FYI. X-posted from WTES. Stefanie Rixecker ECOFEM Coordinator ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Apologies for cross-postings. The World Bank's Development Forum will be hosting three new online discussions beginning October 2. We invite your feedback on the following topics: 1. Global Development Gateway 2. The Quality of Growth 3. Environmental Sustainability -------- 1. GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT GATEWAY -------- * PURPOSE The World Bank recently launched its Global Development Gateway (GDG) Initiative. The intention is to make the Gateway a portal that promotes and shares development knowledge and development solutions worldwide. The Gateway will create a common space that makes it easier to access and navigate the wealth of information on the Internet. While this ambitious initiative has gained support from a number of private and public partners, it has also stirred debate about its value and appropriateness. The World Bank seeks input from the public on key Gateway issues ranging from the perceived need for such a "development portal," to the design, content, governance, impact and sustainability of such an effort. In particular, we are looking for comments and suggestions directed at specific components of the Gateway, and insights based on the experience of others in organizing and sharing development knowledge on the Web. * BACKGROUND The Global Knowledge for Development (GKD) List will host the discussion on the Gateway, in collaboration with the World Bank Development Forum. GKD is an initiative of the Global Knowledge Partnership. During the past three years, GKD has become a one of the most active, focused, and informative online communities on knowledge-for-development and the use of information/communications technologies (ICT) for sustainable development. GKD is moderated by the Education Development Center, an independent, nonprofit organisation. Background information about the Global Development Gateway (e.g., project proposal, concept note, timeline, FAQs, etc.) can be found on the Gateway planning site <http://www.worldbank.org/gateway/>. Archives of the GKD messages during the past three years can be found on the Global Knowledge Partnership Website <http://www.globalknowledge.org>. * HOW TO JOIN Anyone who has electronic mail with Internet access can subscribe to the GKD List. To join please send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Do NOT enter a subject. In the body of the message, type the text: SUBSCRIBE GKD Do NOT put anything after GKD. You will receive a Welcome Letter to the List. * FURTHER INFORMATION For further information about GKD or the Gateway discussion, please contact: Dr. Janice Brodman Education Development Center [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------- 2. QUALITY of GROWTH -------- A recently-published book from the World Bank, "The Quality of Growth", advocates broadening the policy framework to include human and natural capital in addition to physical capital, and the agenda for action to go beyond the pace of growth to include the qualitative attributes of the growth process. The objective of this discussion, is to get a broad range of ideas and debates on these issues in a process of consensus-building for future development actions. * To join, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * For more information, including supporting documents and links, go to: http://www.worldbank.org/devforum/forum_qog.html -------- 3. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY -------- This is a follow-up to the productive discussion that took place last year on "Promoting Environmental Sustainability: An Evaluation of the World Bank's Performance". Once again, it is sponsored by the WB's Operations Evaluation Department which seeks feedback on its preliminary findings on the WB's performance in this area. The impact of the World Bank Group's programs on broad environmental trends in the developing world has been limited, and the achievements of various programs have been mixed. Serious issues are still being raised about the World Bank's performance in living up to its commitment to environmental sustainability. Please join and give us your views and suggestions on these issues. * To join, send a blank email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * For more information, including supporting documents and links, go to: http://www.worldbank.org/devforum/forum_environment.html ************************************************************* X-From_: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tue Oct 3 01:13:38 2000 X-Authentication-Warning: phoenix.edc.org: majordom set sender to [EMAIL PROTECTED] using -f Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2000 19:18:19 -0400 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: Mamphela Ramphele <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [GKD] Global Development Gateway Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear Members of GKD, On behalf of the World Bank, I welcome you to this discussion of the Global Development Gateway ("The Gateway"). I am grateful that so many of you have agreed to take the time and effort to participate, and I want to assure you that we at the World Bank take this process, and your views, seriously. As you know, in the past several months, the Gateway team has conducted a number of face-to-face consultations around the world. Members of the team have also participated in the "Global Development Gateway Principles" online discussion hosted by Bellanet. We recognize that it might not be immediately obvious to you just how the Bank is absorbing the rich and diverse views we are hearing in these consultations, and how these consultations are helping to shape our thinking about the Gateway project. In my extensive consultations in Prague last week during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings, I heard from many of you your concerns about the Gateway project and the process of external consultation on that project. We want to be sure that this current online consultation builds upon those other face-to-face and electronic consultations and helps us all reach a common understanding of where we disagree, where we agree, and how we can find common ground. We also recognize that this will not be the only public discussion of these issues, and we welcome those other initiatives that have sprung up recently to foster public discussion on the Gateway initiative. At the same time, we want to ensure that this discussion addresses any critical issues that you feel may not have yet been addressed in prior consultations. Some of you have asked me in Prague whether the Bank is willing to have this discussion return to first principles, to question whether the Gateway initiative should exist at all. Let me be clear on our view about this. We firmly believe that the Gateway has the potential to bring true added value to development through harnessing the power of information technology to enhance access to, and effective sharing of, knowledge and information about development. We believe that the Gateway is a digital manifestation of the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF), building upon the same principles of partnership and client ownership within an integrated, holistic framework. As in the CDF, we believe there is a role for the Bank as well as other partners. We are committed to building, in partnership with others, a Gateway that is a robust and integrated set of Internet tools and resources for development knowledge and information-sharing. We need, and welcome, the advice of those of you who have worked in this area, to assure that our efforts build upon and add value to existing efforts, rather than competing with them or diverting resources from them. We are open to exploring alternatives to reach the goals underpinning the Gateway, and this Forum will be a critical means to do so. We look forward to working with you in the coming weeks, and months beyond that, to design and implement the Gateway initiative in a way that both makes a positive impact and allows for broad consultation with, and participation of, the development community. Dr. Mamphela Ramphele Managing Director World Bank To join the list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics ------- End of forwarded message ------- ************************************ Dr. Stefanie S. Rixecker, Senior Lecturer Environmental Management & Design Division Lincoln University, Canterbury PO Box 84 Aotearoa New Zealand E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fax: 64-03-325-3841 ************************************
