E/CN.4/2003/21 page 15 85. The observers for Proceso de Comunidades Negras en Colombia and International Possibilities Unlimited indicated the need for specialized training for people of African descent in research methodology. It was mentioned that training seminars or exchange of good practices in this field could be useful. The observer for Espacio Afro-Americano pointed out that accessibility of information and knowledge was also an issue because much of the research methodology and many of the results were available only in English. 86. At its sixth meeting, Ms. Josefina Stubbs of the World Bank commented on the significance of national household surveys and census-taking in Latin America to establish an accurate picture of the socio-economic status of people of African descent. Ms. Stubbs pointed to the importance of methodology as it was a key factor in the integrity and usefulness of the research results. She supported the idea of exchanges of national experiences, good practices and training, and that these were ideas worth pursuing. 87. At its seventh meeting, the Working Group heard presentations by Ms. Josefina Stubbs of the World Bank and Ms. Claire Nelson of the Inter-American Development Bank. 88. Ms. Stubbs shared the World Bank experience in responding to what they deemed was one of the biggest challenges of development: inclusion. She stated that the Bank’s challenge was to include people of African descent in the development process by improving their situation in terms of access to education, health services, infrastructure in their communities, opportunities for better employment and the security of their land and natural resources. She stated that, in response to the Santiago regional conference of December 2000 and the World Conference against Racism, the World Bank was working simultaneously in five areas: data collection; integration of the needs of people of African descent in government/World Bank policy instruments; creating capacity for change through support of civil society organizations; increasing awareness about discrimination and the situation of people of Afro-descent internally at the Bank; and, working with other partners such as PAHO, other multilateral banks, private foundations and the United Nations. She concluded that it was essential that the progress of improving the socio-economic status of people of African descent be reviewed from time to time. In this regard, the Millennium Development Goals, adopted by States at the Millennium Summit in 2000, could serve as a benchmark to measure inclusion and the creation of opportunities for people of African descent. 89. Ms. Claire Nelson presented the Action Plan of the Inter-American Development Bank to address the serious development issues facing people of African descent in the Americas. She stated that the Bank was facilitating social policy dialogue about race with many Latin American Governments. It was key that Governments have the political will to consider the issue of race and they be motivated to take out loans to improve the lives of people of African descent. She stated that the Inter-American Development Bank had begun to mainstream the issues of people of African descent in their country programming, country papers and projects. They also took part in inter-agency consultations on race and local community development. She stated that the Bank had instituted short-term research fellowships for people of African descent at the Bank to work on Afro-descendant issues as well as the other Bank sectors, and she encouraged more initiatives such as these.