Governance

This year’s theme is “Unlocking the Power of Inclusion for Equitable Growth”. Get ready for a two-day experience including pitch competition, case challenge, keynotes and plenaries, music, art and more!

The World Bank Group has expanded partnerships to improve the collection, access, sharing, and use of sex-disaggregated data over the last several years including investing in the recently relaunched Gender Data Portal and the “Strengthening Gender Statistics” project. This event is an opportunity for a high-level yet engaging discussion on the value of gender data for policy reforms, programming, and monitoring progress/outcomes towards achieving gender equality.

Did you know that despite making up 48% of the global work force – women only account for 22% of the traditional energy sector?

Drawing on the findings from the latest Women, Business and the Law report, this event will contribute to the public conversation on women’s economic empowerment and a more equitable, prosperous world.

This event will frame the public conversation on how governments should prioritize where it is most important to take policy action and how to best allocate scarce resources to support the recovery. It will also consider how to address the growing risks of over-indebtedness and increased financial fragilities.

Data Privacy is more relevant now than ever and has become central to how an organization can maintain trust and safeguard the data they collect or process. The World Bank Group Data Privacy Day is the flagship event to help raise privacy awareness—internally within the World Bank Group and externally—to promote data protection best practices and maintain trust in the institution. 

The absence of adequate independence and capacity can impair a Supreme Audit Institutions​’ ability to support the fight against corruption and to assess the value for money of government programs. How can we strengthen the independence and capacity of SAIs? Watch the launch of the 2021 Global SAI Independence Index.

Change is inevitable. The actions which governments do or do not take in the immediate, near and medium term will impact on the future of people and the planet. Prior to the pandemic, many governments already faced multiple challenges in managing their economies and delivering services. The Future of Government Disruptive Debates will provide influential global leaders and thinkers a platform from which to share their contrasting views and ideas on how governments might seize the opportunity from crisis to take pathways towards achieving greener, more resilient and more inclusive development outcomes in the future. Personalities invited will include influential young voices, leaders from civil society and the private sector, former heads of government, high profile politicians, officials in public and international organizations and representatives of academia. There will be six Future of Government Disruptive Debates and each will attempt to answer a different question: May 12 | What will be the demands on and future objectives of government?  - Opening Remarks ...

No economy can grow to its full potential unless both women and men participate fully. As half the world’s population, women have an equal role in driving economic growth. Yet despite recent progress, women around the globe continue to face laws and regulations that restrict their economic opportunity. The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges to their health, safety, and economic security.  The World Bank has stepped up its support to countries as they tackle the unprecedented threats posed by the COVID-19 crisis and is paying special attention to the pandemic's different impact on men and women. By using the findings of the new Women, Business and the Law 2021 study, this event will discuss what can be done to improve women’s economic opportunities and empower them in the world of work and at home, especially in the context of the global pandemic. See the list of speakers  

The pace of technological change continues to impact so many aspects of the lives of people around the world, and its value is even more apparent as countries wrestle with lockdowns, social distancing, and the need for rapid flow of public health information. Innovative applications of technology are everywhere, including in the public sector. But what about for controlling corruption? Has innovation in the use of technology to prevent and detect corruption kept pace? How are technological approaches to anticorruption evolving? This session will focus on the development of innovative tools, solutions and approaches to help control corruption, and explore how they can help control corruption risks at the country level.

Before there was COVID-19, a number of jurisdictions have created successful online courts specializing in resolution of civil and commercial matters including the UK, Canada, US, Australia and Singapore. These were referred to as one of the Online Dispute Resolution tools. With the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, countries with necessary technology moved some parts of traditional courts online and the distinction between online courts and traditional courts became blurred... 

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forward key issues in the area of privacy policy. As global leaders, institutions and the private sector rely increasingly on personal data to acquire information on individuals and communities in the fight against COVID-19, many concerns remain about how information is collected and used. This session will explore the Google and Apple’s Exposure Notification initiative as well as how contact-tracing technologies have been successfully used in several countries in their response to COVID 19.

Corruption has a disproportionate impact on the poor and most vulnerable, increasing costs and reducing access to services, including health, education and justice. Corruption also impedes investments needed to achieve growth and development objectives while eroding trust in government and undermining the social contract. The World Bank has undertaken a fresh assessment of challenges governments face in tackling corruption, what instruments tend to work and why, and how incremental progress is being achieved in specific country contexts. This flagship report is a timely piece of work that shows positive examples of how countries are progressing in their fight to #EndCorruption. Join us LIVE as we discuss the report and its findings with an expert panel about how the lessons learned can guide policy makers and anti-corruption champions.

The pandemic has exposed the benefits of a stronger, flexible, and more responsive civil service which can incorporate risk management and has access to contingencies in an emergency. It has also stressed the need for sound procurement policies, systems and processes. Helping countries procure lifesaving goods and services on an emergency basis is critical to blunt the impact of COVID-19.  Emerging lessons from the immediate response to the pandemic point to the need to adapt models of government operations, service delivery, and interactions with citizens, which include GovTech options for modernization of services to citizens and businesses. Join us LIVE as we discuss these issues with Edward Olowo-Okere, Global Director for Governance at the World Bank.  Related Links: Covid-19 (Coronavirus): World Bank Live Interview and Panel Series COVID-19 World Bank Response page Governments and Institutions COVID-19 Response Resources World Bank Topic Page: Governance

Is engagement in behavior change through partnerships with entertainment media a cost-effective way to improve attitudes and behaviors at scale? What are the ethical concerns of changing cultures and norms?  What contributions can we make to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDG) targets? Join top experts of the World Bank Group, MTV, Independent Television Service (ITVS), Impact(Ed) International  (formerly Discovery Learning Alliance) in a debate on the use of entertainment media to change social norms and behaviors. Discover how development projects with a behavior change objective have partnered with entertainment media to reach large segments of a country and a region, review the results of communication and evaluation research on how it works. Debate how traditional interventions can incorporate entertainment media, from community sensitization campaigns to social media.

