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“My son, the doctor.” “My daughter, the architect.” These typical expressions of parents reveal the pride of those who, having not been able to attend college themselves, have always dreamed that their children would take the path to higher education. But in a world facing new challenges such as automation, demands for new skills and a changing political scene, careers traditionally considered the most successful have been dethroned by those more in line with current needs.   In Latin America and the Caribbean, in addition to parents’ aspirations, different public policies and a growing middle class have led many more young people to the university classroom over the past decade. The numbers confirm this trend. People aged 18 to 24 attending an institution of higher learning rose from 21% in 2000 to 43% in 2013. Many of these students came from lower- and lower middle-class families, something not seen in previous years. Today there are more than 20 million students attending over 10,000 institutions of higher learning that offer more than 60,000 programs. Not bad compared with other regions, where attending college or an institution of higher learning is a luxury reserved for a privileged few. Today, however, higher education is at a crossroads. Its rapid expansion, the characteristics of the “new” students and lax regulations have led many to question the quality of higher education programs. Millions of students may enter these institutions’ classrooms, but not all of them have access to quality options. Not only do they fail to offer an attractive study plan that keeps students enrolled until they graduate; they also do not prepare students to face the demands of today’s labor market. It is estimated that just half of students who enroll in higher education graduate. Rankings, which are frequently used as indicators of the quality of higher education, are not in Latin America’s favor. Among the 500 best institutions of higher education, just 10 are in the region. Africa is the only region with fewer on the list. A new World Bank report examines three key aspects of higher education in the region: quality, variety and equity. A good higher education system offers quality programs that maximize students’ potential. A varied supply enables students to find their best option: training not only the physicians a hospital needs, but also the nurses and administrative assistants. Given that the mere availability of variety and quality does not guarantee student access or success, a higher education system requires equity to ensure that all students have equal opportunity access. Equity frequently starts early. Not all young people and their families have the information or the resources necessary to make informed decisions with respect to career choices. Often, their selection is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and making a mistake can mean the end of a career: transferring to another program is onerous and bureaucratic. Despite the obstacles they face, lower-income students represent 45% of the increase in enrollment in recent years. Nevertheless, these “new” students come from families with few resources and may not be academically prepared to face the challenges of higher education, which frequently explains the lack of completion of higher education programs. On average, half of enrolled students aged 25 to 29 had not completed their studies, either because they dropped out or because they were still studying. Of those who dropped out, half were in their first year of school. The system does not help. Degree programs are long and tedious. It is estimated that students in Latin America and the Caribbean require 36% more time to complete their degrees as compared with the rest of the world. This means that they are students for longer. Consequently, during their years of study, they earn the wages of secondary-school graduates. Excessive time has another sharp edge: students often need to work to complete their studies but end up dropping out because they are overwhelmed by their work responsibilities and cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. Given the region’s urgent need to improve productivity in a context of slow growth, training human capital in a rapid, efficient way is crucial. According to the World Bank report, public policymakers should consider the fact that access does not imply completion and quality. The report also recommends multidimensional policies to evaluate the quality of program content, as well as to support students who are not academically prepared for higher education. Additionally, policies should offer incentives to both universities and students to encourage program completion.

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2017 – The World Bank Board of Directors approved a US$25 million loan yesterday. This loan is additional financing for the Rural Competitiveness Project (Comrural) to contribute to increasing productivity and competitiveness of small-scale rural producers through the implementation of business plans to improve and add value to their products as well as to directly connect them with the market. The project encourages productive partnerships based on value chains among four actors: producers’ organizations; private financial institutions to give producers access to the economic resources necessary to make investments; technical partners, who provide advice both in the field and in product marketing; and commercial partners, who guarantee the purchase of producers’ products and services without intermediaries.  “Comrural is the emblematic project of the Government of Honduras to promote agricultural competitiveness in the country and has become an integral part of the government strategy to link small-scale producers with national and international markets,” said Agriculture Minister Jacobo Paz. “Comrural is a pillar of the Seco Corridor Partnership, the program for food and nutritional security, and of Plan 20/20 to improve agriculture as a driver of sustainable jobs and economic development,” said Marco Bográn, Director of INVEST-H, the implementing agency of the project. In addition to the seven departments in the western part of the country where the project is implemented (Ocotepeque, Copán, Intibucá, Lempira, Comayagua, Santa Bárbara and La Paz), the additional financing will support activities in six new departments located in northern, central and southern Honduras (Colón, Atlántida, Cortés, Francisco Morazán, Choluteca and El Paraíso). With the additional financing, an estimated 5,500 new rural households will benefit and 70 business plans will be financed over the next three years.  “By financing Comrural, the World Bank seeks to support disadvantaged populations in improving their living conditions as a key component of efforts to escape poverty,” said Giorgio Valentini, World Bank representative in Honduras. This new project focuses on increasing the capacity for adaptation to climate change, which is crucial in Honduras given its high vulnerability to climate events, which have a direct impact on increasing poverty rates and food insecurity. The additional financing will support the promotion of better agricultural practices, as well as the incorporation of new technologies to strengthen producers’ capacity to face increasingly demanding climate conditions. The loan has a maturity period of 25 years, including a five-year grace period. Contacts: Washington: Marcela Sánchez-Bender, +1 (202) 473-5863, msanchezbender@worldbank.org Honduras: Àngels Masó, (503) 7860.8019, amaso@worldbank.org Learn more about the work of the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean: www.worldbank.org/lac Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldbank Be updated via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BancoMundialLAC For our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/BancoMundialLAC   News Release 2017/250/LAC  

WASHINGTON, 19 de mayo de 2017 – El Directorio Ejecutivo del Banco Mundial (BM) aprobó ayer un préstamo de US$25 millones de financiamiento adicional al Proyecto de Competitividad Rural (Comrural), para contribuir a incrementar la productividad y competitividad de pequeños productores rurales a través de la implementación de planes de negocio que permitan mejorar y agregar valor a sus productos, así como conectarse directamente con el mercado. El proyecto se basa en un modelo de alianzas productivas basado en cadenas de valor, entre cuatro actores: las organizaciones de productores; las instituciones financieras privadas para que los productores puedan acceder a recursos económicos necesarios para realizar inversiones; los aliados técnicos, que proveen asesoría tanto en el campo como en la comercialización de los productos y por último; los socios comerciales, que garantizan la adquisición de productos y servicios de los productores sin intermediarios. “Comrural es el proyecto emblemático del Gobierno de Honduras para promover la competitividad agrícola en el país y se ha convertido en una parte integral de la estrategia del Gobierno para vincular a los pequeños productores con los mercados nacionales e internacionales”, señaló el Ministro de Agricultura, Jacobo Paz. “Comrural es un pilar de la Alianza para el Corredor Seco, el programa para la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional y del Plan 20/20, para mejorar la agricultura como motor de la creación de empleos sostenibles y el desarrollo económico”, dijo por su parte, Marco Bográn, Director de INVEST-H, la agencia que implementará el proyecto. Además de los siete departamentos del Occidente del país donde el proyecto se implementa (Ocotepeque, Copán, Intibucá, Lempira, Comayagua, Santa Bárbara, La Paz), el financiamiento adicional va a apoyar actividades en seis nuevos departamentos situados al norte, centro y sur de Honduras (Colón, Atlántida, Cortés, Francisco Morazán, Choluteca, El Paraíso). El financiamiento adicional espera beneficiar a 5,500 hogares rurales y financiar unos 70 planes de negocios durante los próximos tres años.  “A través del financiamiento Comrural, el Banco Mundial busca apoyar a las poblaciones más desfavorecidas a mejorar sus condiciones de vida como elemento fundamental para poder escapar de la pobreza”, señaló Giorgio Valentini, representante del Banco Mundial en Honduras. Este nuevo apoyo pone especial énfasis en aumentar la capacidad de adaptación al cambio climático, un aspecto de gran importancia en Honduras debido a su alta vulnerabilidad climática, que tiene efectos directos en el aumento de los niveles de pobreza y la inseguridad alimentaria. El financiamiento adicional apoyará la promoción de mejores prácticas agrícolas, así como la incorporación de nuevas tecnologías que permitan fortalecer la capacidad de los productores para hacer frente a condiciones climáticas cada día más exigentes. El préstamo tiene un plazo de amortización de 25 años incluyendo un período de gracia de cinco años. Contactos: En Washington: Marcela Sánchez-Bender, +1-202-473-5863, msanchezbender@worldbank.org En Honduras: Àngels Masó, (503) 7860.8019, amaso@worldbank.org   Para conocer el trabajo del Banco Mundial en América Latina y el Caribe visite: www.bancomundial.org/alc Conozca más sobre el Banco Mundial sobre Honduras: www.bancomundial.org/honduras Visítenos en Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bancomundial Manténgase informado via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BancoMundialLAC   Nuestro canal de YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BancoMundialLAC Comunicado de Prensa 2017/250/LAC  

“My son, the doctor.” “My daughter, the architect.” These typical expressions of parents reveal the pride of those who, having not been able to attend college themselves, have always dreamed that their children would take the path to higher education. But in a world facing new challenges such as automation, demands for new skills and a changing political scene, careers traditionally considered the most successful have been dethroned by those more in line with current needs.   In Latin America and the Caribbean, in addition to parents’ aspirations, different public policies and a growing middle class have led many more young people to the university classroom over the past decade. The numbers confirm this trend. People aged 18 to 24 attending an institution of higher learning rose from 21% in 2000 to 43% in 2013. Many of these students came from lower- and lower middle-class families, something not seen in previous years. Today there are more than 20 million students attending over 10,000 institutions of higher learning that offer more than 60,000 programs. Not bad compared with other regions, where attending college or an institution of higher learning is a luxury reserved for a privileged few. Today, however, higher education is at a crossroads. Its rapid expansion, the characteristics of the “new” students and lax regulations have led many to question the quality of higher education programs. Millions of students may enter these institutions’ classrooms, but not all of them have access to quality options. Not only do they fail to offer an attractive study plan that keeps students enrolled until they graduate; they also do not prepare students to face the demands of today’s labor market. It is estimated that just half of students who enroll in higher education graduate. Rankings, which are frequently used as indicators of the quality of higher education, are not in Latin America’s favor. Among the 500 best institutions of higher education, just 10 are in the region. Africa is the only region with fewer on the list. A new World Bank report examines three key aspects of higher education in the region: quality, variety and equity. A good higher education system offers quality programs that maximize students’ potential. A varied supply enables students to find their best option: training not only the physicians a hospital needs, but also the nurses and administrative assistants. Given that the mere availability of variety and quality does not guarantee student access or success, a higher education system requires equity to ensure that all students have equal opportunity access. Equity frequently starts early. Not all young people and their families have the information or the resources necessary to make informed decisions with respect to career choices. Often, their selection is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and making a mistake can mean the end of a career: transferring to another program is onerous and bureaucratic. Despite the obstacles they face, lower-income students represent 45% of the increase in enrollment in recent years. Nevertheless, these “new” students come from families with few resources and may not be academically prepared to face the challenges of higher education, which frequently explains the lack of completion of higher education programs. On average, half of enrolled students aged 25 to 29 had not completed their studies, either because they dropped out or because they were still studying. Of those who dropped out, half were in their first year of school. The system does not help. Degree programs are long and tedious. It is estimated that students in Latin America and the Caribbean require 36% more time to complete their degrees as compared with the rest of the world. This means that they are students for longer. Consequently, during their years of study, they earn the wages of secondary-school graduates. Excessive time has another sharp edge: students often need to work to complete their studies but end up dropping out because they are overwhelmed by their work responsibilities and cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. Given the region’s urgent need to improve productivity in a context of slow growth, training human capital in a rapid, efficient way is crucial. According to the World Bank report, public policymakers should consider the fact that access does not imply completion and quality. The report also recommends multidimensional policies to evaluate the quality of program content, as well as to support students who are not academically prepared for higher education. Additionally, policies should offer incentives to both universities and students to encourage program completion.

São necessários incentivos para alinhar resultados às necessidades de estudantes e países CIDADE DO MÉXICO, 17 de maio de 2017 – O número de estudantes em programas de ensino superior quase dobrou na última década na América Latina e no Caribe (ALC). Contudo, apenas a metade deles se forma no período normal, o que indica que ainda há muito a fazer em termos de eficiência e qualidade, revela um novo relatório do Banco Mundial: Em uma encruzilhada: O Ensino superior na América Latina e no Caribe, divulgado hoje. "O ensino superior é fundamental para impulsionar o crescimento e reduzir a pobreza e a desigualdade", disse o Vice-Presidente do Banco Mundial para a América Latina e o Caribe, Jorge Familiar. "Para garantir a igualdade de oportunidades, a região tem que melhorar a qualidade da educação e proporcionar aos alunos melhores informações sobre cursos, incentivos e opções de financiamento adequados e conexões com o mercado de trabalho. Também é necessária uma melhor regulamentação das instituições de ensino superior para melhorar a prestação de contas pelos serviços que prestam". Uma boa educação desempenha um papel importante na melhoria das perspectivas de renda. Em particular, o relatório conclui que, em média, na ALC, um estudante com grau de educação superior vai ganhar mais do dobro do que um aluno com um diploma do ensino médio. Na região, o percentual de indivíduos entre 18 e 24 anos de idade matriculados no ensino superior aumentou de 21% em 2000 para 40% em 2010. Embora o acesso ainda seja desigual, houve progressos substanciais, particularmente entre os grupos de baixa e média renda. Em média, os 50% mais pobres da população representavam apenas 16% dos estudantes do ensino superior em 2000, mas esta proporção aumentou para cerca de 25% em 2013. Ao mesmo tempo, cerca de um quarto das instituições de ensino superior (IES) que existem hoje foram abertas durante esse período – muitas delas pelo setor privado – o que elevou a participação de IES privadas no mercado de 43% para 50% entre o início dos anos 2000 e 2013. Contudo, a região tem apenas cerca de dez IES entre as 500 melhores instituições de ensino superior do mundo, um número superior apenas ao da África. "Houve uma grande expansão das instituições de ensino superior e das matrículas, especialmente entre os estudantes de baixa renda", disse Maria Marta Ferreyra, principal autora do relatório e economista sênior do Banco Mundial. "No entanto, os resultados estão aquém do potencial, e apenas a metade dos estudantes recebe o seu diploma superior entre os 25-29 anos de idade, quer porque ainda estão estudando ou por desistência”. Entre as causas das altas taxas de desistência estão o despreparo acadêmico, devido em parte à baixa qualidade da educação média, e a falta de recursos financeiros de estudantes de baixa renda. Outras causas podem incluir a longa duração de alguns dos cursos e a falta de flexibilidade para transferências entre eles – questões que são especialmente relevantes hoje em dia, quando mais pessoas do que nunca mudam de emprego e de carreira ao longo da vida. Entre as medidas que podem ajudar a resolver alguns desses problemas estão:Gerar e divulgar informações sobre o desempenho das instituições e dos cursos, para que os alunos possam fazer escolhas informadas.Conceber melhores sistemas de financiamento para proporcionar incentivos para que as instituições e os estudantes obtenham bons resultados, e eliminar as barreiras financeiras ao acesso ao ensino superior através de instrumentos como bolsas de estudo, ajudas-de-custo e empréstimos estudantis.Ajudar os estudantes a se conectarem ao mercado de trabalho.Melhorar a supervisão e a regulamentação para assegurar a prestação de contas das instituições por seus serviços. Ainda assim, o relatório conclui que a formação de capital humano qualificado não é suficiente por si só para aumentar a produtividade, o crescimento e a equidade. Também é preciso um ambiente em que as empresas possam criar bons empregos que, por sua vez, possam fazer uso produtivo de uma força de trabalho mais qualificada. — Saiba mais sobre o trabalho do Banco Mundial na América Latina e no Caribe: www.worldbank.org/lac Visite-nos no Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldbank Atualize-se via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BancoMundialLAC Assista ao nosso canal no YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BancoMundialLAC

Incentives needed to bring education results in line with student and countries’ needs MEXICO CITY, May 17, 2017 – The number of students in higher education programs has nearly doubled in the past decade across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). But with only half of them graduating on time, there’s still a lot to do in terms of efficiency and quality, according to a new World Bank report: At a Crossroads: Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean, released today. “Higher Education is key to boosting growth and reducing poverty and inequality,” said World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean Jorge Familiar. “To ensure equity of opportunities, the region has to enhance quality of education and provide students with better information on programs, adequate incentives and financing options, and connections to the labor market. Better regulation of higher education institutions is also needed to improve accountability for the services they provide.” A good education plays an important role in improving income prospects.  In particular, the report finds that on average in LAC a student with a higher education degree will earn more than twice as much as a student with a high school diploma. In the region, the percentage of individuals ages 18 to 24 enrolled in higher education rose from 21 percent in 2000 to 40 percent in 2010. While unequal access still abounds, there has been substantial progress, particularly among low and middle-income groups. On average, the poorest 50 percent of the population only represented 16 percent of higher education students in 2000 but that rose to about 25 percent in 2013. At the same time, about a quarter of the higher education institutions (HEIs) that exist today were opened over that period –many of them by the private sector– lifting the market share of private HEIs from 43 to 50 percent between the early 2000s and 2013. And yet, of the top-500 HEIs in the world, the region has only about ten, a number only higher than Africa’s. “There has been a big expansion in higher education institutions and enrollment, particularly for low income students,” said the report’s lead author World Bank Senior Economist Maria Marta Ferreyra. “However, the results fall short of their potential, with only half of the students entering higher education receiving their degree by the time they are 25 to 29 years old either because they are still studying or because they have dropped out.” Some of the causes for a high dropout rate include academic unpreparedness, due in part to low quality education received in high school, and lack of financial means of low-income students. They may also include the long duration of some of the programs and lack of flexibility to switch between them –issues that are especially relevant now as more people tend to switch jobs and careers over a life time than ever before. Policies that can help address some of these problems include:Generating and disseminating information on institutions’ and programs’ performance so that students can make informed choices.Designing better funding systems in order to provide incentives for institutions and students to achieve good results, and remove financial barriers to higher education access through instruments such as scholarships, grants for living expenses, and student loans.Helping students connect to the labor market.Improving oversight and regulations to ensure the institutions’ accountability for their services. Still, the report concludes that forming skilled human capital is not enough on its own to raise productivity, growth and equity. There also needs to be an environment in which firms can create good jobs that, in turn, can make productive use of a more skilled labor force. — Learn more about the work of the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean: www.worldbank.org/lac   Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldbank Be updated via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BancoMundialLAC   For our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/BancoMundialLAC  

Se necesitan incentivos para que los resultados educativos se adecúen a las necesidades de estudiantes y países CIUDAD DE MÉXICO, 17 de mayo de 2017 – El número de estudiantes de programas de educación superior prácticamente se duplicó …

Challenge The economy of Latin America and the Caribbean countries has provided the means for an accelerated expansion of infrastructure construction in the region. In this context, promoting environmentally sustainable construction has become an essential element for achieving green growth. Sustainable infrastructure is fundamental for growth and inclusion, particularly in low- and middle-income countries such as in Latin America and the Caribbean region. In these countries, a key to successfully developing environmentally sustainable infrastructure is sharing knowledge and experience among specialists and building their technical capacity. Furthermore, the need in the region for acquiring specific knowledge regarding the latest innovations and best practices on environmental sustainability in the construction industry, as well as strengthening capacities for their correct implementation, has become a priority. In the past years, the region has experienced a revolutionary technological advance, providing an ideal scenario for developing a web-based knowledge platform allowing easy and inclusive access to knowledge and experience exchange between concerned parties. The impact of increasing access to knowledge on best practices for sustainable construction activities will help support these countries in complying with international standards and will ensure that they reach their environmental and sustainability goals. Approach The objective of the grant for the project Knowledge Platform: Environmentally Sustainable Infrastructure Construction was to develop a bilingual (English and Spanish) web-based knowledge platform in Latin America and the Caribbean to enhance skills, knowledge, and capacity to perform construction in an environmentally sustainable manner. Principal objectives are to (i) increase the capacity to develop environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects, (ii) improve good practices and enhance project results and outcomes, (iii) provide a reliable source of information, and (iv) offer specialized knowledge services to technical specialists. This knowledge platform, known as KPESIC, encompasses within the term sustainable environmental management the sound management skills needed to mitigate negative environmental, social, and health and safety impacts and risks from infrastructure projects as well as the skills and approaches needed to improve positive impacts or benefits to achieve more sustainable projects. The focus is on infrastructure sectors of transport (roads, rail, ports, and airports), energy (generation, transmission, and distribution), water and sanitation (water supply and distribution and wastewater collection and treatment), and urban development. The intention behind the platform is to provide knowledge resources to technical specialists working at governmental agencies, construction companies, or universities who are charged with managing environment issues in infrastructure construction. KPESIC deals with the project construction phase but also with the planning, design, operation, and maintenance phases, all of which are crucial in establishing environmentally sustainable infrastructure. 

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2017 – The World Bank Board of Directors approved a US$25 million loan yesterday. This loan is additional financing for the Rural Competitiveness Project (Comrural) to contribute to increasing productivity and competitiveness of small-scale rural producers through the implementation of business plans to improve and add value to their products as well as to directly connect them with the market. The project encourages productive partnerships based on value chains among four actors: producers’ organizations; private financial institutions to give producers access to the economic resources necessary to make investments; technical partners, who provide advice both in the field and in product marketing; and commercial partners, who guarantee the purchase of producers’ products and services without intermediaries.  “Comrural is the emblematic project of the Government of Honduras to promote agricultural competitiveness in the country and has become an integral part of the government strategy to link small-scale producers with national and international markets,” said Agriculture Minister Jacobo Paz. “Comrural is a pillar of the Seco Corridor Partnership, the program for food and nutritional security, and of Plan 20/20 to improve agriculture as a driver of sustainable jobs and economic development,” said Marco Bográn, Director of INVEST-H, the implementing agency of the project. In addition to the seven departments in the western part of the country where the project is implemented (Ocotepeque, Copán, Intibucá, Lempira, Comayagua, Santa Bárbara and La Paz), the additional financing will support activities in six new departments located in northern, central and southern Honduras (Colón, Atlántida, Cortés, Francisco Morazán, Choluteca and El Paraíso). With the additional financing, an estimated 5,500 new rural households will benefit and 70 business plans will be financed over the next three years.  “By financing Comrural, the World Bank seeks to support disadvantaged populations in improving their living conditions as a key component of efforts to escape poverty,” said Giorgio Valentini, World Bank representative in Honduras. This new project focuses on increasing the capacity for adaptation to climate change, which is crucial in Honduras given its high vulnerability to climate events, which have a direct impact on increasing poverty rates and food insecurity. The additional financing will support the promotion of better agricultural practices, as well as the incorporation of new technologies to strengthen producers’ capacity to face increasingly demanding climate conditions. The loan has a maturity period of 25 years, including a five-year grace period. Contacts: Washington: Marcela Sánchez-Bender, +1 (202) 473-5863, msanchezbender@worldbank.org Honduras: Àngels Masó, (503) 7860.8019, amaso@worldbank.org Learn more about the work of the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean: www.worldbank.org/lac Visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/worldbank Be updated via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BancoMundialLAC For our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/BancoMundialLAC   News Release 2017/250/LAC  

IDA Credit: US $25 million Terms: Maturity = 25 years, Grace = 5 years Project ID: P158086 Project Description: The objective of this credit is to provide additional financing for the Rural Competitiveness Project (Comrural), which seeks to increase productivity and competitiveness for small-scale rural producers through the implementation of business plans to improve and add value to their products as well as to directly connect them with the market. The additional financing will support activities in six new departments located in northern, central and southern Honduras and will benefit an estimated 5,500 new rural households. Contact: Àngels Masó, (503)7860.8019, amaso@worldbank.org For more information, please visit here: http://www.bancomundial.org/es/country/honduras    

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2017 – The World Bank Group has renewed its commitment to preventing violence against women and girls, investing a minimum of $3.5 million over five years in innovations designed to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV). World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim made the announcement at the Innovations to Prevent Gender-Based Violence awards ceremony during the WBG-IMF Spring Meetings. In partnership with the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, 10 teams were awarded a total of $1.1 million to support their GBV prevention and response projects and research. “We cannot stand by while so many women suffer harm that’s completely preventable, but this is also an issue that goes right to the heart of our goals to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity,” Kim said, noting that the epidemic can cost countries as much as 3.7% of gross domestic product (GDP). “The World Bank Group is committed to working tirelessly to help its client countries prevent gender-based violence.” Using the Development Marketplace Crowdsourcing Method, Kim said the WBG is looking to the award winners’ research and tested projects to help advance that goal. The winning proposals include tackling sexual harassment on college campuses and on public transportation, addressing child marriage and an emerging form of GBV: cyber violence. Cyber violence is pervasive, and women and girls are disproportionately affected, yet very little research exists on this problem especially in low and middle income countries, said award winner Pamela Lilleston, a social and behavioral scientist at the International Center for Research on Women, whose team project aims to develop a set of standards that will be tested in Uganda, and later used to inform effective cyber violence policies and programs. Technology is at the core of another winning proposal designed to reduce intimate partner violence (IPV) in Dollo Ado refugee camp in Ethiopia. The research project aims to explore the use of podcasts to disseminate information about inter-partner violence, and generate new knowledge on the use of technology-based solutions to GBV in humanitarian settings. “Podcasts we think are an interesting solution in this context because they can be broadcast in safe environments such as health facilities and so on, but they can also be downloaded there on simple mobile devices and shared person to person,” said awardee Vandana Sharma, a public health researcher based at the Harvard TC Chan School of Public Health. “We will be training men and women in the communities in digital storytelling and in podcasting, and they will develop the content themselves in the local language with messaging that’s appropriate for their contexts.” Awardee Renzo Peña, co-founder and vice president of DB Peru, a healthcare NGO, said his team’s project is in response to the concerns of the Amazon Basin community of Peru, which reports high rates of violence with no resources to address it. Recent figures show that 79% of women between 18 and 29 report experiencing sexual violence at some point in their lives. As a result, the first primary preventative strategy for GBV in the rural region of the Lower Napo River, was developed. It is also the first community mobilization project of its type in Peru, and Peña said he plans to share his research throughout the region. “We have been working for 15 years in the region, and we work very closely with the leaders in the community who will be trained so they can bring that knowledge to their own communities, and thus be able to prevent and eliminate violence in the communities themselves,” he said.  Awardee Emma Fulu, founder and director of The Equity Institute, said despite data that show that Solomon Islands has one of the highest rates of violence in the world, it is still the most under-researched regions. Her team project focuses on prevention of GBV by researching root causes and social norms that contribute to violence against women and girls by developing the Solomon Islands’ first community-led, locally developed comprehensive violence prevention program. “Because of the high rates of violence, we know we need to look at how to stop violence before it starts, trying to understand what are the root causes, what are the social norms that are really underpinning violence against women in this region,” Fulu said. “I think what’s really exciting about this particular project is that it’s filling a number of major evidence gaps, not just in the Solomon Islands or the Pacific, but really globally.” Caren Grown, World Bank Group senior director for gender, highlighted prevention as an important part of the GBV learning community facilitated by the Development Marketplace. “Of course we have learning on response and how we help and work with survivors, but the most important learning is on prevention,” she said. “Without prevention, we can’t ever solve this particular problem, so bringing people together to experiment, to test, to learn is really critical.” 2017 Winners:Sexual Harassment among Jordanian College Students: Pilot Testing a Promising Primary Prevention Intervention (Jordan, Middle East/ North Africa)Team: Information and Research Center King Hussein Foundation and Emory UniversityGender Equity Model Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment and Fighting Gender Based Violence (Egypt, Middle East/North Africa)Team: The American University of CairoGender based Violence Prevention in the Amazon of Peru Project (Peru, Latin America)Team: University College London; and DB PeruBuilding the Evidence Base for ‘Safe Families’ – a Comprehensive Community-led model for Violence Prevention in Solomon Islands. (Solomon Islands, East Asia Pacific)Team: The Equality Institute; Oxfam Solomon Islands; Oxfam AustraliaCombatting Sexual Violence in Kyrgyzstan through Innovative Education and Information Technology (Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia)Team: American University of Central Asia (AUCA)Building Research Capacity and Data Use for Gender-Based Violence prevention and Response in Adolescents/Young Adults (Nigeria and Rwanda, Africa)Team: Together for GirlsMapping for Policy (Pakistan, South Asia)Team: The Urban Institute and Information Technology University Data Science Lab in PakistanBuilding the Evidence to Understand and Prevent Campus Sexual Assault in Swaziland (Swaziland, Africa)Team: University of Swaziland and The Regents of the University of California, San DiegoDevelopment of Standard Measures to Support Gender-Based Cyber Violence (GBCV) Prevention (Uganda, Africa)Team: International Center for Research for Women

“Mi hijo, el doctor”. “Mi hija, la arquitecta”. Estas expresiones, tan típicas de los padres, muestran el orgullo de quienes, al no haber podido acceder a la universidad, sueñan desde el primer momento en el que sus hijos comienzan a transitar el camino de la educación superior. Más allá del anhelo de los progenitores, en América Latina y el Caribe diferentes políticas públicas y el ascenso de la clase media en la década pasada han empujado a muchos más jóvenes a las puertas de las universidades. Los números así lo demuestran. La cantidad de personas entre 18 y 24 años que asisten a una institución de educación superior aumentó del 21% en 2000 al 43% en el 2013 con una mayor cantidad de estudiantes provenientes de sectores medios y bajos, algo que no se veía años atrás. Hoy existen más de 20 millones de estudiantes que asisten a las más de 10 mil instituciones, las cuales ofrecen más de 60 mil programas de formación, según los hallazgos del estudio Momento Decisivo: La Educación Superior en América Latina, del Banco Mundial. Nada mal en comparación con otras regiones donde ir a la universidad o a un instituto de educación superior es solo un lujo que algunos pocos se pueden dar. Pero hoy, la educación universitaria se encuentra en una encrucijada. Su rápida expansión, las características de los "nuevos" estudiantes y regulaciones laxas han llevado a muchos a cuestionar la calidad de sus programas. Millones de estudiantes entran en sus aulas, pero no todos acceden a opciones de calidad. Esto significa que no solo no cuentan con un plan de estudios atractivo que los retenga hasta terminar si no que, al graduarse, tampoco están preparados para enfrentar las demandas del mercado laboral actual. Se calcula que solo el 50% de los estudiantes que inician sus estudios superiores llegan a terminar y se gradúan. Y en un mundo que afronta nuevos desafíos como la automatización, las demandas de nuevas habilidades y un escenario político cambiante, las carreras tradicionales consideradas más exitosas han sido destronadas por otras más acordes a los requerimientos del mundo actual. Los ránkings, que a menudo se usan como indicadores de la calidad de la educación superior, no presentan buenas noticias para América Latina. Entre los 500 mejores institutos de educación superior, solo hay 10 de la región, siendo África la única región con menos: El estudio del Banco Mundial investiga tres aspectos clave de la educación superior en la región: calidad, variedad y equidad. Un buen sistema de educación superior ofrece programas de calidad que maximizan el potencial de los estudiantes. Una variedad de ofertas permite a los estudiantes encontrar su mejor opción: entrenar no solo a los médicos necesarios en un hospital, sino también a las enfermeras y los asistentes administrativos. Dado que la mera disponibilidad de la variedad y la calidad no garantizan el acceso o éxito de los estudiantes, un sistema de educación superior muestra la equidad cuando los estudiantes tienen acceso a iguales oportunidades. La equidad muchas veces comienza desde temprano. No todos los jóvenes y sus familias cuentan con la información ni los recursos necesarios para tomar una decisión correcta con respecto a la elección de una carrera profesional. En muchos casos, elegir es una oportunidad única en la vida y equivocarse puede ser el final de una carrera: la transferencia de programas es bastante dificultosa y burocrática. Continuar o abandonar A pesar de los escollos a los que se enfrentan, los estudiantes considerados más pobres representaron el 45% del aumento de la matrícula en los últimos años. Sin embargo, estos “nuevos” estudiantes provienen de familias con menores recursos y muchas veces no están preparados académicamente para enfrentar los desafíos de la educación superior, lo que muchas veces explica la falta de completación de las carreras de educación superior. En promedio, solo la mitad de las personas entre 25 y 29 años que estaban matriculadas no completaron sus estudios, ya sea por abandono o porque aún continúan estudiando. De los que abandonan, la mitad lo hace en el primer año de su carrera. El sistema no ayuda. Las carreras son largas y tediosas. Se estima el tiempo que tardan los estudiantes de América Latina y el Caribe en completarlas es un promedio de 36% más que en el resto del mundo. Esto implica que los estudiantes pasan más años como tales y, por ende, durante sus años facultativos ganan salarios acordes a su nivel secundario. El tiempo excesivo también tiene un costado filoso: los estudiantes muchas veces necesitan salir a trabajar para completar sus estudios, pero al mismo tiempo terminan abandonándolos por estar abrumados por las responsabilidades laborales y no ver la luz al final del túnel. Dada la urgencia de la región en mejorar su productividad en un contexto de crecimiento lento, es clave la formación de capital humano de manera rápida y eficiente. De acuerdo al estudio, los hacedores de política pública tienen que tener en cuenta que no necesariamente acceso implica completación y calidad. El estudio también recomienda que se deben diseñar políticas multidimensionales que no solo evalúen la calidad de los contenidos brindados en las instituciones, si no también apoyo a estudiantes que no están académicamente listos para la educación superior, e incentivos tanto para las universidades como para estudiantes para terminar la carrera.