In March 1995, the first meeting to discuss funding opportunities for Bankwatch was held in the Czech town of Ivančice. It took place in a local preschool, with participants sleeping in a large shared room. The informal, family-like atmosphere provided a productive environment for our early discussions on strategic planning. 

In April, we gathered in Hungary for a training session for non-governmental organisations. After receiving financial support from our initial funders – the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation – a meeting was held in Krakow in June, where the name of our organisation was agreed upon: the Central and Eastern European Bankwatch Network. 

It was also decided that the Krakow headquarters of the Polish Ecological Club–Friends of the Earth Poland would serve as Bankwatch’s base, remaining so until 1998.  

In October, the World Bank Annual General Meeting took place in Washington, D.C., where Bankwatch members were accredited for the first time as official non-governmental organisation delegates. Since then, Bankwatch has been represented at every World Bank Annual General Meeting. 

That year also saw the first United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties – COP1 – held in Berlin.