An unusual meeting of bankers and believers
High-level representatives from nine major world religions meet with the president of the World Bank to discuss religion and development; a new factor in project assessment
LONDON - As the head of the world's largest economic development agency, James Wolfensohn is an extraordinarily busy man. Since becoming president of the World Bank some two and a half years ago, he has visited more than 60 countries, meeting with heads of state and government, top national banking officials and representatives from leading non-governmental organizations.
So it is in all respects exceptional that Mr. Wolfensohn spent nearly two days meeting with spiritual leaders from nine major world religions in February, exploring topics that are seemingly unrelated to international finance - such as how spiritual and material development are interrelated and how the Bank and the religions might forge a new relationship to help tackle the problems of global poverty.
"For a man like Wolfensohn, nothing is as important as his time," said Dr. Thomas Lachs, a former director of the Bank of Austria, who was at the meeting as a representative of the Reform Jewish community. "So I found it quite remarkable that he took two days for this conference, and consider it a sign of the importance he attaches to such things."
By all accounts, too, the meeting itself was quite extraordinary. Convened by Mr. Wolfensohn and the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, the event - known officially as the World Faiths and Development Dialogue - was held in London 18-19 February 1998 at the Archbishop's 800-year-old residence, Lambeth Palace. The gathering resulted in a series of ground-breaking ideas and initiatives that could significantly reshape the field of international economic development, say those who were involved.
"For the first time in contemporary economics, the role of religion in development was not just publicly acknowledged or even acclaimed, but brought into a partnership with one of the largest and, some would argue, most vociferously secular organizations in the world," said Martin Palmer, director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture (ICOREC), which played a key role in organizing the Dialogue. "The repercussions of this are that the economic world will have to take religion seriously - and vice versa." In particular, said participants, the meeting gave high-level endorsement to the idea that true development cannot take place without the proper consideration of spirituality in the lives of individuals and communities.
As Mr. Wolfensohn himself said in a closing statement: "What is clear is that what has come out of this meeting is that there is a unity between us. A unity of the concern for physical livelihood but also spiritual and cultural continuity and I think it is that which certainly I have found remarkable at this meeting. There has been a total meeting of minds in terms of this linkage."
High-Level Representation
The representatives of the world's religions themselves came from perhaps the highest level yet for such an interfaith conference. Included were leaders from the Bahá'í Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, and Taoism. Among them, they represented the religious traditions followed by an estimated 3 billion people.
On the Bank's side, Mr. Wolfensohn himself was the main representative. A former investment banker, Mr. Wolfensohn has during his tenure sought to create new directions for the Bank, which has come under criticism in recent years for, among other things, its emphasis on funding large projects that some development specialists say are disconnected from the needs of local people.
The Bank is the world's largest development funding agency. For fiscal year 1997, it loaned out US$19.1 billion to some 241 projects worldwide. An independent specialized agency of the United Nations, the Bank seeks to be the lender of last resort, providing capital to the poorest nations when no other sources exist.
Since taking office in June 1995, Mr. Wolfensohn has worked to widen the Bank's contacts with non-governmental organizations and other elements of civil society. "This has involved the Bank reaching out to various groups and dialoguing with them," said John Mitchell, a Bank official who was involved in planning the Dialogue. "This event is in some ways an explicit recognition that Mr. Wolfensohn feels religions are a major part of civil society. While the Bank has dialogued with them in piecemeal fashion, this event is also trying to systematically push the dialogue to a higher level - and to validate it."
According to Mr. Palmer and others, the impetus for this meeting grew out of a previous interfaith gathering, held in April-May 1995 at Windsor Palace. Co-sponsored by the World Wide Fund for Nature, among others, that meeting was known as the Summit on Religions and Conservation, and it sought to strengthen the then burgeoning collaboration between religions and the environmental movement by creating a new entity: the Alliance on Religions and Conservation (ARC).
A World Bank representative, Andrew Steer, participated in the Windsor meeting. As part of the follow-up process, Bank officials then began a dialogue with ARC and its members. Elements of the Lambeth agenda were set at a meeting last May in Washington at the Bank's headquarters, when a smaller group of religious leaders gathered to discuss ways the Bank could be more sensitive to local communities and alternative values.
Themes at Lambeth
The Lambeth event opened on Tuesday, 17 February, with a reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by HRH the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who had also hosted the Windsor meeting.
The next morning at Lambeth, the official meeting, known as the World Faiths and Development Dialogue, began with a session entitled "understandings of 'development.' " During that session, the meaning of the terms "poverty," "prosperity," and "developed" were discussed, with an aim, according to the agenda, of understanding "how the gap between the present situation and the kind of societies to which we aspire" might be addressed.
