​Social inclusion is a central tenet in the World Bank Group's new Strategy, as it is in the post-MDG discussions.  Yet the idea is notoriously many things to many people.  A new World Bank Group report “Inclusion Matters: The Foundation for Shared Prosperity” is perhaps one of the most comprehensive contemporary reviews of social inclusion, grounded in both conceptual and empirical rigor. It puts boundaries around an abstract idea and provides a framework for those engaged in research, policy action, or in advocacy. The lead author of the report,Maitreyi Bordia Das, will present the report's main findings at this ODI, World Bank and Oxfam hosted event.

The report points out that excluded groups exist in all countries, but that change toward social inclusion is possible and attainable with concerted policy effort. It is intended for anyone who is curious about social inclusion in a world that is witness to intense demographic, spatial, economic and technological transitions. These transitions are spurred, inter alia, by waves of migrations, urbanization, climate change, shifts in technology, aging in some places and youth bulges in others. 

“Inclusion Matters” is a symbol of the new direction at the World Bank and has generated wide-ranging interest among a diverse audience.