wfn.org | The WCC, IMF and World Bank organize a joint seminar on development

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release PR-03-09
For Immediate Use
12 February 2003

The WCC, IMF and World Bank organize a joint seminar on development

A two-day seminar organized jointly by the World Council of Churches (WCC),
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank will deal with the
topic of their respective concepts of development and evolving institutional
mandates. The seminar will also address issues such as wealth creation,
social justice and the privatization of public goods, with special emphasis
on the subject of drinking water.

The seminar, which will be held at WCC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland,
on 13 and 14 February, 2003, will be the first in a series of encounters
between the three institutions to discuss fundamental matters concerning
development. One of its main objectives is to enable participants to
critically review the role their institutions have played in shaping the
world's economy and improving the lives of peoples in poor countries.

"The encounters are expected to question the neo-liberal paradigm and its
consequences in the world today, as well as to enable in a clearer
understanding of the framework and pragmatic application of actual
development practice as seen from the WB and IMF," emphasized Rogate Mshana,
who coordinates the WCC Economic Justice programme.

The three institutions agreed to hold these encounters because they all share
the goal of eradicating poverty, albeit with different philosophies and
concepts of development. They are also committed to flexibility and
sensitivity in addressing the main challenges in the world today, and are
interested and willing to exchange ideas and experiences. The encounters,
which should usher in a new phase in the debate, may lead to a summit meeting
between leaders of the three organizations.

The speakers for the WCC at the seminar will be available for interviews with
journalists. They are:
- Rob van Drimmelen (Netherlands), general secretary, Association of WCC
  related Development Organizations in Europe (APRODEV)
- Pamela Brubaker (United States), associate professor of Christian ethics at
the Lutheran 
  University of California
- Hellen Wangusa (Uganda), African Women's Economic Policy Network (AWAPON)
- Patrick Bond (South Africa), professor at the post-graduate school of
public administration and 
  development, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

The seminar will be opened by Bob Goudzwaard (Netherlands), professor
emeritus of economics, former member of the Commission on the Churches'
Participation in Development (CCPD). 

For further information, please contact the Media Relations Office, 
tel: +41 (0)22 791 64 21  /61 53

**********

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which
meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in
1948 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary
Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Media Relations Office
Tel: (41 22) 791 6153 / 791 6421
Fax: (41 22) 798 1346
E-mail: media@wcc-coe.org 
Web: www.wcc-coe.org 

PO Box 2100
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
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