The afternoon session focused on "criteria for development," in which themes relating to "participation," "sustainability," and "voice" were discussed, all in the context of how the faiths and development agencies like the Bank might cooperate to improve efforts in each area.
Among other things, it was generally agreed that development is a process that encompasses both the spiritual and the material aspects of life; that personal transformation goes hand in hand with social change and that both must be viewed as central to collective progress; and that development must be based on principles of sustainability, justice, consultation and participation.
Kiser Barnes, the lead Bahá'í representative, opened the session on "participation," offering some thoughts on the spiritual values that must undergird efforts to include the active participation of all in any development endeavor.
"Only development programs that are perceived as just and equitable can hope to engage the commitment of the people upon whom successful implementation ultimately depends," said Mr. Barnes, who holds the position of International Counsellor. "When people trust that all are protected by standards and assured of benefits, such virtues as honesty, the willingness to work and sacrifice, moderation, and a spirit of cooperation can flourish and combine to make possible the attainment of demanding collective goals."
On Thursday, 19 February, the meeting ended following a morning-long session during which the final details of an 11-point, 700-word statement on the outcome of the Dialogue were agreed upon. That statement, which was presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Mr. Wolfensohn, made a number of significant and concrete proposals.
Most importantly perhaps, the Bank and the faiths agreed to continue to dialogue by setting up joint working groups to explore further themes of concern. Among the themes that will be considered by working groups are: community building; hunger and food security; environmental sustainability; preservation of cultural heritage (including sacred sites); violence and post-conflict reconstruction; education and social service delivery.
The final statement promised that the religious communities will be invited to "influence the thinking of the World Bank by participating in the studies and discussions embodied in the Bank's annual World Development Reports." A special effort will be made to get this input for the year 2000 report, which will focus on "understanding poverty."
"Until now, the main criterion in judging the success of development work has been economic growth," said Wendy Tyndale, a development specialist with the UK-based Christian Aid, who served as an advisor to Archbishop Carey in the planning of the Dialogue. "The criteria that the Faiths are suggesting focus more on the overall well-being of communities and people, of which a very important aspect is both spirituality and cultural identity. This came out of the meeting very strongly."
Representatives of each faith presented a paper giving their suggestions on the new criteria for development. These papers will later be published in a book. [See Perspective, page 2] Participants also committed themselves to "explore further opportunities for partnership" at the country level. Pilot projects are to be established between the Bank and the faiths, for example. Religious representatives are to be invited to speak at special staff training sessions to help Bank personnel learn more about religious beliefs and cultures.
A Comparison to Ecology
Beyond the specifics, many participants said the most significant aspect of the event was the fact of the meeting itself and its overarching idea that religion and spirituality must now be factored into even the most straightforward programs of economic development. This idea, they said, is likely to affect not just the World Bank, but also the entire international development agenda.
Dr. Lachs said he thought that the processes unleashed by the meeting could lead international development agencies like the World Bank to view the cultural and spiritual impact of development projects in much the same way that environmental considerations have come to be a factor in projects today.
"Thirty years ago, in development, nobody cared about ecology," said Dr. Lachs. "Today, the environmental impact of a project is a major issue. If we can do the same thing in the spiritual-cultural-values field, the impact on the non-economic lives of people will be tremendously important."
Wangari Mathaai of Kenya, founder of the Green Belt Movement, who was also at the Lambeth meeting, said she agrees that the meeting could signal the beginning of a major shift in the way development agencies regard religion and culture.
"In my region, the culture has been completely destroyed and is considered retrogressive and not helpful to development," said Ms. Mathaai. "It is possible to disempower people when you destroy their culture, and to make it very difficult for them to participate in development. So I am very happy to see development agencies recognize that a people without a culture is a people without direction and that the culture of a people and the things they value do matter very much."
Another emergent idea was that greater involvement of religious groups in official development efforts might become an antidote to the corruption that all too often accompanies the processes of development funding. "The moral authority of religious leaders is key in the campaign to promote good governance and transparency - which Wolfensohn passionately champions in view of the high price that corruption and waste exact on poor countries," said World Bank News, a Bank publication aimed at journalists.
Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, Vice President Emeritus of the World Jewish Congress, who was present at both the Lambeth and Windsor meetings, said the interfaith nature of the meeting was especially important. And he suggested that, wherever possible, joint projects with the Bank should also be undertaken as interfaith ventures. "Projects should be managed not by one religious group but by a consortium of Faiths," said Rabbi Hertzberg.
Swami Vibudhesha Teertha, one of the principal Hindu representatives, said: "The significance of the meeting is not to be underestimated. This dialogue redefined poverty, prosperity and progress. A new atmosphere was created for new development activities which take into account the social, the environmental, and the spiritual."
Participants
