All eyes and cameras were on Christy Turlington Burns dancing in the front row with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director of the World Bank, to Emmanuel Jal’s music. Jal is a Sudanese former child soldier turned hip-hop artist and activist who along with Christy, was at World Bank headquarters to support the Bank’s Adolescent Girls Initiative.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick and Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iwaela hosted the event marking the second anniversary of this unique initiative which co-sponsored by the Nike Foundation. The program highlights the global struggle with maternal mortality and actress Anne Hathaway, Haitian Finance Minister Ronald Baudin and girls from around the globe who have have been empowered by this special program all spoke at the event. Dr. Iwaela described how the World Bank will ultimately work with all Bank member countries to implement the Adolescent Girls Initiative.