♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Development,World Bank
at 1/12/2014 10:44:00 AM
We haven't had a video feature in ages, so here's one that should be of general interest. Current World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has not really received much popular public attention--or even in development circles for that matter. (Notice how the YouTube clip doesn't actually name him but instead his title. Kim's reserved manner certainly doesn't generate outlandish headlines that he fed his out-of-favor uncle to 120 hungry dogs alike that other Kim.) What better way, then, to raise his public profile but to pair this reserved intellectual with the extroverted entertainer Bono? The latter is known for his passionate espousal of vastly increasing aid to the developing world, although he's encountered much criticism along the way about being ill-informed about the subject matter Still, it's a potentially smashing concept, and they actually try it out in this 2012 clip in which both discuss ways to end poverty.
The pairing works to a greater extent than you would expect: Bono actually provides a decent "big picture" overview of the challenges we face, while Kim does the same in spelling out the "small picture" minutiae on aid delivery challenges and so forth. Watch it and see what you think. With or without you, the quest to end poverty goes on...in the name of love. [Insert your favorite U2 song allusions to poverty alleviation here.]
