Investing in Culture: A View from the World Bank

- Remarks Delivered at UNESCO Symposium on Culture and Development, Stockholm, Sweden

I bring you greetings from Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, President of The World bank, a man of culture and champion of development, who has moved the Bank more on these issues in two years that it has ever been. I hope that in these brief remarks, I can do justice to the breadth of his vision, and to the commitment of my colleagues on the issues of mainstreaming our concern for culture in our drive for poverty reduction, empowerment and inclusion.

Strategic Water Resources Management: Towards the Millennium

- Commencement Address at The American University in Cairo

In the debate on managing the world’s finite natural resources, few issues have achieved the pre-eminence that water has. As an issue, water pervades society. It is critical for long-term economic development; for human health and social welfare, especially of the poor; and for environmental sustainability.

Partnerships for Global Ecosystem Management: Science, Economics and Law. Proceedings of the Fifth Annual World Bank Conference on ESSD

 Ismail Serageldin, Joan Martin-Brown (Co-editors)    Download

The Modernity of Shakespeare. Cairo, Egypt, and Washington, D.C.: Cairo University (Center for the Global South) and American University

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

Whenever themes intertwine in any work of art, it should not surprise us that, in the process of their unravelling, some strands are simply discarded while others assume a disproportionate girth and relevance. The influences in that selection, a kind of survival of the fittest, is what is often ignored, mostly because too close an examination may reveal uncomfortable motivations that lie outside the original work of art, and tell us more about the environment, history, politics, economic givens, culture, etc.—of selection and emphasis— than about the work itself, or the artist.

The Formation of a Global Developmental Agenda - Extract from Boutros Boutros-Ghali Amicorum Discipulorumque Liber

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

Culture and Development

 Ismail serageldin    Download

Remarks Delivered at the 33^rd Annual Meeting of the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development (AIARD)

- 33^rd Annual Meeting of the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development (AIARD), Washington, DC

It is a privilege to be with you today and to share my views on the rural development imperative.

We live in a world of plenty, of dazzling scientific advances and technological breakthroughs. Adventures in cyberspace are at hand. Yet, our times are marred by conflict, violence, debilitating economic uncertainties and tragic poverty.

The Transition from War to Peace: A Regional Workshop

- Opening Remarks Delivered at Carter Center

As I join in welcoming you to this workshop, I am most honored to stand beside the foremost peacemaker of our time, President Carter, who has taught us to "wage peace" and eschew war.


Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Matthew 5.9)


Mr. President,


The UN charter called for the abolition of the scourge of war, but the machinery of the UN, of the international agencies, was designed to deal with wars between states, but now, most wars tend to be within states. Indeed conflicts exist in about 40 countries worldwide today, many now lasting 10-20 years. As we all know the conflict in Guatemala had been going on for over 30 years.

The Challenge of Today and Tomorrow: Mobilizing Science to Serve the Poor

- Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lecture

I am deeply touched by this opportunity to deliver the Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lecture. Like my twenty-three predecessors, I consider it a special privilege to join you in paying tribute to the memory of a world-renowned figure who is affectionately remembered as India’s "gentle leader." He was a leader of great compassion. He was, at the same time, unrelenting in his commitment to building peace and prosperity.

Statement at Microcredit Summit

- Microcredit Summit

Consider the paradox of our times. We live in a world of plenty, of dazzling technology and enormous prosperity. Capital markets transact over $1.2 trillion a day, enough to buy and sell the entire US economy in a week. Globalization brings unrivaled opportunity to the nimble, the educated, and the powerful.

Our Past is Our Future: Investing in Our Cultural Heritage

The protection of our cultural heritage is an essential part of protecting a sense of identity, a sense of who we are, that underlines that the present is a link from a well defined past to a future crafted by our actions, guided by our aspirations and our innate abilities, individually and collectively. This cultural heritage covers many things: literature, visual art, music buildings, customs, ritual and the objects of everyday use. This essay will focus the built environment and specifically historic cities.

