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....
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 Sustainable Urban Land Use Planning (September 24 - November 11, 2014)
Apr 28, 2014 / Highlight
Urbanization is the defining global phenomenon of this century. For the first time in history, more than half the world’s population lives in urban areas. Between 2000 and 2030, in developing countries, the urban population is expected to double, and entire built-up areas are projected to triple if current trends continue. This rapid demographic...
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-...
Apply now for a free e-learning course organized by the WB e-Institute on Policy Instruments for Low Emissions Development: From Design to Implementation
Apr 28, 2014 / Highlight
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-wide basis and take a detailed look at what this...
Al Leyah Rehabilitation Project
International Labor Mobility
Apr 01, 2014 / Program
Lead Organization
The World Bank.
Partners
Key partners: National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC), Moroccan Ministry of Labor, German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ), Maytree Foundation.
Other partners: French Ministry of Finance, French Employment Agency, Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,...
Arab Youth Debate: Have Young People Reaped the Fruits of the Arab Spring?
Apr 01, 2014 / Highlight
The Arab Youth Debate will feature youth activists from across the region debating the critical question: Have young people reaped the fruits of the Arab Spring? Moderated by Alajzeera’s Abderrahim Foukara, the debate will take place in Tunisia, on April 1st, 2014, at at 7pm (Tunis time).
Three years ago, Arab youth seized the initiative and...
A Question of Equilibrium
Apr 01, 2014 / Blog entry
This article is the first in a 3 part blog series on brain drain in the context of international labour mobility. Its aim is to question the conventional wisdom and help devise win-win solutions to age old problems.
By Manjula Luthria*
On our drive home from a recent trip to the ski slopes we decided to add a bit of education to the vacation...
Movers and Shakers
Jan 16, 2014 / Highlight
In its second Movers & Shakers piece, the International Labor Mobility (ILM) program asks Lant Pritchett for his thoughts on how the migration agenda might be moved forward and what misconceptions we need to shake off to do so. Pritchett draws inspiration from other successful development movements and cautions against the drive for perfection...
Workshop on Patents and Structural Intangibles in the Mediterranean
Dec 23, 2013 / Highlight
The European Investment Bank, in its role as lead of the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) programme “Innovation Capacities”, organised a workshop on the development of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in the Southern Mediterranean on the 7th of June, 2013 in Paris. This workshop was part of the annual “World Conference on Intellectual...
Marking International Migrants Day
Dec 18, 2013 / Highlight
On December 18th, the UN invites us "to observe International Migrants Day through the dissemination of information on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants, and through the sharing of experiences and the design of actions to ensure their protection.” To that end, the International Labor Mobility (ILM) Program commemorates...
Global Talent Competitiveness Index Launch
Dec 13, 2013 / Highlight
In today's global economic climate, no-one wants to focus on the issue of migration. The topic is politically fraught, socially contentious, and technically challenging. But it is also one of the more promising options for boosting shared prosperity by productively employing young and mobile workers to meet the growing demands of ageing...
'Paper Trails', the ILM Discussion Note Series
Dec 02, 2013 / Highlight
The International Labor Mobility program is proud to announce its first set of newsletters in its Paper Trails series. The discussion notes provide an opportunity to highlight ongoing work, discuss emerging findings, and share ideas to build stronger migration systems. The series is intended to spur debate and discussion. Below are the first...
Supporting the Development of a Regional Arab Youth Led Platform
Nov 08, 2013 / Highlight
More than 20 young representatives from 11 Arab countries met in Marseille, on November 5-6, 2013 under the auspices of CMI, the League of Arab States and the World Bank to plan the establishment of a common platform. As part of the CMI supported Arab Youth Initiative, this platform will gather youth led NGOs across the MENA region with the...
Governance and Management of Science and Technology Parks
Oct 21, 2013 / Highlight
Most countries recognise that investing in Science & Technology Parks (STP) and innovation cities is essential to building a knowledge economy. The CMI and the EIB in collaboration with the ISESCO are organising a regional workshop on Science and Technology Parks (STP) in MENA region. This event will take place on the 4th and 5th of November,...
National Innovation Systems: Input, Output, and Impact
Oct 21, 2013 / Highlight
While all countries in the MENA region recognize the importance of innovation in the road to a Knowledge Economy, an articulated understanding of National innovation Systems (NIS) is lacking, and few data is available on the countries’ capacities and performance on innovation.
The EIB through the CMI is organising with the collaboration of the...
Three Funerals and a Wedding: Resetting the way we work on migration
Oct 17, 2013 / Highlight
International labor markets are perhaps the last bastion of protectionism. We know that easing restrictions on the movement of people, especially the less skilled, can unleash huge welfare gains which by some estimates dwarf the gains from complete trade liberalization. And yet, progress on this front has been too slow.
In attending the numerous...
On the Move: The Highly Skilled (Turning “Brain Drain” into “Brain Gain”)
Oct 17, 2013 / Highlight
This blog has been co-authored by Michael Clemens and Nabil Hashmi
The recent tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy highlights the risks that many migrants face. For a large number of people around the world moving is still one of the surest ways of expanding their opportunities and improving their lives. The World Bank's International Labor...
