On July 1, 2008, I was one of 30 teens assembled at the MC building of the World Bank to collect their passes for the next three weeks as participants of the World Bank Family Network/Inter-American Development Bank Family Association Teen Summer Learning Program. As we introduced ourselves, I could see that we were all eager and excited to meet the other teens who were part of the program. The first day was spent in getting to know one another – who we were, where we were studying, where we came from – and in familiarizing ourselves with the World Bank and its history. Later that day, we watched a movie set in Zimbabwe called “Yellow Card.” We had all been together only for a few hours, but I could already feel a sense of companionship with my fellow teammates.

 

Over the next sessions, we were divided into two groups – Team Wolfensohn and Team McNamara – that went to the World Bank’s Book Project, where we helped to organize donated books that were being sent overseas to schools and universities, and visited the Trading Floor in the MC building, where we were shown an informative yet entertaining PowerPoint on the financial activities of the World Bank and treated to brownies and soda. We soon learned that the activities were not limited to the World Bank alone, however. We visited the IDB three times and even got to play at being the Board of Directors of the organization (sitting in their chairs, no less!). We learned about the many programs of the IDB in the infrastructure and environment sector and, more importantly, were given an overview of the IDB’s youth programs and urged to get involved by Mr. Fabian Koss, Youth Development Coordinator for the IDB.

 

Back at the World Bank, we had the chance to write articles for the WBFN newsletter Mosaic and learn about financial literacy, security, and communications from many different World Bank departments. One of the most interesting presentations given to our groups was by the Office of Institutional Integrity, where we played a game to test our observational skills and saw pictures of some of the unfulfilled government projects that the Office has investigated in the past. We also saw an extremely informative presentation on HIV/AIDS and how we could get involved in the fight to increase awareness of the disease. We also attended a stimulating presentation on Financial Literacy and budgeting. Finally, we had the chance to have our pictures taken with the President of the World Bank, Mr. Robert Zoellick, and the President of the IDB, Mr. Luis Moreno.

Throughout the program, we were led by the very capable Mrs. Jo Bartlett, and a team of eager volunteers. These volunteers gave their time and effort to make our program as entertaining and engaging as possible, and for that we are truly grateful. From the minute we walked in, to the day we had a picnic at a George Washington University park; I know we all had a great time. Thank you, WBFN and IDBFA!

 

By Vinitra Rangan