IMF Managing Director Marrakesh Plenary Speech 2023

After several years of holding virtual-only Annual and Spring Meetings out of Washington, DC, the IMF and the World Bank decided to hold their first in-person overseas Annual Meetings at a purpose-built facility in Marrakech, Morocco. In a tent holding 4,000 delegates from Africa and around the world, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva kicked off events with a sweeping speech outlining the IMF’s accomplishments setting the world on the road to economic recovery. But her speech wasn’t only directed at the thousands of delegates sharing the tent with her; her opening remarks also needed to reaffirm the IMF’s commitment to the organization’s 190 member countries and of the institutional mandate to promote economic growth and stability.

To create maximum impact for those under the canvas and watching from home, Creative Services built 39 custom animations to play out live during her 15-minute speech. With powerful graphics animating in sync with her message of hope for a multilateral future and a coming century in which Africa was to play a pivotal role, we built a narrative that leveraged a flowing and impactful visual sequence to transform words on notecards into an emotionally stirring in-room (or in-tent), experience for everyone.