The World Bank & the Arab Urban Development Institute
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December 2009 . Number 18 Public Disclosure Authorized THE WORLD BANK & THE ARAB URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE: A DECADE LONG PARTNERSHIP ON URBAN AND YOUTH ISSUES 1Ahmed Al-Salloum, Ibrahim Al-Turki, Aliya Jalloh 2005, AUDI partnered with Cities Alliances (financed through the Bank’s Development Introduction: Founded in 1980, with Grant Facility) to help MENA towns and cities permanent headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi develop City Development Strategies (CDS). Arabia, the Arab Urban Development Institute AUDI is also involved in different sectors such (AUDI)2 is a regional, non-governmental, non- as urban planning and human development. profit urban research, technical and consulting Note should also be made in regards to a key organization. AUDI is also the technical and difference between AUDI and other NGOs scientific arm of the Arab Towns Organization whereby AUDI views itself as a partner with (ATO) – the regional UN Habitat affiliate – the organizations it works with: when Public Disclosure Authorized with an active membership of more than 400 implementing a project, AUDI matches the Arab cities and towns representing 22 Arab monetary resources that it receives from the states. various organizations that it works with. How long have you worked with the World MENA CPI is a significant initiative within Bank and in what areas? the region. What makes this initiative so important for the region? AUDI’s collaboration with the Bank stemmed from AUDI’s technical support to the World MENA CPI was established in response to a Bank team that worked on the privatization of recommendation made at the December 2002 municipal services as part of the Kingdom of “Children and the City” Amman conference to Saudi Arabia’s privatization program for vital build the capacities of municipal authorities, economic sectors in 2002. and to establish a regional fund that would Public Disclosure Authorized quickly respond to the risks faced by Since 2002, World Bank-AUDI partnership has vulnerable and disadvantaged children and taken on several different forms. In 2003, youth in the region. The rationale for the AUDI received a Development Grant Facility MENA CPI are as follows: (i) attaining the grant from the Bank to establish the MENA Millennium Development Goals in the region Child Protection Initiative (CPI)3 – a key factor requires reaching out to vulnerable and enabling the program to move forward4. In disadvantaged children and youth; (ii) due to the speed of decentralization in the region, 1 local governments and municipalities are Ahmed Al-Salloum, Director General, AUDI; Dr. Ibrahim Al- Turki, Executive Director, MENA CPI, were interviewed by closer to the source and solutions of these Aliya Jalloh from the MNA K&L team. problems; and (iii) MENA countries have an 2 For more see http://www.araburban.org/AUDI/English extremely young age structure (43% of the 3 For more see http://www.menacpi.org total population in 2003 were under age 18, a percentage that is expected to keep 4 The DGF establishes grant-making as an integral part of the Public Disclosure Authorized increasing). Bank's development work and an important complement to its lending and advisory services. It sets out the overall Bank strategy of using grants to a) encourage innovation, b) catalyze AUDI’s convening power at the sub-sovereign partnerships, and c) broaden the scope of Bank services. In level through its proximity to the mayors, addition, all grants must meet sector and institutional priorities, be of high quality, and conform to eight DGF eligibility criteria. municipalities, and local authorities have For more simply go to www.worldbank.org and type DGF in the search bar. C:\Users\wb19996\Documents\old q drive\ed4migration\Knowledge & Learning\QN18-changes - Omer inputs.docx facilitated partnerships that are generally privatization of municipal services in Saudi difficult for the Bank to initiate and helped in Arabia. This was later expanded to secondary targeting difficult-to-reach groups. Indeed, cities in Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Bahrain. AUDI’s partnership with the Bank is beneficial for both organizations on several fronts, not AUDI’s work in various sectors has also the least of which is the fact that AUDI gains evolved throughout the years, along with its significant technical knowledge from the Bank partnership with the Bank: while AUDI’s through this partnership, while the Bank overall mission broadly remains urban and benefits from AUDI’s local knowledge. city development, it has also increased its efforts to address the issue of children and The CPI has also had a significant impact on youth within MENA cities. Of particular note the outlook of the mayors who now view is the fact that other organizations in the children and youth issues as central matters to region have now begun cooperating with the be addressed by their municipalities. They MENA CPI by