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WORLD BANK
James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank : Hope for all
The world will be a more peaceful
and secure place if people are given an opportunity to hope;
this is the basis for economic, social and intellectual
growth, said James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank.
"People with
hope don’t take a gun and go out and shoot you," Wolfensohn
said. "People with hope are the basis for economic, for
social, for intellectual growth."
As the key note speaker at the
10th anniversary of the Conference de Montreal on June 17th,
the largest international forum on trade and development in
Canada, Wolfensohn stressed the importance of addressing the
tremendous inequity and instability in the world by giving
people more voice, opportunities, a safe place to live, and a
chance to build on their culture and their history.
"How is it that we can develop a
world with growing instability, growing inequity and with a
growing number of people without hope?" Wolfensohn asked about
a thousand participants including business, academic and
government leaders. He said unless hope is provided to these
people then everyone in the world is less secure. "You are
much more likely to have peace and security if those people
have the very same thing that you all want here: they want
voice, women don’t want to be beaten, they want an opportunity
for their children, they would like to have a safe location in
which to live."
Referring to an example of a
project that brings hope to people, Wolfensohn paid tribute to
the Cree Community of Northern Quebec, citing its ground
breaking deal with the government of Quebec on development of
the James Bay hydroelectric project. James Bay is seen as a
model around the world for aboriginal-state relations and it
has become a case study used by the Bank on how the interests
of aboriginal peoples can be an integral part of development.
Further, the President of the
World Bank praised Canada’s leadership for its commitment to
advocating free trade for developing countries, its pro-active
policies related to aid, its work on governance, its financing
of AIDS treatment, its greater recognition for the rights of
indigenous people, and its respect for equity and social
justice. He said Canada was not only a model economically,
but also a model in terms of people living together, of mutual
respect, and of values.
Canada is a founding member of the
World Bank Group and is currently its eight largest
shareholder. Wolfensohn paid tribute to Canada’ legacy at the
Bank highlighting that it was Nobel Laureate Prime Minister,
Lester Pearson, who originally challenged developed countries
to allocate 0.7% of their gross national income (GNI) to
helping poor countries.
Wolfensohn also encouraged
Canadian government and businesses to increase total trade
(currently at 6 per cent) with developing countries. He said
increasing investment in developing countries represents a
great business opportunity: by 2050 the GDP of developing
countries will represent 40 percent of global GDP at a value
of $56 trillion, up from today’s 18 to 19 percent of GDP at a
value of $6 to $7 trillion
However, Wolfensohn, pointed out
the importance of having "a naiveté of purpose", which means
that one does things not just because of economic motives but
because it is morally right.
"Canada has, and can be a light to
much of the world in terms of the value systems, in terms of
the morality and ethics, and may I say too few people are
proclaiming that today as a reason to be involved in
development," he said.
Wolfenshon reminded his audience
that in today’s world of 6 billion people, 5 billion live in
developing countries, more than 2.3 billion people live under
$2 a day, and 1.2 billion live under $1 a day. In this same
world, 1.5 billion people have no access to clean water,
around 2.5 billion people don’t have access to sanitation, and
1.5 billion don’t have access to electricity.
"The view that we (at the World
Bank) take is that this form of inequity, this form of
instability, cannot last if there is to be stability and peace
on our planet," he said.
Thus, Wolfensohn encouraged
participants at the conference to look beyond the arguments of
self- interest, security, or economics to contribute to
development worldwide.
"It’s a belief that you have the
responsibility, as citizens of the world, to let others share
in the good fortune of this multicultural society," he said in
his concluding remarks, which were rewarded by a spontaneous
standing ovation. "(…)
you have the knowledge, you have the resources, you have the
experience, but most of all you have the moral fiber and the
belief that development is the right thing, and you can then
truly be a light to the world."
Source : The World Bank Media Service
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