Series - Media relations

Identity area

Reference code

WB IBRD/IDA EXT-03

Title

Media relations

Date(s)

  • 1946 - 1995 (Creation)

Level of description

Series

Extent and medium

18.45 linear feet of textual records

Context area

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

An inventory list is available here.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

  • See Records of the Office of External Relations - Speech reference collection (WB IBRD/IDA EXT-01) for speeches given by World Bank Group presidents and other Bank staff.

  • To view IBRD and IDA press releases from 2003 to the present, visit the World Bank's News page.

  • To view IFC press releases from 1993 to the present, visit the IFC's Press Release page.

Related descriptions

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

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area