funding some of its activities. now view this initiative as a key to addressing These organizations include the Islamic a volatile environment evolving in urban Development Bank, the Arab Fund for slums where children and youth (particularly Economic and Social Development (AFESD), those new rural immigrants) are often exposed the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations to drugs, violence, labor exploitation, and Development Organizations (AGFUND), and environmental health hazards. the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), among others. In collaboration with UNFPA, AGFUND, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social The MENA CPI uses the Child Friendly City Development, and the Islamic Development (CFC) of Amman as a model for other MENA Bank, AUDI is implementing a project on countries. What makes the Amman CFC a Alleviation of Urban Poverty in several Arab good model and will the other MENA cities (2005-2011). MENA CPI in partnership countries be able to scale up this model in with Al Waleed Bin Talal Foundation is their own cities? working on a new project for reintegration of school drop-outs in three cities: Sana'a The way AUDI is structured makes it easier to (Yemen) and Karari & East Nile (Sudan). work on development issues that are not usually possible at the local level. Convincing A social safety network is being established in city authorities to work on children and youth partnership between MENA CPI, the World issues is not easy. They do not consider them Bank, three municipalities in North Lebanon as their job. But, since the mayors of the Arab and other stakeholders. The main objective of cities are members of the board of directors of the network is to provide safety net for at risk AUDI, The Mayor of Amman is an elected (marginalized and vulnerable) children and member of AUDI's board of directors. So youth in urban settlements deprived of basic through him, and in cooperation with regional socio-economic services. So far, this safety net partners like (AGFUND), the concept of Child consists of about 50 institutions that could Friendly City was introduced and assist these children and youth in reverting implemented in Amman. However, it is worth them to development path. Other cities in noting that a city cannot be categorized as Lebanon and Syria have requested the either an entirely child friendly city or as one assistance of MENA CPI to establish a social that completely neglects the children and safety network in their respective cities. youth in its city; it’s a spectrum, some cities are simply more child friendly than others, AUDI has been instrumental in fostering and due to this reason Amman has become a new partnerships for the Bank in areas such more child friendly city than others. as the urban observatories and City Development Strategies - can you expand on An ideal Child Friendly City is defined as one the work that AUDI has done in these areas? where the following three actors are united as equal partners and where their views are fully As previously mentioned, AUDI began taken into account: “(i) producers (i.e. working with the Bank in 2002 on the governments, private sector, NGOs and December 2009 · Number 18 · 2 CBOs); (ii) regulators (i.e. parents, guardians In regards to whether other MENA countries and care givers); and (iii) users (i.e. children, will be able to scale up the Amman CFC youth and community).5” A CFC is a city fully model in their own cities, of note is the fact committed to the fulfillment of children’s and that the MENA CPI in partnership with youth’s rights. It is a city where their voices, AGFUND, the World Bank and other partners needs, priorities and rights are an integral part has now produced a resource book in Arabic, of the government’s policies, programs and the first of its kind, which MENA cities can decisions. Indeed, key to establishing any CFC now view as a guide to becoming a more child is a strong commitment to respecting the friendly city. Moreover, additional strategies views of the children and youth and involving have been developed this year for five other them in decisions affecting their lives; their cities in MENA to help them become CFCs: participation iskey to building cities and Tripoli, Aleppo, Sana’a, Khartoum, and communities friendly to children. Youth is the Amman. Two regional training sessions, in crux of development in the Arab World. Amman and Aleppo, were also conducted for officials from the municipalities and the local The city of Amman has been committed to authorities in order to raise the level of becoming a more child-friendly city for a long awareness and introduce the concept of CFC time; in fact, Amman was the first Arab and its application. municipal council to adopt the CFC Initiative. An expert committee was formed in Amman What were some of the findings of the 2007 to guide the municipal government in CPI World Bank evaluation? developing a vision for a child-friendly city and to implement an ambitious citywide The World Bank evaluation of the MENA CPI initiative.