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Kim Who? Some Thoughts on the World Bank’s Newest President

The mix of knowledge, insight, and experience made for compelling conversations at Wednesday’s wine reception before the screening of  Bonsai People. With financial managers mingling with social entrepreneurs, it seemed the perfect venue to ask people what they thought about the new president of the World Bank. Some attendees weren’t aware of the selection, or if they were, had few opinions about it. This ambivalence is telling. At a cocktail party for people engaged in improving the financial health of the world’s poorest, in a hub of global health and development, the response is “Kim who?” This isn’t to say that folks don’t care or aren’t paying attention, but that the World Bank, its leaders, and what they do, is so far removed from those on the ground, that this kind of news just isn’t on the top of people’s news feeds.

A few facts: On Monday, Dr. Jim Yong Kim became the latest president of the World Bank. An anthropologist and physician, he is co-founder of Partners in Health, is a former director of the HIV/AIDS at WHO, and has served at the president of Dartmouth College since 2009. The other two nominees were Nigerian finance minister and former World Bank managing director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and former U.N. official and Colombian central banker, José Antonio Campo.

Some people said that Dr. Kim “sounds good on paper,” while others, such as Alan Leong, Director of Research at Biotech Stock Research, noted the controversy of the developed world (namely the U.S.) once again having the control, despite the goal to have more leadership from the developing world, like from Nigeria, or Colombia, for instance. Others expressed frustration with the institution, likening it to big banks and their culture of taking care of their own (executives) rather than the people they are meant to serve.

One attendee framed it this way: “What does the World Bank do that actually reaches real people?”  Others, like Eric Youngren, of Solar Nexus International, hoped that Dr. Kim could start making investments that truly lead to sustainability. Michael Kaemingk, project manager at Lumana, considers the selection a nice surprise that will provide the World Bank a more relevant perspective: “He’s less removed from the concerns of the developing world.”

Zbigniew Bochniarz, a visiting professor at UW Evans School of Public Affairs, acknowledged that Kim is “a good man” and that his record in health care should provide some needed perspective to an organization that has been heavily criticized for neglecting the social aspects of development. “Here’s a guy who knows the issues and is sensitive to them,” he noted, while also congratulating President Obama taking the risk and nominating someone with a development background.

If you decide to dig in and learn more about Dr. Jim Yong Kim, be sure to include this video from last year’s Dartmouth Idol Finals. Wait through a few minutes of that sappy Dirty Dancing theme song, and you’ll witness Dr. Kim doing the robot and rapping in white leather, neon bracelets, and spacey sunglasses. Dr. Kim certainly has the personality, playfulness, and skills of collaboration to bring new leadership and  ideas to the stiff-limbed World Bank.

Member Guest Post: The Butterfly effect – everyone was a hero in Cairo

By Akhtar Badshah, Senior Director, Citizenship and Public Affairs, Microsoft

I landed in Cairo earlier today a few hours ago expecting to see significant changes. In many ways everything has changed yet on the drive from the airport to the hotel in Zamalek to across the Nile, Cairo is still the same. The wonderful energy, the crazy traffic with cars moving in a slow dance – it was Friday evening after all and people were out and about enjoying the beautiful evening. Traffic was snarled in some places with the Presidential campaign in full swing and supporters out in the streets waving signs and banners in support of their candidates. For life in a very big city it seems very normal. Yet for many their whole world has been changed completely. Many of us hope for the better but not everyone is that sure.

Right after my arrival I met with 25 youth leaders that have been part of the Microsoft Tech Hope program. This is a program where they are using technology to bring about social change. After the initial introductions the conversation quickly turned to the Arab Spring and the revolution. I asked them if they had been part of the demonstrations in Thahrir Square and all but two raised their hands. The other two were from outside Cairo and participated in local demonstrations. I was surprised as the room had equal number of men and women.

I wanted to know their opinion on the revolution and how they all felt. Almost all of them felt that they, the middle class youth, now felt more empowered. They all felt that they can now do something on their own. They do not have to go into just another job. One of them was very clear, he told me ‘before the revolution my plan was to leave the country and study abroad, find a job there and stay there’. There was no future for him in Egypt. Now he is full of optimism and will stay here and work to bring about positive change in the underserved communities.

