Newly released World Bank study on Climate Change in MENA
Sep 05, 2014 / Highlight
New World Bank study
Do households living in climate-affected areas in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region believe that changes in climate patterns and their environment are taking place? Have households been affected by extreme weather events, and in that case to what extent and which events have had the largest impact? What are the...
Launch of 2014's 100 Resilient Cities Challenge: Is Your City Ready to Become Resilient? Apply until September 10, 2014
Sep 05, 2014 / Highlight
Is Your City Ready To Become Resilient?
The 100 Resilient Cities Challenge seeks to find 100 cities that are ready to build resilience to the social, economic, and physical challenges that cities face in an increasingly urbanized world.
We can't predict the next disruption or catastrophe. But we can control how we respond to these challenges....
Experts’ Meeting: An Innovation Scoreboard for the MENA
Sep 03, 2014 / Highlight
The European Investment Bank (EIB) through the Centre for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), in collaboration with ISESCO and UN-ESCWA Technology Center, organized a regional experts’ meeting on the 19th and 20th November 2014 at the League of The Arab States (LAS) in Cairo, Egypt. This meeting aimed to initiate and develop an innovation...
ARABTERM: A new online technical dictionary in Arabic, English, French, and German
Sep 03, 2014 / Blog entry
By Guido Zebisch*
ARABTERM is a quadrilingual technical dictionary offering glossaries in German, English and French and especially, the translation of terms along with an illustrated definition in Arabic (www.arabterm.org). The project is jointly commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the...
A Global Lesson on Educational Reform from Ten Schools in Jordan
Sep 03, 2014 / Blog entry
By Manal Quota*
Zeid Bin Haritha is a school in the Jordanian village of Yarqa. In this school, you’ll witness tiny overcrowded classrooms, old broken furniture and over-worked teachers. These are characteristics common across a number of schools in the Governorate of Al-Salt. But, wait! This is not a tragic story filled with heart breaking...
A Story of Working Together Against all Odds from a Public School in the Palestinian Territories
Sep 03, 2014 / Blog entry
By Jumana Al Aref*
This blog was written prior to the current conflict in Gaza and serves as a reminder of the critical importance of education, regardless of the circumstances, in building a path to a more hopeful future.
What is Mrs. Abla’s secret? How has one principal managed to mobilize teachers and parents into becoming one harmonious...
UKP Multi-Partner Thematic Newsletter - Issue 1 - City Resilience
Aug 17, 2014 / Library
Middle East and North Africa Urbanization Knowledge Platform Newsletter on City Resilience
A New Knowledge Sharing Tool on Urbanization and Urban Development in MENA
This is the inaugural Middle East and North Africa Urbanization Knowledge Platform (MENA UKP) newsletter on urban development. The newsletter is designed to facilitate...
Economic Transitions in the Mediterranean
Aug 04, 2014 / MDF
At the initiative of academics from both the Northern and Southern Mediterranean who are convinced that there is a common destiny for the nations and peoples of this region, a working group met to consider the transitions underway in the Arab nations. This initiative was launched in November 2013 and is facilitated by the Center for Mediterranean...
Why Does City Resilience Matter? Interviews with Decision-Makers and Experts from MENA Region and Beyond
Jul 31, 2014 / Highlight
The MENA Urbanization Knowledge Platform (MENA UKP) team is proud to launch a series of six video blogs on the resilience of cities in MENA and beyond.
These interviews see city leaders, decision-makers, development experts, academics, private sector representatives, from the MENA region and beyond, reflect on the rising concern of urban risk...
Report: Poor policies Restrain Growth in Seven Middle East & North Africa Countries
Jul 16, 2014 / Blog entry
Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen and Libya are trapped in a “poor policy – poor growth” cycle, which prevents their economies from moving to a sustainable growth path, says the World Bank in the newly released Quarterly Economic Brief for the Middle East & North Africa region.
The report, titled “Predictions, Perceptions and...
Creating the Right Ecosystem for Knowledge Valorisation: A Case Study of ODTÜ Teknokent
Jul 07, 2014 / Highlight
Ankara, Turkey
The CMI and the EIB, in collaboration with the ISESCO and the UN-ESCWA Technology Centre, are organising a regional workshop about the contribution of the Quadruple Helix actors to knowledge transfer within Science and Technology Parks (STPs) on June 16th-18th, 2014 in Ankara, Turkey.
ODTÜ Teknokent, a Science Park that...
Launch event for "Municipal Finances: A Handbook for Local Governments" on June 19 3pm EST
Jul 07, 2014 / Highlight
Thursday June 19 at 3:00 PM in J1-050 Auditorium (to live stream on the day of the event, click here)
From Detroit to Lahore, cities face financing challenges. In an ever urbanizing world, cities are important for national economies and social prosperity and stability, but they are also very vulnerable to any global financial crisis. Municipal...
Seven Steps to Surviving a Disaster
Jul 07, 2014 / Blog entry
To read the blog authored by World Bank President Jim Kim for Bloomberg View titled "Seven Steps to Surviving a Disaster" please click here: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-02-18/seven-steps-to-surviving-a-disaster
Mismanagement of Solid Waste Has an Environmental Cost and there are Concrete Opportunities for Reducing It
Jun 25, 2014 / Blog entry
Beirut, Rabat and Tunis: New studies evaluate the cost of environmental degradation due to solid waste mismanagement
By *Hervé Lévite
Solid Waste Management is a Priority
“Solid waste management is a priority in the Mediterranean region”, so said the last joint Horizon 2020 report of the European Environment Agency and UNEP/MAP (May 2014...
