IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings Civil Society Forum 2021
Join us from March 22 to April 2 for the IMF-World Bank civil society policy forum to hear from and interact with activists and experts from civil society, the IMF and the World Bank, governments, academia, and the private sector on issues such as the economic and human impact of the COVID-19 crisis, climate change, anti-corruption, inequality, debt, health, education and much more.
The full program of the 19 sessions can be found here. Sessions will be webcast live on this page and the World Bank’s CSOs page (see program for more details).
Concluded Sessions
In Case You Missed It: Watch the video here
Monday, March 22, 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET
An introduction to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for civil society
Language: English
Tuesday, March 23, 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET
Creating a Caring Economy: The role of IFIs and the CEDAW framework in transformative change
Languages: English | Spanish
Wednesday, March 24, 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET
A People’s Recovery: Ensuring progressive fiscal measures for a feminist and just pandemic recovery
Languages: English | Spanish
Thursday, March 25, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM ET
International solidarity to support a robust and inclusive global economic recovery: the case for a global social protection fund
Languages: English | Spanish | French
Friday, March 26, 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM ET
Towards a more equal and green recovery: a civil society conversation with IMF's head of policy and strategy
Language: English
Monday, March 29, 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET
Private Sector Accountability in times of Crisis
Languages: English | Arabic
Monday, March 29, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM ET
The impact of debt in poor countries and proposals for fair and green recovery financing
Languages: English | Spanish
Tuesday, March 30, 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET
Why climate Transition risks are macro-critical: the IMF and enabling a Green Recovery
Languages: English | Spanish | French
Thursday, April 1, 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM ET
Special Drawing Rights as a Sustainable Option for Financing fight against Covid-19 and economic recovery in Africa
Languages: English | French
Thursday, April 1, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM ET
Learning Covid-19’s Lessons: Assessing Anti-Corruption and Social Protection in IMF Lending
Languages: English | Spanish | French
How the IMF is Helping Countries Address the Economic Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Exceptional times call for exceptional actions. The IMF is responding to the coronavirus crisis with unprecedented speed and magnitude of financial assistance to help countries protect the lives and livelihoods of people, especially the most vulnerable. The Fund is at the center of the global financial safety net – and is deploying its entire lending capacity of USD 1 trillion at the service of its membership. Read more.
“The IMF has secured $1 trillion in lending capacity, serving our members and responding fast to an unprecedented number of emergency financing requests—from over 90 countries so far.” Kristalina Georgieva Managing Director, IMF
For more information on how the Fund is helping countries address the economic impact of Coronavirus click here.
For more information on how the IMF is promoting transparent and accountable use of COVID-19 financial assistance, click here.
For a list of the key economic policy actions taken by governments to respond to the human and economic impact of COVID-19, click here.
PAST FEATURES
Webinar on Promoting the Effective Use of COVID-19 Finances: A Discussion with SSA Civil Society Organizations
July 14, 2020
On July 14, 2020, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Africa Training Institute hosted a webinar titled: Promoting the Effective Use of COVID-19 Finances: A Discussion with sub-Saharan Africa Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Over 70 CSOs representing local and national entities were in attendance along with IMF staff from the African, Legal, Fiscal Affairs, Communications, and Strategy, Policy and Review departments. CSOs welcomed the quick emergency support to SSA countries, the emphasis on saving lives and the efforts taken by the IMF to push for transparency measures in the use of the COVID-19 funds. They also pointed to the value of having a good balance between providing essential financing and the need for a more structured CSO-led approach for monitoring and tracking the use of funds in countries. CSO also called upon the IMF to keep updating them on this topic and they also committed themselves to continue keeping an eye on how COVID-19 funds are being spent in their countries.
Additional details:
Presentation by Rhoda Weeks–Brown, General Counsel and Director, Legal Department, IMF
Presentation by Vitor Gaspar, Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF
Message from Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director, African Department, IMF
Workshop with Civil Society representatives from Nigeria
November 12-13 2019
Workshop with Civil Society representatives from the Maghreb
November 7-8, 2019
The IMF organized a workshop with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from the Maghreb region in Rabat, Morocco. 15 participants representing CSOs based in Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia attended the two-day seminar in Arabic and French. It was an opportunity for participants to get a better understanding of the role of the IMF, especially in the region, and to exchange views with IMF staff on important issues in their countries such as gender, corruption, unemployment (especially for youth and women), Maghreb economic integration, fiscal policy and income inequality. The IMF 2021 Annual Meetings will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco in October 2021.
