Critical Choices: A look at the 2021 World Bank Group/IMF Annual Meetings

As we prepare to kick-off the 2021 World Bank Group/IMF Annual Meetings, which run from October 11-17, we must first pause and take stock of the challenges currently facing the global development community.  In a speech in Khartoum, Sudan, on September 30, World Bank Group President David Malpass summarized this moment well, noting that the “choices in coming years will determine whether developing countries suffer a lost decade or can usher in rapid growth and economic transformation.” 

The Annual Meetings are at the heart of these choices. When the World Health Organization first declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020 – exactly 19 months before our opening session – the World Bank Group chose to act.  Since that moment, we have provided more than $157 billion to help countries respond to this unprecedented crisis by boosting their health care systems, protecting the poor and vulnerable, supporting businesses, and helping countries on their path towards a green, resilient recovery.

As a key to this recovery, we are helping countries access and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, making $20 billion available and joining forces with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) to form the Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccines, Therapeutics, and Diagnostics.

Now, as the world begins to look toward a post-pandemic world, the World Bank Group and our development partners are choosing to act once again,  with these meetings helping point the way forward.  We are convening experts from across the global development community – governments, multilaterals, the private sector, academia, and civil society – to address debt, climate change, COVID-19, and trade barriers – key hurdles faced by countries today – and find innovative solutions to overcoming these hurdles on the road toward a global resilient recovery.

You, too, can act, by joining us virtually, sharing your questions, and engaging throughout the week.  
 

Featured Participants

As in past years, the 2021 Annual Meetings will feature a host of leading influential voices joining Senior leadership from the World Bank, IMF, IFC and elsewhere. Their discussions will address the daunting development agenda of the years ahead. 

This year’s participants list includes:

• His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales (@ClarenceHouse) - Making Climate Action Count
• Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (@DrTedros) - Ending the Pandemic
• Yamini Aiyar, President and Chief Executive, Centre for Policy Research (@AiyarYamini) - Making Climate Action Count
• Husna Ahma, CEO, Global One 2015 (@DrHusnaAhmad) - Economic Growth in a Time of Crisis
• Becky Anderson, CNN International Anchor (@BeckyCNN) - Moderator, Ending the Pandemic
• Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance and UK Prime Minister Johnson's Finance Adviser for COP26 (@MarkJCarney) - Making Climate Action Count
• Maya Chorengel, Co-Managing Partner, the Rise Fund (@TheRiseFund) - Economic Growth in a Time of Crisis
• Iván Duque, President of Colombia (@IvanDuque) - Making Climate Action Count
• Michelle Fleury, Business Correspondent, BBC News (@BizFleury) - Moderator, Economic Growth in a Time of Crisis
• Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General, World Trade Organization (@NOIweala) - Ending the Pandemic
• Hon. Betty C. Maina, CBS Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development (@maina_betty) - Trade to the Rescue
• Alok Sharma, COP26 President (@AlokSharma_RDG) - Making Climate Action Count

Watch live or on demand…in multiple languages

As the cornerstone of our virtual Annual Meetings, our World Bank Live platform provides access to live events, on-demand viewing of previous events, updates in real time, and content to engage with speakers and events all throughout the meetings.

Here's a rundown of the key events throughout the week of the Annual Meetings. For a complete rundown of live events and replays, please find the full schedule here.

Access all of this great content in the following languages:

• العربية
• FRANÇAIS
• ESPAÑOL

A full list of all events can also be found here.

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15TH | 11AM EDT/ 3PM UTC

 

* Engage with these events by taking our unique polls, found on each event page, and by voting on which questions you would most like to hear addressed by our panelists. Live chat will also be available during all live events to allow participants to engage through an expert-moderated platform. Learn more here.

Get Social

Throughout the meetings, we will be tweeting live information and updates on our social media channels in English, Arabic, French and Spanish – including unique hashtags for each individual event. Share, like, and retweet!

Annual Meeting 2021 Hashtag: #ResilientRecovery

Event Hashtags:

• Growth in a Time of Crisis: #Growth4All
• Ending the Pandemic: #Vaccines4All
• Making Climate Action Count: #VoicesForClimate
• Trade to the Rescue: #UnleashTrade
• Civil Society Townhall: #AMCS021

Follow Us on Twitter

• David Malpass, President, World Bank Group (@DavidMalpassWBG)
• Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF (@KGeorgieva)
• Makhtar Diop, Managing Director, IFC (@Diop_IFC)
• Mari Pangestu, Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank Group (@Mari_Pangestu)
• Axel Von Trotensburg, Managing Director for Operations, World Bank Group (@AxelVT_WB)
• Stephanie von Friedeburg, Senior Vice President, Operations, IFC (@SvonFriedeburg)
• Carmen M. Reinhart, Vice President and World Bank Group Chief Economist (@carmenmreinhart)
• Mamta Murthi, Vice President, Human Development, World Bank (@MamtaMurthi)

You can also follow across a number of other channels, including: Facebook,  Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Don’t miss an update by joining our mailing list for special news and updates about the 2021 World Bank Group/IMF Annual Meetings. This will be the space to find news, updates, and recaps of all of our events. By subscribing to our newsletter you will also receive updates on all World Bank Group news, events, and announcements throughout the year. Click here to learn how

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