Opening Remarks: Pascale Helene Dubois, Integrity Vice President, World Bank Group Plenary Session: “Coalitions Against Corruption: Building Trust, Promoting Integrity, Ending Impunity” More than almost any other global agenda, anti-corruption work is multidisciplinary: it involves sociology, law-enforcement, and economics, to name a few. It requires work on the local, regional and global levels. And no one person or sector can solve the complex problems corruption poses. It is essential for people from different perspectives to work together to deter, discover and sanction crimes of corruption. This event is designed to explore the ways in which international cooperation – between law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, or international organizations – can further the fight against corruption. On the panel will be leaders of the institutions that are setting global standards, encouraging best practice, and enforcing positive norms in anti-corruption. The audience will be made up of true, on-the-ground corruption-fighters: heads of anti-corruption agencies, investigators and public prosecutors from around the world.

Researchers at the World Bank uncovered that 90% of economies worldwide have at least one discriminatory law that makes it more difficult for women than for men to work or operate a business. An interview style panel with Q&A will explore how and why the World Bank has been developing a global dataset on laws affecting women’s economic opportunities, as well as how gender equality advocates can use comparative law as a tool in their own work.

Today’s environment is palpably different from that which inspired the creation of major social accountability and open government initiatives, such as the GPSA, the Open Government Partnership and Making All Voices Count. Both the priorities and policy environments in donor countries as well as the realities on the ground in which these initiatives are implemented have changed, posing new challenges for the implementation of openness and accountability interventions. On the other hand, the new Sustainable Development Goals provide a framework and a rationale for increasing participation and engagement of citizens, as a goal in itself, and as a means to achieve all other development goals. This session brings together leaders in the field – all deeply engaged as practitioners – to share their thoughts and experiences of navigating changing times and ensuring the continued relevance of open governance and social accountability initiatives for the foreseeable future. This session is part of the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA) Global Partners Forum, ...

Civic participation is key to achieving results in development, and the World Bank considers inclusive citizen engagement and institutions to be core tenets of its work. This event, which brings together innovators from civil society and government, will explore the potential use of frontier technologies in citizen engagement and social inclusion to ultimately improve policy-making and service delivery.

What makes some policies work while others fail? The World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law aims to answer this fundamental question. Frequently, policies that fail to generate development outcomes endure across countries and over time. Putting governance front and center of the development debate is essential for promoting sustained economic growth and encouraging more equitable and peaceful societies.

East Asia Pacific is home to the world’s largest and fastest growing internet user base. Digital technologies are transforming how firms conduct business, workers perform jobs, and citizens interact with governments. Yet, there are still questions as to what the spread of these technologies means for the development trajectory of countries in the region and their abilities to address the challenges they face. Panelists from government, business and civil society in the region will discuss how East Asia and Pacific countries can take advantage of the opportunities – and offset the risks – of the digital economy.

The GPSA Partners Forum 2015 brings together civil society organizations, academia, businesses, and governments from all around the globe, to provide an important and unique space to reflect on social accountability theory and practice, and define together the future social accountability agenda. The Forum will focus on the shifting paradigm in social accountability towards a citizen-centric governance approach. We will explore how the emerging concept of strategic social accountability will play an important role in how citizen-centered governance is realized. Tune in May 13 at 9:00 a.m ET for a live streamed discussion with World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim - "Social Accountability for Citizen-Centric Governance: A Changing Paradigm."

Evidence-based policies that promote secure access to land (including for women), and strengthening poor farmers’ ability to tackle climate change and improve productivity are urgently needed. Yet, in many cases, translating far-reaching legal changes into country strategies and progress on the ground has been a challenge. Panelists will discuss ways to better integrate land and climate-smart agriculture into countries’ development strategies and explore how these can help to build capacity to mainstream these issues in national policy dialogue, projects and private sector strategies.

The World Bank Group will host the third Biennial Meeting of the International Corruption Hunters Alliance (ICHA 2014) between December 8- 10, 2014 at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. As part of his work as United for Wildlife President, the Duke of Cambridge will join World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim at the opening session to address more than 300 corruption experts, heads and senior members of anti-corruption and prosecuting agencies; and representatives of international organizations from more than 120 countries.

The Arab Spring was driven by young people demanding jobs and protesting the regimes in power.  While the leaders fell in four of the five countries, the aftermath of the Arab Spring has been characterized by civil war, sectarian violence, political turmoil and, in some cases, the return of a strong state to restore peace and stability.  Economic growth has slowed and unemployment has increased.  What can be done now to meet the aspirations of the young men and women who marched in the streets in 2010-11 demanding “bread, freedom and dignity?” Join us live on November 19, 2014 with professor Juan Cole for a panel discussion chaired by World Bank Vice President for MENA Inger Anderson, on his new book : “The New Arabs:  How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East”

How can a city become a place where people are empowered, opportunities exist for all, and policies promote the well-being of its citizens? Can new technologies make governments more accountable to citizens? In this event, development leaders will discuss the transformative power of inclusive institutions and citizen engagement for enhancing accountability and improving public services for the poor. The panel will address the relationship between key elements of inclusiveness – institutions, governance, and citizen engagement – against the backdrop of rapid urbanization and social change, growing inequality, and rising crime and violence.