Green For All

Violence Prevention:  A Critical Dimension of Development

APRIL 6 & 7, 2009

Location: The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433

The event will be opened by:

Mr. Martti Ahtisaari, 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of Finland Mr. Enrique Peñalosa, former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia

Please click here to RSVP or send an email to Ozong Agborsangaya-Fiteu at ozong@worldbank.org with the subject line "RSVP Violence Prevention Event" with your name and affiliation.

 

DAY ONE

8:30-9:00              Breakfast and Registration

9:00-10:30           Opening Session

From Local to Global: Why Violence Prevention Is an Important Component of Development

                Chair: Juan Jose Daboub, Managing Director, The World Bank

Welcome: Katherine Sierra, Vice President, Sustainable Development Network, The World Bank

Opening remarks: Robert  B.  Zoellick, President, The World Bank*

Key-note speeches:

Reducing violence in cities: The challenge for the future of local development.

Presenter:  Enrique Peñalosa, Former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia

Importance of violence reduction in large-scale political conflicts.

Challenges and opportunities for the international community.

Presenter: Martti Ahtisaari, 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Former President of the Republic of Finland

10:30-10:45         Coffee Break

10:45-12:15         2nd Session

Conflict, Crime and Violence Reduction and Prevention:

A Priority for Donors and the World Bank

This session discusses conflict, crime and violence as development issues. It focuses on the costs and impacts of violence and conflict, and how violence prevention can be integrated in World Bank programs.

Chair: Augusto de la Torre, Chief Economist, Latin America and Caribbean Region, The World Bank*

Presentations:

The development underpinnings of violent behavior: the psychosocial impacts of violence.

Presenter: Michael Wessells, Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health, Columbia University

The cost of violence for societies.

Presenter: Gary Milante, Conflict Economist, Development Research Group, The World Bank

Violence prevention in the work of the World Bank.

Presenter: Alexandre Marc, Coordinator, Conflict, Crime and Violence Team, Social Development Dept., The World Bank

12:15-12:30         Lunch Boxes

12:30-14:00         Lunch session

Children and war, a Testimony

Presentation: Ngozi N. Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, The World Bank*

Moderator: Ozong Agborsangaya-Fiteu, Consultant, Conflict, Crime and Violence Team, The World Bank

Discussion with:

·         Grace Akallo, former child soldier of Uganda and author of Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda's Children (with F.J.H. McDonnell);

·         Dominic Akena, former child soldier of Uganda and protagonist of War Dance, Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary

·         Zlata Filipovic, war survivor of Bosnia-Herzegovina and author of Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo

·         John Kon Kelei, former child soldier of Sudan and spokesperson, War Child Netherlands

14:00-14:15         Coffee Break

14:15-15:45         4th session

Integrating Violence Prevention in Urban Development Policies

Reducing and preventing violence is a central component of urban development policies. This session focuses on how integrated policies for the reduction of crime and violence, slum upgrading, improving access to services and poverty reduction contribute to urban development.

Chair: Isabel M. Guerrero, Vice President for South Asia Region, The World Bank*

Presentations:

Prevention of crime and community safety in urban settings.

Presenter: Valerie Sagant, Director General, International Centre for the Prevention of Crime Violence and crime prevention as part of sound urban development policies.

Presenter: Abha Joshi Ghani, Sector Manager, Finance Economics and Urban Dept., The World Bank

Discussant: Bernice K. Van Bronkhorst, Sr. Urban Specialist, Urban Crime and Violence Prevention Group in Latin America and the Caribbean Region, The World Bank

15:45-16:00         Coffee Break

16:00-17:30         5th session

Youth and Gender Dimensions:

Perpetrators of Violence and Agents of Change

The session presents operational experiences in supporting youth and gender inclusion as component of violence prevention projects. It considers the role of social inclusion initiatives in addressing the youth and gender dimensions.

Chair: Joy Phumaphi, Vice President, Human Development Network, The World Bank

Presentation:

Masculinity and violent youth: Understanding causes and dynamics to drive successful violence prevention operations.

Presenter: Gary T. Barker, Sr. Advisor, Gender, Rights and Violence, International Center for Research on Women

Discussants: Ian Bannon, Sector Manager, Post Conflict & Social Development Unit in Africa Region, The World Bank; Mayra Buvinic, Sector Director, Gender and Development, The World Bank; Wendy Cunningham, Lead Specialist, Children and Youth Unit, The World Bank

17:30-19:00         Reception & Cocktail

·         Welcome: Cyprian F. Fisiy, Director, Social Development Dept., The World Bank*

·         Photo Contest Award Ceremony: "Imagining Peace: The World Bank Contribution to Peace-Building and Prevention of Violence."

·         Presentation of Awards: Alastair J. McKechnie, Director, Fragile and Conflict Affected Countries Group, The World Bank*

DAY TWO

8:30-9:00              Breakfast and Registration

9:00-10:30           6th session

Poor Governance and Violence: Breaking the Vicious Circle

Violence erodes governance and poor governance contributes to increasing violence. This session focuses on how violence and governance influence one another and explores ways of strengthening societies' resilience to violence through governance reform.

Chair: Jeffrey S. Gutman, Vice President, Operations Policy and Country Service, The World Bank*

Presentations:

Understanding the relation between governance and violence at the local level.

Presenter: Michael Woolcock, Professor of Social Science and Development Policy, University of Manchester

Rule of law and violence: access to justice and rule of law as key components of violence reduction and prevention.

Presenter: William H. Taft IV, Chairman of Board of Trustees, Freedom House; Chairman, ABA Rule of Law Initiative

The role of the media in enhancing governance in conflict-affected countries.

Presenter: John Marks, President and Founder, Search for Common Ground

10:30-10:45         Coffee Break

10:45-12:15         7th session

Conflict and Violence at the Heart of Country Fragility

The session addresses the challenges of high levels of violence in fragile and conflict-affected countries and explores current trends of conflict and violence. It focuses on the interrelations between violence and fragility and possible approaches for reducing violence in countries in transition from war to peace.

Chair: Alastair J. McKechnie, Director, Fragile and Conflict Affected Countries Group, The World Bank

Presentations:

The changing nature of conflict and violence. Understanding current expressions of conflict and violence and the particularly strong risk of violence in fragile countries.

Presenter: Andrew Mack, Director Human Security Centre, University of British Columbia

Transition from war to peace in fragile countries: ingredients for successful peace-building and necessary interventions based on the experience of the World Bank.

Presenter: Markus Kostner, Adviser, Fragile and Conflict Affected Countries Group, The World Bank

Discussants: Daniel P. Serwer, Vice President of the Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, US Institute of Peace; Per E. Wam, Sr. Social Scientist, Conflict, Crime and Violence Team, The World Bank

12:15-12:30         Break

12:30-14:00         Final session

Violence Prevention and Reduction - A Way Forward

Final session presents and discusses:

·         Findings and main issues arising during the two-day event.

·         Implications for the World Bank and how the regions could move the agenda of violence reduction and prevention forward.

Chair:J uan Jose Daboub, Managing Director, The World Bank*

Introduction and summary of the event:

Cyprian F. Fisiy, Director, Social Development Dept., The World Bank

Presentations:

Violence Prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Presenter: Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Vice President for Africa Region, The World Bank *

Violence Prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Presenter: Pamela Cox, Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean Region, The World Bank

* To be confirmed.