How can vast amounts of development data be transformed into insights that policymakers can understand — and act on?
The third edition of LET'S TALK DATA from Geneva explored how the World Bank Group’s Atlas of Global Development 2026 turns complex datasets into accessible, interactive narratives about the forces shaping our world.
Hosted on the World Bank Group’s Data360 platform, the Atlas brings together indicators across five interconnected dimensions — People, Prosperity, Planet, Infrastructure, and Digital. Through dynamic maps, visualizations, and country comparisons, it allows users to examine progress on poverty, health, education, gender equality, climate change, trade, infrastructure, and more — and to see how development outcomes vary across countries, regions, and over time.
The session featured a live demonstration of the Atlas, followed by a conversation with experts from the World Bank Group, the World Food Programme, the International Telecommunication Union, and Geneva’s wider multilateral community. Participants spoke on development trends in real time and discussed how timely, accessible, and well-visualized data can strengthen policy decisions, operational responses, and international cooperation.
Irene Alaoui is the Acting Special Representative of the World Bank Group to the United Nations (UN) and World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, overseeing the World Bank’s corporate relations with the Swiss Government as well as with Geneva-based UN agencies, international organizations and the WTO.
Susanna Sandström is Chief of the Economics and Markets Unit within the World Food Programme’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service. An economist specializing in poverty, food security, market analysis, and impact evaluation, she leads research supporting humanitarian and nutrition interventions worldwide.
Thierry Geiger is Head of Statistics at the International Telecommunication Union. He previously spent 15 years at the World Economic Forum, where he led major benchmarking initiatives, including the Global Competitiveness Report and Global Gender Gap Report series.
Simon Winter is Vice President, Reimagining Humanitarian Nutrition Security, RF Catalytic Capital, Rockefeller Foundation's public charity. Simon leads an initiative that looks to use improved data and information systems to build resilient food and nutrition security in fragile regions.
Divyanshi Wadhwa is a Data Scientist in the World Bank’s Development Data Group and co-leads the Atlas of Global Development. Her work focuses on improving the quality and dissemination of World Bank data, with particular emphasis on gender statistics.
Maarten Lambrechts is a Data Visualization Consultant in the World Bank’s Development Data Group and the lead developer of the Atlas of Global Development. He combines web development, data science, visualization, and cartography to create engaging, accessible stories from complex data.
Bo Andree is a Data Scientist in the World Bank’s Development Data Group. Based in Geneva, he serves as a Data Envoy, coordinating emerging data issues — from humanitarian data to trade and real-time monitoring — across the multilateral ecosystem in close collaboration with the Multilateral & UN team.
Additional speakers to be confirmed, including a representative from the Government of Ethiopia.
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