Washington DC-based NGO Bank Information Centre (BIC) has produced toolkits to help citizens more effectively engage with and influence the World Bank.
International
WB/IMF roles
News
G20 financial group named
A new brick in the financial architecture has been put in place with the disclosure of the members of the group of 20 globally important financial nations, known as the G20.
Rights
News
Useful web bulletins
Bretton Woods Updates are archived on the web. Enter topic names under site search to find articles from back issues, plus more links.
IFI governance
News
Strategic Compact reform funding to end
The extra funding released to restructure the Bank under President Wolfensohn’s “Strategic Compact” reform initiative will run out in March 2000.
Rights
News
Prague 2000
A small group of NGOs has begun to discuss common initiatives towards the World Bank/IMF annual meetings in Prague next September.
Accountability
News
IMF-WB corruption roles investigated
A new report from Christian Aid investigates how the policies of northern donors and international financial institutions encourage corrupt practices in developing countries.
Land
News
Swiss delegation to Brazil
In late November a delegation of Swiss NGOs, parliamentarians and senior aid officials travelled to Brazil to examine recent World Bank lending to that country.
IFI governance
News
Bank private sector strategy
In September the World Bank produced a new private sector development strategy.
Conditionality
News
IMF takes on poverty mandate
Important changes to the IMF’s remit in the poorest countries were announced at the IMF-WB Annual Meetings in September.
Infrastructure
News
Power company controversy after Orissa cyclone
A major beneficiary of World Bank-backed power sector reforms in India is US-based multinational company AES.
Trade
News
IMF/WB/WTO: unholy trinity?
At the Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in late November, the World Bank confirmed that it will expand its work on trade.
Conditionality
News
IMF crisis conditions reviewed
A new review of IMF conditionality will assess the conditions applied to financial crisis countries, and recommend future approaches.
Featured briefings
16 October 2024
The Bretton Woods Observer: Autumn 2024
16 October 2024
The lost call for international financial architecture reform in the G20
At the 80th anniversary of the World Bank and IMF, global civil society must maintain pressure on the Brazilian and South African G20 presidencies to ensure the forth Financing for Development Conference in 2025 results in urgently required international financial architecture reform.
16 October 2024
Sustainable development requires sustainable finance: why local currency financing is part of the solution
Multilateral development banks can reduce their dependence on hard currency lending and make local currency financing a central element of their developmental mandate.