Workshop with Civil Society representatives from the CEMAC region
On March 25-26, the IMF organized its second workshop with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). 17 participants representing CSOs or regional CSO networks based in the Gabon, Chad, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Congo and Equatorial Guinea attended the two-day seminar in French. It was an opportunity for participants to get a better understanding of the role of the IMF, especially in the region, and to exchange views and thoughts with IMF staff on important issues in their countries such as fiscal policy, gender and income inequality, Anti-Corruption, debt and jobs and employment.
Workshop with Civil Society representatives from East and South East Asia in Manila, Philippines
On June 19-20, the IMF organized a workshop with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from East and Southeast Asia in Manila, the Philippines.
Opportunity for All: Promoting Growth, Jobs, and Inclusiveness in the Arab World
On the sidelines of the regional conference “Opportunity for All: Promoting Growth, Jobs, and Inclusiveness in the Arab World”, the IMF held a CSO workshop which included about 30 civil society organizations from the region in Marrakech, Morocco on January 28-29, 2018.
The workshop focused on topics related to fiscal policy which included energy subsidies and social safety nets, fair taxation and public wage bill management in the Middle East and North Africa region. CSOs expressed their perspectives on the various issues and exchanged views with senior IMF staff that attended the workshop. CSOs played a key role during the conference where some of them moderated the innovation lab sessions and participated in the various sessions throughout the conference. At the end of the conference, CSOs issued a statement welcoming the IMF’s outreach efforts and sharing their perspectives on the IMF’s policies in the region and the IMF’s work on inequality and inclusive growth.
CSO and Youth Fellowship Program
Over the past 14 years, the IMF has sponsored more than 700 CSOs from low income countries and emerging markets to come to our Annual and Spring Meetings. Watch the video to learn more about our CSO and Youth Fellowship Program.
PUBLICATIONS
Progress In Implementing The Framework For Enhanced Fund Engagement On Governance
This paper provides an interim update on implementation of the 2018 Framework for Enhanced Fund Engagement on Governance. This update is in advance of a comprehensive formal review of the Framework scheduled for mid-2021.
Review of Implementation of IMF Commitments in Support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
This paper reviews the implementation of the initiatives the IMF committed to in 2015 to support developing countries in pursuing the 2030 agenda for sustainable development, including (i) strengthening national tax systems; (ii) tackling large infrastructure gaps; (iii) promoting economic inclusion; (iv) the development of domestic financial markets; (v) intensifying engagement in fragile and conflict-affected states; (vi) improving economic statistics; (vii) expanding the financial safety net for developing countries; and (viii) addressing macroeconomic aspects of climate change.
A Strategy for IMF engagement on social spending”
Interest in social spending issues has intensified over the last decade. This reflects concerns about rising inequality and the need to support vulnerable groups, especially in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. In line with this, the Fund has also increased its engagement on social spending issues. This paper outlines a strategy to guide IMF engagement on social spending issues going forward
How to Operationalize Gender Issues in Country Work
This note provides examples of good practice with respect to coverage of gender issues in country reports and lays out the resources available to country teams, both with respect to existing analytical work as well as the availability of data and tools.
How to Operationalize Inequality Issues in Country Work
This note provides examples of good practices with respect to coverage of inequality-related issues in country reports and lays out the resources available to country teams, both with respect to existing analytical work as well as the availability of data and tools.
Fiscal Monitor: Tackling Inequality
Rising inequality and slow economic growth in many countries have focused attention on policies to support inclusive growth. This Fiscal Monitor discusses how fiscal policies can help achieve redistributive objectives. It focuses on three salient policy debates: tax rates at the top of the income distribution, the introduction of a universal basic income, and the role of public spending on education and health.
IMF Framework for engagement on governance/anti-corruption
The Framework is designed to promote more systemic, effective, candid, and even-handed engagement with member countries regarding governance vulnerabilities, including corruption, that are judged to be macroeconomically critical.