Every single one of them felt the revolution had impacted them, but for the poor there has been no immediate impact and for them change will be very slow. All of the youth in the room were concerned about this and as a group felt that they should work together towards equitable change.

I also asked them for their experience with the revolution and if anyone deserves any or some credit for it. One of the young men said the Ministry of Interior. I was taken aback and asked him to explain. He said that January 25 started out as a day of protest as it was Police Day – a day to celebrate the police- and what started out as a protest against the Ministry of Interior spun out of control over the next several days because of the brutal force the Ministry used to squelch the demonstrations. His opinion was if the Ministry had not taken this approach there would not have been a revolution as no one started out wanting a change in power.

One young lady put it best, she said it was the ‘butterfly effect’, one butterfly takes off and then another and suddenly you have a whole flight of butterflies. Everyone got involved, young and old, men and women, rich and poor and that is why she believes everyone is a hero. I just thought that was a great sentiment.

The conversation lasted late into the night and they were all bouncing different ideas off each other about how they can continue to drive positive change and how they all can make a difference together.

At one point, someone asked if the women in the room felt they would lose out when the new regime comes into power. They felt that was not the case, everyone participated and even some try people will not go back and not let anyone push them back.

Hope was the common sentiment in the room, though many are wondering how they can ensure that everyone will benefit from this change.

On Sunday we will launch of Innovate4Good@Microsoft for the Arab region and if this conversation was any indication we’re in for a fantastic event. We have young leaders from across the region including Libya, Tunisia, and Iraq attending the event. I cannot wait to hear their stories.

The butterfly effect – what a great way to start the conversation in Cairo.

Opportunity for Action Asks Us All to Pave a Better Future for Today’s Youth

The Microsoft-commissioned report, Opportunity for Action, brings us a new perspective on a tale already told about the lack of opportunity for today’s youth. Reports on this dilemma have been written already; the International Monetary Fund made it the focus of their March 2012 Finance & Development magazine , and the International Labour Organization issued its report “Global Employment Trends for Youth: 2011 update” in October ’11. But Opportunity for Action stands out for its overall feeling of optimism.  Written by the International Youth Foundation (IYF), the report is a call to action for everyone.

Keeping in mind that the audience will reach beyond policy makers, the report presents the complex problem in an accessible style and structure, centered on six improvements that will help today’s youth move forward:  quality education, marketable technical skills, jobs, decent working conditions, entrepreneurship opportunities, and life skills.

Each section of the report highlights an organization that is successfully bringing about change. These sidebars provide examples of what can be done and add a welcome boost of hope to the findings. It should be noted that the organizations share a common factor: funding from Microsoft and/or IYF.

Scanning the membership list of the Global WA network, we can find a number of organizations whose work to improve the future for the world’s youth could also be highlighted:  Smiles Forever trains young women in Bolivia  as dental hygienists, Rwanda Girls Initiative focuses on bettering education, Kabissa uses ICT to connect African communities, Committee for Children produces life skills training programs for young adults. The list goes on.  A common factor they share is the  job of  securing the funding or building the partnership that would allow their programs to soar to even greater heights.

Microsoft commissioned this report to “[generate] dialogue about how technology and other investments can help bridge the divide for youth around the world and is committed to working with businesses, the NGO community, and governments to help youth succeed in the global economy.”   The report gives each sector ‘Action Items’ to help guide forward progress. Those for NGOs and civil society are

• Identify and implement proven practices at large scale.

• Experiment and innovate with new models that use technology effectively and that reduce costs without sacrificing impact and evaluate results.

• Collaborate with the private sector to create demand driven training.

• Work closely with vulnerable youth to strengthen their competencies in preparation for employment or entrepreneurship opportunities.

There is no doubt this report will generate dialogue and encourage all sectors to take some action.  There still needs to be more robust dialogue about how collaboration between NGOs and the private sector will be facilitated and by whom, and from what sources will NGOs find the funding to ‘experiment and innovate with new models that use technology.’  It’s good to read that Microsoft is committed to work across  sectors. Hopefully, more will follow its lead, and NGOs already engaged in helping today’s youth will have the opportunity to strengthen and broaden the scope of their work.