18 June 2012, Dhaka. On 12th June 2012, the World Bank (WB) appointed BRAC's Executive Director Dr. Mahabub Hossain, to its ‘Knowledge Advisory Commission’. Established by WB's president Robert Zoellick, the new commission will help WB to not only be the most important international institution for development financing, but to become the leading 'knowledge bank'. Investing in the creation of problem solving knowledge, bringing together the best knowledge available on a global scale, and engaging in knowledge transfer to partner countries are some of WB’s strategic instruments for its international cooperation efforts.

Dr. Hossain said, “I feel honoured to be included in this high level commission that consists of eminent professionals”.

In 2011, WB invested USD 600 million in knowledge products and services to solve global development problems; from now on these efforts will be supported by the knowledge advisory commission. The commission will help WB to undertake innovative efforts to improve WB's methods for measuring impact of knowledge services, effectiveness of new and collaborative efforts with partners and ways to best play a knowledge connector's role.

The commission consists of 21 members from all over the globe with five members from Asia, including Dr. Mahabub Hossain. Other members include:

• Masahiro Kawai, Asian Development Bank (ADB) Institute
• Professor Ann Harrison, University of Pennsylvania
• Isher Judge Ahluwalia, from Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)
• Yochai Benkler, Harvard Law School
• Simeon Djankov, Ministry of Finance Bulgaria
• Oh-Seok Hyun, Korea Development Institute
• Sherif H Kamel, American University in Cairo
• Louis Kasekende, Central Bank of Uganda
• Santiago Levy, Inter-American Development Bank
• Trevor Manuel, National Planning Commission of South Africa
• Dirk Messner, German Development Institute
• Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita, ArcelorMittal South Africa
• Euan Semple, social media speaker, consultant and writer (ex-BBC)
• Ümit Boyner, Turkish Industry and Business Association(TUSIAD)
• Tsun-Yan Hsieh, LinHeart Group (ex-McKinsey)
• Frannie Leautier, African Capacity Building Foundation
• Yifu Justin Lin, China Centre for Economic Research
• Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Centre for Policy Research-India
• Frances Seymour, Centre for International Forestry Research, and
• Michael Spence, New York University. 

This year's forum will focus on 'Culture. Education. Media: Shaping a sustainable world' and is scheduled to be held from 25-27 June at the World Conference Centre in Bonn, Germany.