Equity and Inclusion

World Bank Group experts break down the concept of equality of opportunity, delve into the WBG's shared prosperity goal, and introduce an interactive tool for visualizing inequalities in access to basic services among children around the world.

How impact evaluation gave the Government of Cambodia evidence for improving education.

The World Bank Group's open data tool, SABER, collects and analyzes information on education policies from more than 100 countries. It benchmarks countries and highlights areas for reform to ensure that all children and youth go to school and learn. Data can be used to guide reforms and investments from preschool to tertiary education and skills development.

The Adolescent Girl Initiative is a public-private partnership to promote the successful transition of adolescent girls and young women from school to employment and economic empowerment.

Malala Yousafzai visits the World Bank in DC and speaks about the importance of education for girls, in Pakistan and everywhere. President Jim Yong Kim shares the stage with the 16-year-old, who answers questions about promoting equality.

Kosovo - Educational Tools Enlighten Youth (slideshow)

Of the nearly 60 million people living in Myanmar, three out of four are without reliable access to electricity. Electricity means that students don't have to study at night under the weak light of kerosene lamps or candles. It means lifesaving medicine won't spoil because of power fluctuations in rural health centers. Electricity is what will power the information and communication technology industry, vital to Myanmar's progress, forward.

In Sindh province, on Pakistan?s southeastern border, government officials and World Bank experts crafted an innovative education program twinning public subsidies with private entrepreneurs to bring schools to poor villages where none existed.

Lytou Bouapao, Vice Minister from Ministry of Education and Sports, talks about how the World Bank has supported education initiatives in Lao PDR since the 1990s with Education Development Project. Significant gains for education include more schools, more books, and more capacity-building programs for teachers and school administrators. As a result, the country has seen a 93% increase in school attendance and more children from rural areas are able to go to school.

With newspaper headlines focused on violence and political upheavals across the Middle East and North Africa region, it is easy to forget that an annual beginning is also underway. Children from the Mashreq to the Maghreb have started going back to school. Parents are buying school supplies for little ones and millions of teenagers are going down a path that may shape their future careers. The blog Voices and Views presents Back to School 2013 - a series focused on the challenges that both teachers and students face in the region, and the policies and programs that can change a generation.