Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1946 - 1995 (Creation)
Level of description
Series
Extent and medium
18.45 linear feet of textual records
Context area
Name of creator
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
The records in this series were transferred directly to the Archives from the Information and Public Affairs Department (IPA).
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The media relations series includes press releases disseminated by the World Bank Group relating to operations and activities from the founding of the World Bank in 1946 through 1995. Press releases of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are included in this series.
The series consists of IBRD numbered press releases relating to Bank Group operations and activities dating from 1946 to1995. Press releases document country membership admission to the Bank and announce staff appointments in various member countries and other promotions within the Bank. The majority of IBRD press releases relate to IBRD loans, including applications, agreements, and issuances. Other topics of press releases include organizational changes (including reorganizations, retirements, and staff and Executive Director appointments), country membership, bond issuances, Resident Mission developments, speeches by senior management, report publications, conference attendance, consultative group meetings, mission travel undertaken by senior management, and Spring and Annual meetings. Early press releases were numbered consecutively. Beginning in 1962, press releases were numbered according to the year of release. Numbered press releases are missing from the following years: 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1986.
Series also includes press releases relating to IDA operations and activities from its creation in 1960 to 1994. The majority of IDA press releases relate to the funding of projects through IDA credits. Other topics of press releases include organizational changes (including reorganizations, retirements, and staff appointments), country membership, IDA replenishments, consultative group meetings, conference attendance, and Spring and Annual meetings. The press releases are arranged consecutively by number from 1960 through December 1961, numerically by calendar year from 1962 to June 1976, and numerically by fiscal year from July 1976.
An index for IBRD and IDA press releases from 1946 to 1994 is included. Indexes provide a brief descriptive subject title along with press release number and date. A separate index for IDA records for the years 1962 to 1979 is also included and contains the same information.
A portion of IBRD and IDA press releases dating from 1946 to 1994 are unnumbered and arranged chronologically. Unnumbered press releases are included in the file indexes as "unnum" or "unnumbered" but are not filed withthe numbered press releases. Some press releases have published informational supplements attached; supplements originated in both the Bank and in other organizations.
The series also contains translations of some of the IBRD and IDA press releases from 1948 to 1994. French and Spanish translations are most common but translations into Chinese, German, Italian, Arabic, Japanese and Portuguese are also included. A number of smaller series of press releases dating from 1987 through 1994 that relate to specific World Bank agencies or topics are also included. The financial series describes general World Bank finances, currency issues, and bonds. The larger special series details World Bank presidents' visits to member countries, staff appointments, and new Bank initiatives. A small number of press releases from the early 1990s relate to the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and the impact of development on particular US states export growth are also included.
The series also includes versions of speeches and addresses by Bank Group officials that were disseminated as press releases. These date from 1946 to 1965. The majority of the speeches are by Bank presidents Eugene Meyer, George Woods, and Robert McNamara. Speeches by other Bank officials include: J. Burke Knapp; Sir Denis Rickett; Mohamed Shoaib; Siem Alderweld; and Irving Freidman. These speeches include commencement addresses, Annual Meetings addresses to the Board of Governors, remarks during sessions of Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and addresses to various bank associations and conferences.
The series also contains IFC press releases relating to operations and activities dating from 1956 to 1979. Topics include external operations as well as organizational changes, activities and events. Responsibility for writing and disseminating IFC press releases was the responsibility of various departments within the Information and Public Affairs Department (IPA) between IFC's creation in 1956 and 1979. In 1979, this activity was transferred to IFC's new Information Office. A small number of press releases dating from 1965 to 1974 include IPA correspondence relating to the authorship and dissemination of both press releases and photographs from the Bank's photograph library. These files are titled according to either the name of the company that received the investment or by country, thereunder by name of company.
The series also contains records relatingto press tours organized and facilitated by the Bank and governments and institutions of member countries. Press tours included media from around the world. Participants visited sites of projects funded by the Bank, partook in talks and discussions related to development, and met with government officials. Records include memoranda related to the planning of the trip, programs and itineraries, and background publications for participants.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
Accruals are expected
System of arrangement
Press releases are primarily arranged chronologically. Exceptions include foreign language translations that are organized by language.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Records are subject to the World Bank Policy on Access to Information.
Conditions governing reproduction
Records are subject to the Copyright Policy of the World Bank Group.
Language of material
- English
- French
- Spanish
- Chinese
- German
- Italian
- Arabic
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Internal World Bank Group Archives rules based on ISAD(G).
Disclosure status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
19 May 2017