The World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) held this year's annual meetings in Istanbul, Turkey under the name the 'Road to Recovery’. A Civil Society Policy Forum was held from October 2 -7, prior to, and during the 2009 Annual Meetings of the IMF and WB.
The Forum brought together Bank and Fund staff, CSO representatives, government officials, academics, and others to exchange views on a variety of topics ranging from the global economic crisis and climate change, to governance reform.
ECNL's Executive Director, Nilda Bullain was invited to speak at a panel discussion organized by The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS) on "Transatlantic Partnerships, Civil Society, and Fragile States". The panel highlighted some of the civil society-focused recommendations of the Transatlantic Taskforce on Development Report of the GMFUS and brought in a number of other unique and valuable perspectives. Ms. Bullain provided insights on fostering civil society in Central and Eastern Europe and the challenges facing transatlantic cooperation aimed at such efforts in the face of the economic crisis. Panelists included:
- Jim Kolbe, co-chair of Transatlantic Taskforce on Development, Senior Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States;
- Ivan Vejvoda, Executive Director, Balkan Trust for Democracy, The German Marshall Fund of the United States;
- Nilda Bullain, Executive Director, European Center for Not-for-Profit Law.