Participation of nongovernmental organizations

Carolyn Long

When planning for this conference, the World Bank invited four NGOs to serve on the steering committee, and we accepted the invitation, not as cosponsors of the conference, but in a consultative role, to provide recommendations and our point of view.

The NGOs' orientation to the conference has been somewhat different than the World Bank's The World Bank has perceived this conference and is working in this conference to consider hunger in the global context, which includes all institutions involved - governments, multi lateral agencies, universities, NGOs, and the hungry people themselves—whereas the NGOs, primarily because of the power of the World Bank worldwide, decided that they would focus exclusively on the role of the World Bank in regard to hunger. We felt it was important to explain that at the beginning, because all of our actions in relation to the conference, the NGO speakers we recommended and whom the Bank agreed to put on the program will all look at this conference from the perspective of the World Bank and its role.

So on behalf of the NGOs, the "sticks in the bonfire" that Congressman Hall just talked about, I want to acknowledge the World Bank's staff for their willingness to include the NGOs in the planning of this conference and their openness to accepting many of our recommendations, even though they knew that we would be critical of them. And I want particularly to thank Vice President Ismail Serageldin, who in some ways has put himself on the line.