PARIS, June 19, 2001 -- For the first time, the World Bank will host its Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics -- Europe online. This interactive online conference with live video will take place June 25 and 26, 2001 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central European Time (8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT). The themes of the conference will be "Globalization, Poverty and Wealth" (June 25) and "Regulation in a Globalized Economy" (June 26).

Designed to expand the flow of ideas between thinkers, civil society and policy-makers in development, the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE) brings together leading economic thinkers to discuss the most urgent challenges facing the development community.

"This live video, interactive approach is a way of involving even more people," says Jean-François Rischard, World Bank Vice President for Europe. "It's a new twist on the ABCDE concept, as we try to make the debate on fighting poverty more inclusive each year." Eager to encourage Europe's input into development thinking, Rischard brought the ABCDE to Europe three years ago, with a conference in France organized in partnership with the Conseil d'Analyse Economique (The Council of Economic Analysis).

James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, will open the online conference. The sessions on June 25 and 26 will feature live video participation of leading development academics such as Professor Jeffrey Williamson of Harvard and Professor Jomo Kwame Sundaram from the University of Malaysia, as well as prominent speakers from civil society and government. Registrants will be able to send in questions and comments, participating in the discussions in real time.

To participate in the ABCDE Online, please register at www.worldbank.org/abcde-europe

Papers and speeches will be posted on this website.