Athgo’s Third Annual Global Forum Proves a Success

By Rebecca Kaisler
From July 9-11, 2008, over 200 students and young professionals from around the world convened at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC for the third annual Athgo Global forum. The highly successful event focused on the theme “Miracles of Development: Good Governance and Capacity Building.”

During the event, participants had the opportunity to hear from and interact with various expert speakers and panelists. Following the presentations, they divided into groups, where they developed both an innovative policy memorandum and a business model in response to the forum themes. The event culminated in the presentation of these proposals before the assembled audience and a panel of judges, who selected the top three panel presentations.

After hearing from Athgo Chairman and founder Dr. Armen Orujyan, welcoming speaker Dr. Randi Ryterman, a sector manager for the World Bank Group, introduced participants to the forum themes of good governance and capacity building. After defining governance as “the many ways in which power is acquired and exercised in order to serve the public good,” Dr. Ryterman discussed the importance of good leaders in helping to maintain macroeconomic stability, combat corruption, and promote development. Without such leaders, said Dr. Ryterman, institutions are undermined and the public’s confidence in them decreases.

World Bank Group representatives Angelica Silvero and Colum Garrity expanded upon the theme of good governance by briefly summarizing the history of the World Bank and providing statistics as to the role of the organization in fighting corruption. Though established in 1944, the World Bank only began to combat corruption in 1996. Since then, it has tried to do this by making governments and organizations as transparent and accountable as possible.

The keynote speaker of the forum was United States Congresswoman Linda Sánchez. Praising the role of Athgo in “creating a new generation of leaders,” Congresswoman Sánchez stressed the increasing role that young people will have to play within the international community, especially since the government has started to learn that development cannot be stimulated simply through free trade. “We need to develop leaders who have a nuanced understanding of the challenges that countries face,” she remarked. According to the congresswoman, the biggest challenge that developing countries face is the brain drain, where local citizens acquire specialized skills, but then move to other places, thus failing to contribute to the overall development of their country. The only way to solve this is by investing directly in human capital and training.

Concluding the speaker presentations was Dr. Michael Baranick, a senior research professor at the National Defense University. Dr. Baranick’s energetic presentation discussed the elements of good governance, which include accountability to the people, participation, predictability, transparency, and openness. Without these, he asserted, governments often became politically unstable, resulting in a lack of economic growth and a diminishment in corporate investments.

Over the course of the first two days of the forum, participants heard from three separate panels consisting of Ambassadors, as well as representatives from the World Bank, Microsoft Corporation, International Daimler, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the National Defense University. H.E. Urs Ziswiler, Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States, was on hand for the first panel, informing participants how Switzerland, considered a ‘model’ nation in regards to governance, deals with corruption. The second panel of World Bank officials, dealt with the popular subject of opportunities for young people within the World Bank. Participants bombarded the panelists with questions regarding the organization’s internship, Junior Professional Associates, and Young Professionals programs. The final panel boasted representatives from several international corporations, including Microsoft Corporation and International Daimler. The panelists informed participants of the firm stance that most international companies take regarding anti-corruption practices. They also touched upon the deterrent that corruption within a country can have for corporate investors.

One of the most popular aspects of the forum were the informal discussion sessions held each day. During these sessions, participants had the opportunity to engage individual speakers and panelists in discussion in a small group setting. The topics discussed varied greatly, and allowed for increased interaction between the participant and speaker. “They allowed everyone to have a chance to participate, even those who are shy and wouldn’t normally get up in front of a lot of people,” remarked participant Irina Vasiliu. She also commented on the fact that, in front of a large audience, speakers had a tendency to avoid answering certain questions, but that when addressed in smaller groups were often happy to discuss the matter at hand. The additional information that participants gained during these hour-long sessions proved useful when it came time for the breakout sessions.

Having been provided with the necessary knowledge on governance and capacity building, participants divided into breakout groups for the purpose of developing both a policy memorandum and a business proposal in response to the challenges posed by corruption, sustainability, and development. Charles Rasmussen of McDaniel College spoke highly of the sessions. “They are definitely interesting and engaging. There is the pressure to produce. You definitely can’t daydream during these sessions.” Daniel Gallardo, from Monroe College, agreed, stating, “it brings people from different backgrounds together.”

The breakout sessions were relatively high-pressure, as participants were expected to have developed both a policy memorandum and a business model by the morning of July 11. After being informed of the proposal they would be presenting, each group had three minutes in which to present their proposal to the panel. A Q&A period followed the panels, during which the spokesperson of each group defended the group’s proposal. While all groups had clearly put effort into their proposals, in the end it was groups 11, 8, and 16 who were considered to have delivered the top three panel presentations. In first place, group 11 proposed policies supporting community capacity in areas where there is a significant proportion of unemployed youth, while reducing corruption and inefficiencies. Second-ranked group 8’s policy memorandum supported sustainable agriculture in Uganda by creating a seed loan bank for local farmers. In third place, group 16 developed a business model for the creation of an organization that would promote women’s empowerment and capacity building in Africa through the publication of locally written, bilingual children’s books.

After the announcement of the top three panels, participants enjoyed a reception in the World Bank atrium hosted by both the World Bank and the Embassy of Brunei Darussalam. Individual comments from the attendees throughout the conference and during the reception indicated that the forum was successful in stimulating and motivating young people in considering and responding to the problems posed by good governance and capacity building. Athgo and the World Bank achieved their objective of bringing together outstanding talent to address the critical problem of governance and capacity building by people who are likely to be the future leaders of the international community.

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