World Bank partners with Ateneo, Xavier for knowledge sharing

MANILA, Philippines - The World Bank has partnered with Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan for a knowledge-sharing agreement that will be used for policy development.

In a statement, the World Bank said it signed the agreement with Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan last Aug. 26 for the latter to be its Knowledge for Development Community (KDC).

KDCs are institutions that share knowledge and engage the public on development challenges in their communities and in the entire country, the World Bank said. 

The bank said this partnership will allow both institutions to organize knowledge sharing activities to discuss development challenges and solutions.

World Bank country director Motoo Konishi said the partnership was amid the university’s research and social outreach programs that were in line with the bank’s country partnership strategy for the Philippines.

“If you look at our country partnership strategy 2015-2018, you can see that both the World Bank and Xavier University are practically taking the same language,” Konishi said.

The country partnership strategy tackles transparent and accountable governance; empowerment of the poor and vulnerable; promotion of rapid, inclusive, and sustained economic growth; dealing with climate change, environment, and disaster risk management; and bringing peace, institution building, and social and economic opportunity.

“Under this (country partnership strategy), we are focusing on areas with the highest poverty incidence, where the magnitude of poverty is severe or in areas with high vulnerability,” Konishi said.

“We support programs and projects that are transformational, or those whose impact are far-reaching in terms of poverty reduction,” he added.

For his part, Xavier University president Roberto Yap said the university has long been committed in doing research and social outreach programs for the development of Mindanao.

“Xavier University has been active in conducting research and social outreach programs on issues in governance, asset creation and distribution for the poor, environmental stewardship, and peace and development in Mindanao,” Yap said.

“With this partnership, we look forward to more collaborations in helping advance peace and prosperity in Mindanao,” he added.

Xavier University is the 18th member of the network of KDCs across the country and the third from Mindanao.