The Archives Multimedia Catalog provides access to digitized and born-digital photographs, audio recordings, and videos from the World Bank Group Archives. The site is searchable by keyword and offers filters for browsing.
Frequently Asked Questions are answered below. For information on rights associated with the materials, see the Terms of Use.
The photographic collection is made up of transfers from administrative and operational units in the World Bank Group, including three large transfers from General Services Department (GSD), External Affairs (EXT), and the Office of the President (EXC). These include photos of Bank presidents, Annual Meetings, project (country)-related work, senior staff, Bank Group membership, loan and credit signings, and promotional materials. There are many units in the World Bank Group that have transferred audio and video recordings, but the largest source is External Affairs (EXT).
For most photographs in the catalog, a blue Download button is available below the image. If no blue "Download JPG" button appears below a photo on the item's Detail page, it is likely because the World Bank Group does not own the rights to the photo. Please refer to the Multimedia Catalog Terms of Use and contact the author/institution shown in the Creator field for more information regarding terms of use of the photo.
Video files are not available for download.
The materials in the catalog represent only a fraction of the WBG multimedia collection, which contains over 500,000 photographs, over 8,000 audio recordings, and approximately 10,000 videos. Digitization and cataloging efforts are ongoing and new materials are added to site monthly.
Most born-digital materials since 2000 have not yet been cataloged for this site. The World Bank Flickr site contains a growing collection of more than 14,000 photographs since 2007.
If you would like help locating photos or recordings on a particular topic, please submit your request via the Access to Information site and a Case Manager will be happy to help you.
Requests for items to be withdrawn from the Multimedia Catalog may be sent to archives@worldbank.org. Please include the name and URL of the item of concern. Staff members will review the request and respond as soon as possible.
The transcriptions for audio and video files on this site are machine generated. These transcriptions and translations are provided for the convenience of non-English speakers and others who prefer to view closed captions on video files. Please note that the accuracy of machine-generated captions can vary depending on the audio quality, topic and speaker and therefore are unlikely to be 100% accurate. This site does not guarantee and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy, reliability, or performance of this service nor the limitations provided by this service, such as the inability to translate or transcribe specific words.
For more information, guidance on accessing other sources, or to report an issue, please contact the WBG Archives by email at archives@worldbank.org.
Start by entering one or more keywords in the search box. You can then apply one or more filters to narrow your search results.
For more precise searching, try using some of the operators or syntax below.
To clear your search results and start a new search, click the Clear All button on the Filter panel.