World Bank Institute Celebrates Its
50th Anniversary

NUMBER 043
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: MAY 2005




                            January 2016
The World Bank Group Archives Exhibit Series contains exhibits originally
published on the Archives’ external website beginning in 2002. When the
Archives’ website was transferred to a new platform in 2015, it was decided that
older exhibits would be converted to pdf format and made available as a series
on the W orld Bank’s external database, Documents & Reports.

These exhibits, authored by World Bank archivists, highlight key events,
personalities, and publications in the history of the World Bank. They also bring
attention to some of the more fascinating archival records contained in the
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To view current exhibits, visit the Exhibits page on the Archives’ website.
World Bank Institute Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary

March 2005 marks the 50th
anniversary of the World Bank Institute
(WBI), formerly known as the
Economic Development Institute (EDI).
On March 11, 1955 the World Bank
announced the establishment of an
Economic Development Institute, with
the support of the Rockefeller and
Ford Foundations. The purpose of this
Institute was to serve as a college
where senior officials from developing     Economic Development Institute classroom,
                                                     Washington, D.C. 1956
countries could discuss the formulation
of development policies and programs,
and to learn from each other’s experiences. Sir Alec Cairncross, a well-known
economist, was invited to become the first director of the EDI.

The first location of EDI was a house at 1620 Belmont Street N.W., which
belonged to Mrs. Eugene Meyer, the wife of the first World Bank Group
                                             president. The Institute was formally
                                             launched on January 9, 1956 with the
                                             start of the first six-month course. The
                                             course was organized into seminars
                                             and discussions held every morning
                                             followed by afternoon and evening
                                             meetings. Occasional field trips were
                                             also considered to be an important
                                             part of the learning program. The
                                             fourteen participants of this course
                                             were senior officials from all over the
 Field trip to Gerberich Payne shoe factory,
                                             world including Colombia, Egypt, India,
   March 4, 1958, Mount Joy Borough, PA      Japan, Mexico, Thailand, Uganda, and
                                             Yugoslavia.

Sir Alec Cairncross said in his closing words at the first meeting on January 9:
“…we believe that, as the years go by, and there grows up in each country a
small group of key men have all been trained here, the Institute will become
progressively more influential. It is in this first course that a pattern and standard
will be set for later courses; what you do here will go to form the character and
determine the future of the Institute. May you, and we, be worthy of the
opportunity and the challenge!� (International Bank Notes, Vol. 10, No. 2,
February 1956).

Over the years the EDI grew
significantly and increased the project
content of its curriculum. It also
conducted courses in various
languages starting with French in 1962
followed by Spanish in 1963. In 2000,
the Institute was renamed the World
Bank Institute.

According to the WBI web site the
Institute currently delivers more than  Economic Development Institute participants
                                           in discussion, Washington, D.C. [195-]
1,000 learning activities a year to
nearly 80,000 clients in more than 120
countries; and awards some 350 scholarships annually.