The Architecture of Empowerment : People, Shelter and Livable Cities

 Ismail Serageldin (Editor)    Download

Servicing Innovative Financing of Environmentally Sustainable Development (Environmentally Sustainable Development Proceedings Series, No. 11)

 Ismail Serageldin (Editor)    Download

Rural Well-Being From Vision to Action - Proceedings of the Fourth Annual World Bank Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Development

 Ismail Serageldin and David Steed (Co-editors)    Download

Setting the New Agenda for Agricultural Research

The world is facing a crisis. We must promote sustainable agriculture for food security in the developing world. We must rise to the triple challenge of poverty reduction, food security and sound natural resource management. These challenges must be met in a political environment which is a dangerous mix of complacency, fiscal constraints, aid fatigue and fundamental disagreements about the magnitude of the problem and the appropriate paths to its solution.

Themes for the Third Millennium: The Challenge for Rural Sociology in an Urbanizing World

- The 9^th World Congress of Rural Sociology : "Rural Potentials for a Global Tomorrow", Bucharest, Romania

The start of the new millennium is an important occasion for humanity to reflect. Milestones are occasions to take stock and to peer into the future. They are an occasion for renewal.

Liberating the Muslim Mind: Towards a Muslim Renaissance

Consider the paradox of our times. We live in a world of plenty, of dazzling scientific advances and technological breakthroughs. Adventures in cyberspace are at hand. The Cold War is over, and with that we were offered the hope of global stability. Yet, our times are marred by conflict, violence, debilitating economic uncertainties and tragic poverty.

Ethics and Spiritual Values : Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Development (Environmentally Sustainable Development Proceedings Series, No 12)

 Ismail Serageldin, Richard Barrett (Co-editors)    Download

Sustainability and the Wealth of Nations : First Steps in an Ongoing Journey (Environmentally Sustainable Development Studies and Monographs Series

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

The Self and the Other : Sustainability and Self-Empowerment (Environmentally Sustainable Development Proceedings Series, No 13)

 Ismail Serageldin, Afaf Mahfouz (Co-editors)  

Architecture Beyond Architecture : Creativity and Social Transformations in Islamic Cultures the 1995 Aga Khan Award for Architecture

 Cynthia C. Davidson with Ismail Serageldin (Co-editors)    Download

The New Abolitionists

 Earth Times    Download

The spate of articles about China’s food needs, the increases in the price of wheat, and the concerns of population growth in the poor countries of the world, have converged to shake the world's unwarranted complacency towards the issue of food security. This makes the upcoming food security summit particularly timely. It is indeed important that the world reassess the prospects for achieving food security for all, and abolish the scandal of hunger in a world of plenty, as we enter the third millennium.

Architecture of the Contemporary Mosque

 Ismail Serageldin, James Steele (Co-editors)    Download

Effective Financing of Environmentally Sustainable Development : Proceedings of the Third Annual World Bank Conference on Environmentally Sustainable)

 Ismail Serageldin, Alfredo Sfeir-Younis (Co-editors)    Download

The CGIAR at Twenty-Five: Into the Future - Policy Statements

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

Conference on Hunger and Poverty: Popular Coalition for Action

- Salle de la Madeleine, Brussels, Belgium

I am honored to deliver this message on behalf of Mr. James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, who deeply regrets not being with us today. Two years ago, many of us met in Washington at the International Conference on Overcoming Global Hunger, where we reaffirmed our commitment to the abolition of hunger in our lifetime.

Liberating the Arab Mind: Essential Tasks for the Arab Renaissance

- Keynote Speech Delivered at the 28^th AAUG Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

I am honored to have been invited here tonight to share with you dreams of an Arab renaissance. Our dreams. More importantly the dreams that animate each and every one of the millions that identify themselves as Arab.

There is a Tide

- 28^th AAUG Annual Conference, Washington, D.C

Thank you for giving me the occasion to say these few words. I will not use my time to deliver reams of statistics and technical discussions. Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the World, must undertake a profound renaissance in the status of Muslim societies around the world. It must play a role in leading the renaissance of the Muslim World as we approach the third millennium of our common era.

