Xavier University and the World Bank will launch the Knowledge for Development Center (KDC), an academic platform established to promote development through knowledge-sharing and citizen engagement in Northern Mindanao.

The signing of the memorandum of agreement between the university and the largest global development institution on August 26 at the XU-Nursing Amphitheater will forge a commitment to push for global connectivity of knowledge, learning and innovation for poverty reduction.

Following the ceremony is a brief overview of the KDC program vis-à-vis the university’s Festival of Ideas 2015.

Motoo Konishi, Philippine country director of World Bank, will give a talk on WB's country partnership strategy while another resource person from WB will discuss their institutional developmental efforts in Mindanao.

In view of the tragic drug-related incidents that hogged the local headlines last week, the XU - Research and Social Outreach (RSO) is also bringing in Santaner Iray, a sought-after international trainer on Preventive Drug Education (PDE) and Life Skills for the Youth (LSY), to discuss this pressing social issue in a stand-up comic spiel that promises to entertain and provoke the audience at the same time.