by Jeffrey Gutman

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the World Bank Group, let me just say how honored I am to be here today to formally open this center.

I would like to thank Mr. Guan and our friends at the Shanghai National Accounting Institute for generously hosting this important meeting; and Mr. Liang, and our colleagues at the Ministry of Finance, for the very constructive role they have played in developing a close and constructive partnership with the World Bank; and the State Council Western Regional Development Office for our good collaboration and efforts to establish distance learning centers in the western provinces.  In this regard, I had the pleasure this weekend to visit the new Distance Learning Center in Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology in Shaanxi Province and I want to extend my warm regards to Vice President Zhang who is watching and will speak to us momentarily.  While China’s primary objective is to strengthen human resource capacity within China through the GDLN, we see China as a key partner in promoting economic growth and reducing poverty across Asia as well as globally– and China’s commitment and support is clearly evident in promoting initiatives such as the recent Global Conference on Scaling Up Poverty Reduction in Shanghai and Global Learning Process, and now the GDLN.

This Center is, by global standards, a state-of-the-art distance learning facility connected to the World Bank’s Global Development Learning Network – a global partnership of more than 68 centers that work together to use ICTs to build local capacity, share knowledge, and support a range of learning and development initiatives. 

China’s own development story, and the experience of many people in this room, needs to be shared and discussed with its neighbors.  China’s experience exemplifies the choices it has made and its ability to build upon the lessons learned from its past.  Its experience can be used to demonstrate what it is that makes development work and what makes policies, programs, and projects resilient enough to be expanded or replicated at scale. As we seek new approaches and solutions from developing countries,  I hope China’s experience and best practices can and will be shared, more readily using the technologies that are offered through the GDLN.

With a goal to become a world class institute of continuing education, SNAI has been playing an important role in training both Chinese senior executives and accountants, as well as government officials and practitioners from other Asian countries through the APEC Finance and Development Programs (AFDP).  The launch of the new center will help further enhance its capability to disseminate and share knowledge through the use of advanced ICT.

Though the facility is now operational, the real work is just beginning.

The Bank will continue to work with SNAI and our other Chinese partners in developing richer and more relevant content to support sustained growth and development in the country.  As one of the founding members of the GDLN in China, you are positioned to help the network become a long-running success in pushing the envelope for knowledge sharing and distance learning for development.

Finally, I wish to congratulate those of you who have made this center a reality.  The World Bank looks forward to celebrating many years of partnership with our colleagues here in Shanghai and throughout the rest of the country.

(China.org.cn July 27, 2004)