This post is from Bank Information Center - Amplifying Local Voices to Democratize Development.
This week, BIC is working with civil society partners from around the world to discuss the most pressing social and environmental issues in development finance. These panel events and roundtable discussions are taking place during the World Bank Spring Meetings Civil Society Policy Forum. If you’re in DC for the Spring Meetings, join us in exploring the following issues:
Forests at the World Bank Group in a Post-Paris Agreement World
Tuesday, April 12, 4:00-5:30 pm
Conservation International & BIC are hosting a policy forum event on the Bank’s role in supporting forest commitments coming out of COP21. We’ll have a panel including: Bank staff working on forests and climate change; CSO partners from FPP, WRI, CI, and Honduran indigenous organization MASTA; and a Norwegian government representative from NICFI.
IFI Development Policy Operations: How Environmental and Social Standards Apply
Wednesday, April 13, 11:00-12:30 pm
World Bank I Building
Join Greenpeace Indonesia, urgewald, KR Foundation, and BIC for a conversation on environmental and social risk management in development policy finance. National reforms implemented under policy loans from international finance institutions can drive development trends for many years after they are disbursed. Hear representatives from the World Bank Board, Operations Policy and Country Services, the Independent Evaluation Group and civil society weigh in on the 2015 Development Policy Financing Retrospective, and participate in a discussion around possibilities for achieving the highest environmental and social standards in policy-based development lending.
Breaking Down Barriers to Accessing Development Information
Wednesday, April 13 2:00-3:30 pm
World Bank I Building, Room I2-250
Without accessible, understandable information, stakeholders cannot meaningfully engage in development. This session, hosted by fundar, Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights, and BIC, will look at the reality of civil society and affected communities’ access to information about World Bank Group-financed development programs though examples from Egypt, Mexico, and Yemen, and will discuss recommendations and steps that can be taken to ensure that stakeholders can more easily access this key information.
Social Impact of an Influx of Workers in Infrastructure Investments
Thursday, April 14 2:00-3:30 pm
World Bank I Building, Room I2-210
Gender Action, Joy for Children Uganda, BIC
Many large scale infrastructure projects, along with projects in the extractives sector, can bring a large influx of workers into communities that had previously had little experience with migrant workers. There are often significant negative impacts of such an influx, such as increased sexual exploitation of women and girls or pressure for adolescents to leave school and earn money selling goods to such workers. This panel will explore the impacts of an influx of workers into communities using real world examples, including the recently canceled Kamwenge-Kabarole roadway in the hope of understanding what can be done to prevent or mitigate these negative impacts while maximizing positive impacts.
What Does Shrinking Space for Civil Society Mean for the Twin Goals?
Thursday, April 14 4:00-5:30 pm
World Bank I building, Room I2-220
Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, World Movement for Democracy, International Accountability Project, Coalition for Human Rights in Development, BIC
The World Bank has committed to 100% beneficiary feedback in its projects and aims through its corporate strategy to empower citizens to participate in the development process. At the same time, since 2012 over 60 countries have passed legislation restricting civil society’s ability to freely operate and many communities face intimidation or criminalization when raising concerns around development activities. This session will draw on examples of restrictions on citizen voice from Egypt, Azerbaijan, and Kenya; discuss implications of restricted civil society space for the World Bank’s development goals; and raise recommendations for ways in which the Bank can ensure participatory development.
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This article by Julia Radomski originally appeared on bicusa.org on April 12, 2016 at 06:03PM
