Dishes, languages, staff – and ranks – mix every lunch at the Asian Development Bank. In this relaxed atmosphere, assistants and directors share a table and a hearty chat.
The recently remodeled cafeteria at ADB headquarters in Manila serves as a microcosm for the bank’s multicultural staff, which hails from at least 58 of the bank’s 67 member countries.
“You learn so many things,” said Italian Giovanni Capannelli, who now works as principal economist and senior research fellow at the ADB Institute in Tokyo. “You learn different approaches to life, for instance, by sharing lunch with your colleague, your friend from South Asia and another colleague from Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan.”