I’m currently sitting in the lobby of the World Bank, the No. 1 institution that provides funds to end poverty around the world. As one of the largest bureaucracies in the world, it employs thousands of economists, researchers and administrators here in Washington. It also holds two annual meetings with member countries’ finance ministers, civil society members and academics.
Unlimited refreshments are served, and receptions are lavish. The fanciness of everything here almost makes people forget what it is like to live in poverty on the other side of the world.
As a member of the civil society, I have attracted much interest with my presence as a youth advocate for climate action and the Bank’s divestment from fossil fuel. However, what surprised me was how many more questions I received about my home country, China.
In international organizations like the World Bank and the United Nations, it’s common for people to ask your country of origin and that’s usually a sign of respect and interest for conversation. My experience this time was no exception.
“So what do you think of China’s role in mitigating the tension between North Korea and the rest of the world, particularly the U.S.?” one gentleman asked as soon as he learned my nationality.
I smiled and nodded, trying to minimize the abruptness of the question. I gave him my personal take on how North Korea is seen as more of an ally in China as opposed to No.1 enemy in the United States.
“So how easy is it to lobby the government on more neutral issues like climate change as a civil society member?” He seemed to be pleased with my answer and followed up with a completely different train of thought in mind.
“Huh, that’s a bit random,” I thought to myself, unsure of his intentions. Ten minutes into the conversation, the gentleman raised more questions, from whether people have computers in China to his presumption that people don’t know where Puerto Rico is.
It was a bit of an unusual encounter, and I walked away thinking about why those questions would be raised and what they can tell about my own country’s presence at the Bank. I won’t blame the gentleman for his questions which can be perceived as uninformed, because the West considers China one of the more mysterious countries in regard to its political actions, culture, society and lifestyle.
As a result of a general lack of openness, other countries are unaware that technologies are vastly improving people’s lives, young people are listening to the same music and watching the same movies as Americans and more Chinese people are traveling and studying abroad, eagerly wanting to understand other cultures. I don’t know what it takes to show that we are not that different after all. Yes, boundaries and history define a country’s politics and culture, but people around the world all share similar pursuits of stability, livelihood, happiness and fulfillment.
Millennials are much more perceptive of this, but that’s not enough. As young people and citizens of the world, we can’t just talk among our generation and be angry at the state of the world. We need to reach out. We need to build bridges with older generations, whether that’s our parents who hold completely different political views or the gentleman who asked me those questions. We need to find a way to communicate with people in positions of power, who are (more often than not) old and less worldly. We need to disrupt.
That, I believe, could be part of the solution to create a more worldly World Bank.