Strategic Water Resources Management: Themes for a New Millenium

- Fifth Stockholm Water Symposium, Stockholm, Sweden

In the debate on managing the world’s finite natural resources, few issues have achieved the pre-eminence that water has. As an issue, water pervades society. It is critical for long-term economic development; for human health and social welfare, especially of the poor; and for environmental sustainability.

Toward Sustainable Management of Water Resources. Directions in Development series

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

Enabling Sustainable Community Development (Environmentally Sustainable Development Proceedings Series, No 8)

 Ismail Serageldin, Michael A. Cohen, and JosefLeitmann (Editors)    Download

Nurturing Development : Aid and Cooperation in Today's Changing World (Directions in Development)

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

The Human Face of the Urban Environment : A Report to the Development Community (Environmentally Sustainable Development Proceedings, No 5)

 Ismail Serageldin, Michael A. Cohen (Co-editors)    Download

The Business of Sustainable Cities : Public-Private Partnerships for Creative Technical and Institutional Solutions (Environmentally Sustainable Development)

 Ismail Serageldin (Editor)  

Culture and Development in Africa : Proceedings of an International Conference Held at the World Bank, Washington, D.C., April 2 and 3, 1992 (Environ)

 Ismail Serageldin, June Taboroff (Co-editors)    Download

Making Development Sustainable : From Concepts to Action (Environmentally Sustainable Development Occasional Paper Series, No 2)

 Ismail Serageldin, Andrew Steer (Co-editors)    Download

Water Supply, Sanitation, and Environmental Sustainability : The Financing Challenge (Directions in Development)

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

Overcoming Global Hunger : Proceedings of a Conference on Actions to Reduce Hunger Worldwide, Hosted by the World Bank and Held at the American Unive

 Ismail Serageldin, Pierre Landell-Mills (Co-editors)  

Valuing the Environment : Proceedings of the First Annual International Conference on Environmentally Sustainable Development Held at the World Bank,

 Ismail Serageldin, Andrew D. Steer (Co-editors)    Download

Mirrors and Windows

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

Frontiers are an invention of the mind. We set boundaries for ourselves and others by what we choose to see as reality and by what we choose to value.

But men and women are social creatures, and individual behavior is subjected to the control of widely shared social values. These boundaries that define the limits of acceptable behavior also tend to reflect and reinforce limits on acceptable thinking.

Home and the World : Architectural Sculpture by Two Contemporary African Artists : Aboudramane and Bodys Isek Kingelez (Focus on African Art)

 Ismail Serageldin  

Development Partners: Aid and Cooperation in the 1990s

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

La protection des forêts tropicales ombrophiles de l'Afrique - Deuxième édition

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

Friday Morning Reflections at the World Bank - Essays on Values and Development

 David Beckmann, Ramgopal Agarwala, Sven Burmester, Ismail Serageldin (Co-authors)    Download

Organizing Knowledge for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development

 Ismail Serageldin, Tariq Husain, Joan Martin-Brown, Gustavo Lopez Ospina, and Jeanne Damlamian, (Co-editors)    Download

The Justly Balanced Society

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

I grew up in a civilized and secure environment where material well-being was taken for granted by the children, the social graces were held in high esteem by the parents, and culture was appreciated by all. Above all, the pursuit of knowledge, in the broadest sense, was idolized. My two sisters and I read English, French, and Arabic, on almost every subject. Conversation was substantive and sharp, almost with a debater's edge, tempered only by the civility enforced by our elders.

Poverty Adjustment and Growth in Africa

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

Space for Freedom : The Search for Architectural Excellence in Muslim Societies

 Ismail Serageldin    Download

Pauverte, ajustement et croissance en afrique

 إسماعيل سراج الدين    Download

Hassan Fathy

 J.M. Richards, D.Rastorfer, Ismail Serageldin (Co-editors)    Download