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Remarks at the Second Glocalization Conference


by
James D. Wolfensohn
President
The World Bank
Rome, Italy, May 23, 2003

I work, as you know, in the Bank and it is a development institution and
it is a financial institution formed initially to deal with post World
War II reconstruction, but thereafter it mutated to deal with the
pressing issue of poverty. When we think about global development, we
think in global terms. We think of a world of six billion people and five
billion who live in developing countries. We think of a world in which
three billion people live under $2 a day, and a billion, two hundred
million people live under $1 a day. We think of a world in which there is
great inequity, in which there are two million people that do not have
clean water or sanitation. We think of a world in which there are far too
many children living on the streets. We think of a world in which women
are abused. We think of a world in which there is far too much suffering.
We think of a world which in the Year 2000 the leaders of all countries
came together looking at what the issues were facing the world and agreed
in the Declaration of the Year 2000 that what was central for the next
25years was halving the level of poverty, was dealing with infant
mortality, maternal mortality, getting 130 million children into schools,
dealing with the questions of preserving an environment for our children
and for the generations to come, for getting clean water to people, for
getting sanitation to people, for dealing with the human issues. They
barely talked about economics. They talked about the goals in terms of
humanity and in terms of people.

And that was a hugely significant step that our leaders took. And since
then we have had meetings in Monterrey and we have had meetings in
Johannesburg, we have had meetings in Brazil and other places on the
environment, and the rich and the poor countries have agreed that no one
can confront these issues alone. That this is a partnership. That there
are no longer days when a decision is taken in Washington or in Frankfurt
or in Rome or in any developed country about what developing countries
should do. That the real responsibility for the future rests with the
people that run developing countries, with the citizens of those
countries, and that we have no right in the developed world to impose a
system or to suggest mechanisms by which the aspirations of people can be
achieved. This is something that must be set by the citizens of countries
in which they live. And we have evolved into a dialogue in which it has
been agreed between rich and poor countries, between those that are
developed and those that are developing, that the developing countries
should set their own objectives within the framework of their culture and
their history and their beliefs, and that they should establish within
those countries the system of governance, a system of equity, of justice,
of financial systems that provide help for everybody, and that they
should combat the corruption which has affected so many of their
countries.

And this was not something that was imposed by the rich countries. This
was something that the leaders of developing countries decided
themselves. They said you cannot have equitable development, you cannot
have equity, you cannot combat poverty unless you get the governance
system right, and that they would develop their programs of education, of
health, of infrastructure that would be carried on by them but with the
assistance and partnership with the rich countries.
And then the rich countries said: if you do all that you have set out,
then we will help. We'll provide support for building capacity in
governance and in leadership areas. We'll provide additional resources in
the form of overseas development assistance, and we will open our markets
for trade. We'll give you an opportunity to trade with us, because our
future is your future.

Before September 11th, many people in the United States thought that
there were two worlds. There was the rich world, separated by a wall from
the developing world. On September 11th, at least for Americans, in the
image of the World Trade Center collapsing there is the image of that
"wall" coming down, but in the image of Afghanistan intruding in Wall
Street--but they were not Afghans but others who had used Afghanistan to
create terror in the United States. We have seen since then terrorism
traversing borders, and we have become aware that there are not two
worlds. There is only one world, and it is linked by trade and finance
and crime and drugs and trading and commerce and banking and migration,
and that for our children education in the developed world cannot just
rest with education about European and American history. We need to know
about Islam, about India, about China, about Africa. We need to
understand that our planet has changed. We need our children to be
trained for a different and more diverse and rich world.

And our leaders are looking also at the future because in the next 25
years the world will grow by two billion people to eight billion and the
five billion out of six today in developing countries becomes seven
billion out of eight, and in 50 years it becomes eight billion out of
nine. And Europe, as we know it today, will be smaller and older. And
Jacques Diouf, who is here from FAO, is spending his time looking at the
issues of food and subsistence for that world. And we are becoming aware
of the fact that we are not just citizens of Italy and other countries
but that we are planetary citizens and that we have to think of things in
terms of global considerations.

But that's what I talk about each day. That is what I will be talking
about at the Summit on June 1st when the leaders of the G8 and the
leaders of 20 largest developing countries come together to talk about
this new partnership.
And so why is it that I am here? Why is it that I believe in the Glocal
Forum? It is very simple. We did a study of 60,000 people that live in
poverty in 60 countries, and what you come up with is not statistics. You
come up with stories of individuals that relate to hope, that relate not
to charity but to opportunity, that relate to a chance for their
children, that relate to women who wish to be safe from physical abuse,
that relate to issues of equity and freedom from corruption, that want
for their children an opportunity, that want freedom, that want voice and
a chance to express their views, that want a sense of community, that
want to live together in peace. And those are not statistical issues.
Those are human requirements. And the place that humanity touches people
in poverty is in rural areas, but also in ever increasing numbers at the
level of cities and towns, and these issues cannot be dealt with by
central, federal administrations.

In the next 25 years, two billion more people will move into cities and
towns. The administration of those cities and towns will be by mayors
like you. It will not be by prime ministers and presidents. The delivery
of services will be done in local communities. The voices of poor people
will be heard in local communities, not at the level of federal
governments. The help will be created in communities, and that is why we,
at the Bank, have been so anxious to be supportive of this enterprise. It
just stands to reason that if you can engage the administrations of
cities and towns in the pursuit of poverty alleviation, you are engaging
the people that know about people and know about delivery of services,
that can interface with communities and can build a passion for
development. There is no sense in talking just about an extra few billion
dollars in money or even about the importance of trade if you do not also
talk about passion, commitment, human commitment, human relationships
with people in our communities. This is not a statistical exercise.

We will have a statistical exercise in Evian and we will talk about money
and we will talk about global issues, but the place that the heart and
soul will be met is in the communities, and all of you who have come to
this meeting as mayors of cities and towns throughout the world must
understand that your individual contributions are going to be the things
that make the difference. I truly believe that. I truly believe that if
we can build a sense of hope and a sense of passion and a sense of love
in communities, that we have a chance of dealing with the question of
poverty and peace. And that if we do not build these relationships, you
cannot build them statistically. It requires people, it requires
commitment, it requires passion and it requires you.

This group has grown since last year and you can say that we have lots of
groups in the world of mayors and sister cities' programs and mayors'
programs and cities alliances and so on, but the one thing that
distinguishes the Glocal Forum is that you understand the relationship
between development, hope and peace. That is what is special about this
group. It is not just about exports and imports important as they are, it
is not about charity. It is about peace, and about hope, and it's about
individuals.

I know Mayor Veltroni knows that here. He is coming to a meeting we are
running on the Roma communities in Budapest. I just had to mention it to
him and he was ready to be there. But it is not just Roma communities in
Europe, it is the disadvantaged around the world who will make the
difference between peace and between a future for our children. It is
about partnership and commitment of rich to poor, of developed to
developing, of city to city . So I am really thrilled to be here with you
who are on the frontline of this effort, and I want to offer you the
total support of my institution and, more than that, the total respect of
my institution for stepping out of local politics and understanding that
if you want enduring peace and you want hope, then institutions like the
Glocal Forum need your support.

So I thank you for allowing me to be with you. I am especially thrilled
that in my discussions with Quincy [Jones] earlier today we also
recognized that culture and music are central to that activity and we
hope that we can join some of our efforts with those of Quincy in terms
of his efforts as we move forward together. You should think of the
Glocal Forum as a family. You should think of your cities as part of a
global family, and you should think that peace will only come if you give
that family love and commitment, and I appreciate so much what you are
doing. Thank you very much.