• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • 2014 annual meetings of the World Bank Group

    More webcasting at the World Bank — but is it enough?

    If you aren't able to attend this week's annual meeting of the World Bank Group, here's what you can watch online: 20 or so high-profile events with President Jim Kim and other top officials. Most civil society seminars and work shops won't be televised.

    By Jeff Tyson // 08 October 2014
    As World Bank officials and civil society leaders gather this week at the bank’s annual meetings in Washington, D.C., one of the hot topics is social engagement. Bank staff and NGO representatives raised questions Tuesday about how to make the institution more accessible and transparent to community leaders and allies — even in the poorest of countries. One way the World Bank is trying to make this year’s annual meetings more open is through webcasts. President Jim Yong Kim, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and a host of senior executives will reap attention from around the globe as more than 20 webcast events allow hundreds to watch live-streamed coverage and even participate in forums and panels through webchats. Notably and for the first time this year, civil society will draw a virtual crowd today as both Kim and Lagarde engage with advocates from around the world in a live-streamed “town hall” discussion. It’s a sign of the times, perhaps, and of technological progress but the World Bank Group has opened up in recent years — part of an ambitious, sometimes controversial, reform plan that’s still in full swing. There’ve been many calls for the bank to share more data internally and externally. Events like the World Bank Group’s annual meetings should be live-streamed or at least video-recorded, including the plethora of meetings and workshops — many of them organized by civil society — that go in-depth on bank reform and the future of global development. “The general public and the media … and high-level officials may be interested in what a senior bank planner, or a Jim Kim might say,” said David Shaman, senior fellow at the Bank Information Center, an advocacy group. “But where the rubber hits the road really is where these policy issues are debated and discussed and addressed on a more technical and detailed level. And that’s really valuable content, and that stuff is not getting out.” BIC has been involved in a years-long push to revive webcasting at the bank. A similar service called B-SPAN was launched in 2000; the bank TV channel was eventually nixed and in 2003, World Bank Live was launched to allow a global audience to watch and engage with bank events online. Webcasting has picked up — a terrific trend, Shaman says, if only they didn’t focus so heavily on top executives instead of leaders on the front lines who can share the technical advice global development practitioners need to succeed. Jo Marie Griesgraber, executive director of New Rules for Global Finance, acknowledged that having over 20 webcast sessions at this year’s annual meetings is a step in the right direction. Yet she isn’t satisfied. “I have been pushing them to webcast these sessions for years,” she told Devex. All of them should be webcast. The bank’s chief spokesperson calls this week’s gathering “most open annual meeting ever,” citing the record number of webcasts, including Wednesday’s first-ever interactive webcast of the Civil Society Forum with Kim. “We would like to stream even more events, but we have to be mindful of costs, so we have chosen those that have the most interest from stakeholders or the highest global relevance,” David Theis, World Bank spokesman wrote in an email to Devex. Bank leaders have vowed to cut $400 million from the institution’s budget. What do you think about the World Bank’s efforts to open itself up to the global development community through webcasts? Please let us know by sending an email to news@devex.com or leaving a comment below. Read more development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

    As World Bank officials and civil society leaders gather this week at the bank’s annual meetings in Washington, D.C., one of the hot topics is social engagement.

    Bank staff and NGO representatives raised questions Tuesday about how to make the institution more accessible and transparent to community leaders and allies — even in the poorest of countries.

    One way the World Bank is trying to make this year’s annual meetings more open is through webcasts. President Jim Yong Kim, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and a host of senior executives will reap attention from around the globe as more than 20 webcast events allow hundreds to watch live-streamed coverage and even participate in forums and panels through webchats.

    This article is free to read - just register or sign in

    Access news, newsletters, events and more.

    Join usSign in
    • Banking & Finance
    • Funding
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Jeff Tyson

      Jeff Tyson@jtyson21

      Jeff is a former global development reporter for Devex. Based in Washington, D.C., he covers multilateral affairs, U.S. aid, and international development trends. He has worked with human rights organizations in both Senegal and the U.S., and prior to joining Devex worked as a production assistant at National Public Radio. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and French from the University of Rochester.

    Search for articles

    Related Jobs

    • Office Administrator (Hybrid)
      London, United Kingdom | United Kingdom | Western Europe
    • Director of Fundraising and Strategic Partnerships
      Worldwide
    • Individual Consultant: Financial Specialist
      El Salvador | Latin America and Caribbean
    • See more

    Most Read

    • 1
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 2
      FCDO's top development contractors in 2024/25
    • 3
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters
    • 4
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 5
      Reigniting momentum for maternal, newborn, and child health

    Trending

    Financing for Development Conference

    The Trump Effect

    Newsletters

    Related Stories

    World BankWho’s winning the World Bank’s consulting contracts?

    Who’s winning the World Bank’s consulting contracts?

    78th World Health AssemblyWHA watch list: Who to follow at this year’s World Health Assembly

    WHA watch list: Who to follow at this year’s World Health Assembly

    Devex NewswireDevex Davos Dispatch: Day 1

    Devex Davos Dispatch: Day 1

    World Bank Spring MeetingsSpecial edition: The World Bank Spring Meetings go quiet on climate

    Special edition: The World Bank Spring Meetings go quiet on climate

    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement