World Bank told - Wake up and smell the coffee
1 July 2004

On Thursday 22nd July, Friends of the Earth joined in an international protest on the 60th anniversary of the World Bank.

Free coffee. Yum.

The World Bank at 60

The World Bank is supposed to help alleviate poverty.

But it has also been involved in some of the most socially and environmentally damaging projects of modern times, including the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline.

Wake up and shake up

The UK Government's World Bank representative is the Department for International Development (DFID).

Image of International Development Secretary Hilary Benn
Hilary Benn stops for a
coffee and a chat

So to help them celebrate the Bank's birthday, we joined forces with other groups like Christian Aid and Rising Tide to give them a much needed wake up call.

This took the form of a giant ringing alarm clock and free coffee for DFID staff.

Friends of the Earth is calling on DFID to tell the Bank to stop funding dirty coal and oil projects which harm people and the planet.