Monthly Archives: November 2019

World Bank Group Youth Summit 2019: Smarter Cities for a Resilient Future

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December 02, 2019 | 8:30 ET, 13:30 GMT  to December 03, 2019 | 18:30 ET, 23:30 GMTHome-Page-Banner-01

Preston, Washington, D.C.

Agenda available here

Cities are places of opportunity: 80% of global GDP is created in cities, helping hundreds of millions lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Over recent decades, cities have become a magnet for talent, investment, and for youth seeking a prosperous future.

The promise offered by cities is driving unprecedented population growth, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Globally, 4 billion people – more than half the global population – live in cities. By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities, and a third of the world’s population will be housed in cities with 1 million or more inhabitants.

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Emerging and Developing Economies Less Prepared Now for a Deeper Downturn than Prior to 2009 Global Recession: Study

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However, policy toolkit to handle economic shocks has improved index

WASHINGTON, November 20, 2019—Emerging and developing economies are less well positioned today to withstand a deeper global downturn, should it occur, than they were before the 2009 global recession, although they now have more resilient policy frameworks to respond, a new World Bank Group study of the global recession and its aftermath finds.

With multiple risks to global growth clouding the outlook, there is concern whether emerging and developing economies can effectively respond to a deeper economic slowdown as they were able to do during the 2009 global recession. The new study by the World Bank Group, A Decade after the Global Recession, compares emerging market and developing economies’ preparedness then and now, and finds reason both for concern and for optimism.

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BladeRunner Energy Business Opportunities Fair experience

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How participating in the World Bank Opportunities Fair on Climate-Smart

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Paul Vosbeek pitching at the B2B networking session

Energy Solutions is helping BladeRunner Energy to bring micro hydropower to the people: a perspective from Paul Vosbeek, co-founder and CEO of the cleantech startup, BladeRunner Energy.

“I had the pleasure to participate in the biennial Opportunities Fair organized by the World Bank from October 29-31, 2019 with this edition focused on Climate-Smart Energy Solutions.

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eC2: Technical Authors for the Digital Regulation Handbook and Online Platform

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Deadline: 18-Dec-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)  index.jpeg

This activity will update the ICT Regulatory Handbook (to be called the Digital Regulation Handbook and Toolkit) which will be launched on a new mobile first web platform in 2020 (20th anniversary edition). This Handbook will support digital collaborative regulation and will require the support of various partners with skills and expertise to provide regulatory information and products and tools to promote knowledge sharing, information exchange, collaboration and best practices. The content developed will provide an update on the basics of ICT regulation in light of the digital transformation sweeping across sectors and will include new regulatory aspects and tools for ICT regulators to consider when making regulatory decisions.

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Rethinking density to build cities of the future

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rethinking_density-by_krunja_shutterstock_650092282.pngReady or not, cities across the globe are about to enter a realm of rapid disruption brought about by a wave of transformational technological progress.  

The new informational, transactional, and operational technologies – popularly termed “Industry 4.0” – are likely to change the shape of cities, and may well require a rethinking of how we define “density.”

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eC2: Development of a Smart Mobility Implementation Guideline: Benchmarking and Piloting

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Deadline: 04-Dec-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) index

1. Benchmarking the existing international smart mobility cases and best practice, including a diagnosis of the current situation (needs, challenges, and opportunities for sector reforms) associated with the performance of ITS/smart urban mobility systems in selected Bank’s client cities. 2. Develop a proposal for a smart mobility implementation guideline with the following dimensions: Implementation readiness assessment method – Transport systems and services, and dimensions, to be integrated – ICT architecture, data standards, and protocols 3. Develop detailed implementation action plans and recommendations for pilot activities in Panama on multi-modal and multi-provider payment system integration, integrated bus fleet management systems, well as advanced traffic monitoring and automated enforcement for strategic transit corridors, alongside the implementation of dynamic charging schemes for infrastructure cost recovery models. Carry out desk reviews for the application of the implementation guideline on these smart mobility topics for Vietnam/Turkey pilots. 4. Dissemination and capacity building for selected Bank’s client cities.

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Introducing Expert Answers: A new video series from the World Bank Group

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Here at the World Bank we’re about to launch a brand new video series. It’s called Expert Answers and you’ll be able to watch the first episode on November 14th on LinkedIn and YouTube.   We’re still busy filming interviews and writing scripts but as we reach the final countdown I thought I’d try to answer a few questions you as the audience might already have: Why are we doing this? What can you expect? Where can you watch? Is it for you?

 

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eC2: Lesotho Agriculture Insurance Feasibility Study

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Deadline: 02-Dec-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) scaling-up-innovations-in-agriculture-lessons-from-africa-780x439

The objective of this assignment is to investigate the market potential for smallholder agricultural insurance in Lesotho. It will focus on the identification of insurance providers who would be willing to offer this type of insurance, existing factors that may enhance or limit their ability to enter into this market, as well as the potential for integrating insurance within the priority value chains. The priority value chains for the purposes of this study are grains, dairy, horticulture (fruit/vegetables), poultry, piggery, and fisheries/aquaculture.

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As climate and disaster threats rise, let’s double down on resilient infrastructure

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From tsunamis in Asia and earthquakes in Latin America, to hurricanes in the Caribbeanvietnam_blog and cyclones in Africa, disasters caused by natural hazards claimed some 1.3 million lives between 1998 and 2017, and wreaked untold havoc on livelihoods and infrastructure worldwide.

We see no sign of the risk posed by natural hazards decreasing, particularly having witnessed the devastating impact of Cyclone Idai on families and communities in Africa earlier this year. What’s worse, climate change is making storms, floods, droughts, and heatwaves even more frequent, damaging, and deadly.

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Which countries reduced poverty rates the most?

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One of the goals of the World Bank Group is to reduce extreme poverty—defined as indexliving on less than $1.90 per day in 2011 PPP—to less than 3% by 2030. We know that the world has seen tremendous progress in reducing extreme poverty since 1990. So, where in the world has poverty reduction been most successful?

The graph below shows 15 countries that experienced the largest annual average percentage point declines in extreme poverty rate between about 2000 and 2015, out of the 114 countries for which we can measure poverty in a comparable way over this period.

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