"The improvement of understanding is for two ends: first, our own increase of knowledge; secondly, to enable us to deliver that knowledge to others" - John Locke.
T minus 3 days until I’m off with an awesome bunch of delegates to the 2017 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings but rewind back a couple of weeks and I was on the verge of not applying. Mainly because the words “bank” and “monetary fund” brought a fear to my heart that only a public health kid could understand. I was left thinking, what on earth could I do with this experience?
Call it chance or call it fate, I was convinced to at least look into the work these sister organisations do and make a call on applying from there. I’m a sucker for development and social issues (working at the Social Investment Board -South Auckland) so, when I dived further into the work of the World Bank, in particular, some of its amazing development projects I was hooked. Even though international fiscal regulations aren’t my forte, through the application process I found myself becoming even more drawn to the idea of learning a whole new world of economics and international policy thus diversifying my knowledge base.
Fast-forward to the training weekend and I was a mix of nerves and excitement to finally meet my delegation in person. As expected, everybody was amazing and took my excitement to the next level. Meeting (or Skyping in) so many subject matter experts blew my mind (hello former Chief Economist for the World Bank Africa Region?!). I was particularly grateful for the balanced view Luiz Vieira – Coordinator of the Bretton Woods Project – gave. Essentially, despite some of the brilliant development projects the World Bank has funded –there is still plenty to improve. Too many have been displaced and unaccounted for and the conditionalities imposed on countries receiving IMF loans raises questions for national sovereignty. Despite this, I’m getting ready for my big adventure with an open mind and can’t wait to be surrounded by 10,000 people in DC changing the world in their own way!
Stay tuned for more,
Bhavya
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All posts by Institute delegates reflect their own thoughts, opinions and experiences.