Ever present at critical junctures

I am sure that most of us, as alumni, can remember what first motivated us to join the EBRD. For me, it was a sense that after decades of commenting as a BBC journalist on how people were trying to build a better world, I wanted to be more active, more hands on, in efforts to reach that goal. It seemed to me that the Bank and its staff began every new day attempting to improve the future for our countries of operation.

I was reminded of that motivation when reading the articles in this latest newsletter. From the writings of both Ron Freeman and Josué Tanaka, there is a clear sense of being part of an important moment in history: the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent collapse of communism in central and eastern Europe. As a BBC correspondent in Europe, I had covered those enormous events that signified dramatic change. I was also at the 1990 meeting in Paris that agreed the details of setting up the EBRD. I was sure we were witnessing history in the making. There was a need for the world to rise to the occasion – and the Bank has spent the past 35 years doing just that.

I joined the Bank as another crisis was about to grab the world’s attention. The Arab Spring was unfolding, and the then EBRD President, Thomas Mirow, believed that the Bank could play an important role in helping to advance the region’s economic development. We discussed how to draw the interest of decision makers in national capitals.

I suggested that Thomas Mirow should use a speech he was about to make at Oxford University to fly the EBRD flag. The speech I wrote said that “if asked, we could invest up to a billion euros a year in Egypt” and drew the parallels between how we had contributed to rebuilding the former communist economies and what was needed in the SEMED region. Well, the Bank’s shareholders did notice and they did ask, as Hildegard Gacek sets out in her reminiscences. It was just one of many crises to which the Bank responded, as we hear from Phil Bennett and Charlotte Ruhe.

Then, there was the morning that will never leave me. I woke well before dawn on 24 February 2022. We thought it was coming, but the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was still a shock. Within minutes, I drafted a full statement as the Bank’s initial response for Odile to deliver. We were the first international organisation to condemn the invasion. More importantly, we immediately met the challenge, setting out our plans to support Ukraine, and we have been providing that support ever since, as Arvid Tuerkner explains. The past 35 years have given the Bank something to be proud of and the world an important instrument for handling crises. As alumni, we were part of that and can be in the years ahead.

We can all continue to contribute, be it by providing business contacts, being ambassadors for the EBRD’s work or in a host of other ways. The Bank’s profile and the perception of its effectiveness would not have been possible without the hard work of its current staff and all of you, the alumni.

Jonathan Charles | Chair, EBRD Alumni Association
Former EBRD Managing Director of Communications