Announcement of Bhoomi Project is Part of Shanghai Learning Process on February 2, 2004

Bhoomi Project is Part of Shanghai Learning Process Contacts: In India: Geetanjali Chopra (91-11) 461-7241 gchopra@worldbank.org In Washington, D.C.: Karina Manasseh (202) 473-1729 kmanasseh@worldbank.org Bangalore, February 2, 2004—As part of a global learning process leading up to a conference about poverty reduction to be held next May in Shanghai, China, the World Bank is organizing a field visit from February 2-4, 2004, in and around Bangalore for senior Bank managers, policy makers, civil society groups, and donor agencies from around the world. The global learning process, also known as the Shanghai process, emphasizes that as countries attempt to extend successful approaches to poverty reduction, or sustain them over time, they must be able to learn from past experience—from mistakes as well as successes. The activities leading up to the Conference in Shanghai include a series of interactive videoconferences, online dialogues, and site visits that started last December and will continue on through April. "The story of growth in Karnataka is unique in its narrative of being led by private entrepreneurs from the IT industry," says Deepa Narayan, World Bank's senior adviser in the poverty reduction team and coordinator of the visit. "Over time, however, new partnerships forged between the government, industry leaders, and civil society have made the state more livable. This field visit, while reviewing these broad changes, will focus on how IT can be used as a tool for 'scaling up' empowerment of the poor by increasing both access and transparency of information." Participants will assess in depth one large-scale program, Bhoomi, that empowered poor farmers by computerizing 20 million records of land ownership across Karnataka. Under the Bhoomi project, nearly 7 million rural farmers benefited with the online transfer of land titles. Ms. Frannie Leautier, Vice-President of the World Bank Institute, will be leading the delegation. "The conceptual framework behind the learning process emphasizes that as countries attempt to extend successful approaches to new places, or sustain them over time, they must be able to learn from past experience as learning itself is a key component of scaling up" she says. Other participants include the Honorable Albert Kan-Dapaah, Ghana's Minister of Communications, and Mr. Maxim Timofeev, Deputy Department Head from the Ministry of Communications and Informatization in Russia, among others. The Conference in Shanghai will bring some 600 participants together around a series of success stories in development, providing high visibility to approaches that have been effective in poverty reduction. The participants will share their insights with peers from other developing and developed countries about what worked, what did not, and why. The proceedings will be available over the web through video streaming. For more information on the Shanghai process, please visit: www.reducingpoverty.org/ For more information on the World Bank in India, please visit: www.worldbank.org/in