to satellite radio tutorials for remote villages. Case studies were presented on radio programming in Guatemala, municipal management for Latin America, open and participatory government, public finance for practitioners, and E-governance. Contact person Victor Vergara at vvergara1@worldbank.org. WBI’s Urban and Local Government website: www.wbiurban.org
4. Global Dialogue Series: Managing the Collateral Impact of the Fuel, Food, and Financial Crises Policy makers and managers in the public and private sectors around the world are struggling with the combined impact of the fuel, food, and financial crises. They are looking for ways of mitigating the immediate negative effects on their economies and citizens, while also addressing the long-run growth and poverty implications. Sharing experiences on the design and implementation of responses can help countries avoid potentially costly mistakes and learn about innovative techniques. In the coming months, WBI will be launching a Global Dialogue Series to connect, across countries and regions, the technical specialists and policy makers who are engaged in managing these shocks. The series will explore macroeconomic policy management, access to finance and financial regulation, social protection, and subnational and municipal infrastructure finance. Related link: http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/financialcrisis/
5. Eighth Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) The Eight Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) was held in Paris on 20-22 November 2008, hosted by the French National Assembly and the French government. France’s Minister of Economy, Finance and Employment Christine Lagarde, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn addressed the conference. The World Bank Institute organized a session on Parliamentary Capacity Building, at which participants reviewed the experience and approaches of three organizations working to strengthen parliaments, namely the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA), the Parliamentary Centre and WBI. They discussed feedback from client parliaments (Ghana and Tanzania), and made recommendations on how these organizations might collaborate with PNoWB to build parliamentary capacity, especially in Africa. PNoWB distributed a first issue of Network News on 14 October. To receive the newsletter, contact the PNoWB Secretariat at: secretariat@pnowb.org.
6.Inclusive Agribusiness: Fighting Poverty, Hunger, and Malnutrition WBI is developing a new Executive Development Program on Inclusive Agribusiness: Fighting Poverty, Hunger, and Malnutrition, to be offered at World Bank headquarters in Washington DC, February 16-20, 2009. The program, designed for business executives and public sector leaders who are working on food or agribusiness-related issues, provides insights on agribusiness strategies that promote business opportunities in low-income markets while also addressing the urgent need to reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. For more information, go to www.worldbank.org/wbi/edp or contact Dr. Djordjija Petkoski, Program Director, at agriedp@worldbank.org to register.  |
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