The History Thematic Group will host a presentation by World Bank alumnus K. Y. Amoako. Mr. Amoako will be discussing his new book, Know the Beginning Well: An Inside Journey Through Five Decades of African Development. The book speaks about the tension between the Bank’s Washington consensus and clients, particularly the structural adjustment lending operations in Africa and the Bank’s embrace of the global social development agenda. It also addresses the Bank’s past challenges in supporting women professionals, racism and colonialism in the 1980s and 1990s, massive and poorly planned organizational changes. You can read the prologue (PDF) of the book and learn about his career here: https://acetforafrica.org/know-the-beginning-well/
Presenter: K.Y. Amoako, an international civil servant with a career spanning more than four decades, who has contributed with energy to Africa’s ongoing development. He is a respected thought leader on policies and initiatives that have led to improved governance and growth on the continent, and he has worked alongside prominent development specialists to tackle the most pressing African and global development issues. His book reflects on the Africa’s development journey and the many institutions and leaders that have shaped it, including the World Bank.
Mr. Amoako joined the World Bank in 1974 as a Young Professional and served in the East Africa Department, in Personnel Management and Administration, as Resident Representative in Zambia, as Division Chief for Population and Human Resources in Brazil. He retired as the first Director of the Bank’s Education, and Social Policy Department in 1995 to head the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Discussants:
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – Former President of Liberia, co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011, and World Bank alumna
Jean-Louis Sarbib, former Africa Region Vice President
Albert Zeufack, Africa Region Chief Economist
Please RSVP here.
WebEx Details:
Meeting number:160 903 4321
Meeting password:WBGLibrary1
Meeting Link: https://worldbankgroup.webex.com/worldbankgroup/j.php?MTID=m43c7798ad38338bfff3e3695a61172f7
Audio connection: 1-650-479-3207 Call-in toll number (US/Canada)
Global call-in numbers: Access code: 160 903 4321