Live Discussion on the Untapped Potential for Economic Integration in the Levant
Jun 11, 2014 / Highlight
Join us for a lively discussion from the Regional Conference on Economic Integration in Beirut on the findings and recommendations of the World Bank study “Over the Horizon: A New Levant.”
Representatives from the private sector in the Levant will discuss the potentials for and barriers to deeper regional integration in goods and services trade....
Take the Poll! MENA Citizens Living Abroad: How Would You Like to Contribute to the Economic Development of Your Country of Origin?
Jun 04, 2014 / Highlight
The MENA integration team at the World Bank is reaching out to MENA citizens living abroad to get their views of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) citizens living abroad on how they would like to contribute to the economic development of their country of origin. The findings from this survey will provide a better understanding of the MENA...
Welcoming Migrants: Cities offer a Beacon of Hope
Jun 02, 2014 / Blog entry
By Manjula Luthria*
When US-born 24-year old aspiring physician Ms. Nina Davuluri was crowned Miss America in September last year, she inspired a celebration of beauty, brains, ambition and America’s diversity. At the same time twitter exploded with angry tweets protesting the crowning of a “foreigner, terrorist, Miss 7-11.” In January this year...
Welcoming Migrants: Planning for Inclusion
Jun 02, 2014 / Blog entry
By Casey Weston*
Living in Marseille should give those of us working at the Center for Mediterranean Integration a unique perspective on the MENA region; after all, 20% of Marseille’s population is foreign-born, including many immigrants from MENA. In my particular neighborhood, tagines are more popular than ratatouilles, and “Salaam” more...
High Level Seminar: “Non-Performing Loans Work-Outs and Bank Resolution in Euro-Mediterranean Countries: What Worked? What Did Not?”
Implementation Action Plan of the New Levant Initiative
Jun 02, 2014 / Highlight
The implementation action plan, as endorsed by policy-makers in the region, provides policy solutions to address constraints related to regional trade in goods and services, and investment.
OVER THE HORIZON: A NEW LEVANT - Regional Conference on Economic Integration, June 12, 2014, Beirut, Lebanon
Jun 02, 2014 / Highlight
The World Bank and the Levant Business Union hosted the conference under the auspices of the Government of Lebanon. The conference, held in Beirut Lebanon on June 12, served as a platform to officially launch the World Bank’s regional economic integration report “Over the Horizon: A New Levant.”
Objectives
This study identifies the areas of...
The New Levant Declaration
Jun 02, 2014 / Highlight
The Levant Declaration is one of the outputs of the New Levant Conference. The Declaration summarizes the decisions taken during the conference.
Report “Over the Horizon: A New Levant”
Jun 02, 2014 / Highlight
Complementarities between Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and the Palestinian Territories are significant, pointing at substantial potential welfare gains from increased trade and investments and economic integration. This group of seven countries, defined as the “New Levant” for the purposes of this study, appears to be well...
Economic Integration in Maghreb
Jun 02, 2014 / Program
Lead Organization
The World Bank.
Partners
The European Union (EU), the United States, and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Also, IPEMED (Economic Foresight Institute for the Mediterranean Region); KNOMAD (Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development); Tunisia School of Business; Mediterranean School of Business; local...
The New Levant Economic Initiative
Jun 02, 2014 / Program
Lead Organization
The World Bank
Partners
The European Union (EU), the United States, and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). Also, IPEMED (Economic Foresight Institute for the Mediterranean Region); KNOMAD (Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development); Tunisia School of Business; Mediterranean School of Business; local business...
Ten Years after Morocco’s Family Code Reforms: Are Gender Gaps Closing?
May 13, 2014 / Blog entry
By Paul Scott Prettitore*
Family Code Reforms Set Grounds for Gender Equality
In 2004, the Government of Morocco made major amendments to its Family Code, known as the Moudawana. These reforms addressed two key aspects of gender inequality. The first was that husbands and wives were provided ‘joint responsibility’ in family matters, making...
[Study Tour] Identification and Targeting Systems for Social Programs in Colombia and MENA Countries
May 12, 2014 / Highlight
The World Bank organized a knowledge exchange between the Colombian government and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. The visit is one of the activities of the MENA Community of Practice on Employment and Social Safety Nets, which facilitates south-south knowledge exchanges related to the design and implementation of employment and...
Embracing Skilled Migration: Global Skills Partnerships to Solve Global Skills Shortages
May 02, 2014 / Blog entry
This article is the third in a 3 part blog series on brain drain in the context of international labor mobility. Its aim is to question the conventional wisdom and help devise win-win solutions to age old problems.
By Manjula Luthria*
Earlier in this series we marked the omnipresent concern about brain drain and noted that because the term...
Regional Event: 12-13 June 2014 - From Vision to Action - Strengthening the Governance-Quality Assurance Nexus in Higher Education in MENA
Apr 30, 2014 / Highlight
The last two decades have witnessed a strong push for more university autonomy around the globe, paired with a request for higher education institutions to be accountable not only to those directly involved– the academic community, students and their families – but also the wider public. As such, the topic of quality assurance has played a...
Apply now for a free e-learning course organized by the WB e-Institute on Low Carbon Development:Planning & Modelling
Apr 28, 2014 / Highlight
Low Carbon Development: Planning & Modelling
This course has the following modules – (i) Introduction to Low Carbon Development Planning; (ii) Overview for Policymakers; (iii) Power; (iv) Household; (v) Transport - which introduce you to climate change mitigation, explore the concepts surrounding low carbon development planning on an economy-...
