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Work in Progress

After a very successful Annual Meeting, (and one week off), we are now working on how to put the thoughts and ideas generated throughout the Annual Meeting into concrete actions.

The ideas ranged from creating a social venture fund with private-public seed money for pro-poor business activities, to conveying information about disease outbreaks, etc., using our Members' e-mail networks. However, the key question in the area of "New Mindsets / Changing Attitudes" raised during the Big Debate in Davos has been

"How can we create a global education framework that fosters inclusivity?"

We are now assessing the different ideas, as well as our existing initiatives and projects, to come up with a concrete implementation plan by the end of March.

We will keep you posted.

Best regards,

Saman Ahsan & Emanuel Frauenlob

First Challenges identified

The big debate has finally begun around the theme of regional identities and struggles and the first conversations identifying the key challenges have begun to take place in small intimate groups, discussion panels and in the big townhall debate.

The first day of the 2006 Annual Meeting was dedicated to identify the key challenges for each of the major themes of this year's event.

With regards to regional identities and struggles , the main challenges identified, with potential global impact, that face the five major world regions over the coming 12-18 months were:

1. Institution and Governance:  Pushing through the reform agenda, democratization, transparency and building a sense of regional identity and community.  The new “conservative” wave of political leadership. 
2. Security: Taming social unrest through integration, militarization of rouge states and the development of a new breed of terrorism
3. Economics: The long oil boom and the repercussion on global economy. The winners and the loosers, Market reforms
4. Development Struggle: new models of the welfare state for the 21^st century, reform of the labour market and changing balance of demographic population of nations ( local vs immigrants),

Key regional questions that need to be addresssed in the next 12-18 months the most pressing ones identified were:

In terms of k

1. Europe:  How can the European Union clearly define the region’s priorities to ensure that the European Union can work.  Solving the key governance and leadership issue are key to ensuring the ecomomic development of the region in face of a european identity crises

2. Middle East: How can governments in the middle east ensure that their elections are not simply “window dressing” exercises benefiting simply national elites?  How can the long oil boom ensure regional development and stabilty. 

3. Latin America: How can, or will, the new regional political alliances arising from the coming to power of conservative goverments make sure that the market the reforms accomplished thus far are continued?

4. Africa: How can african governments keep the reform agenda moving forward to ensure good public and corporate governance practices become wide spread and they create the structures necessary for strong intra-regional trade aimed at  economic development.

The real question however is what are the mechanisms for change that each region needs to adopt  in order to provide concrete solutions to the key challenges identified?  Are interntational bodies or umbrella organisations going to be able to provide the answers or are the transformations needed only able to be done at a local level?   

To Kick-Start the “New Mindsets / Changing Attitudes” Action Group

Welcome to the World Economic Forum Action Group 3 Blog. This action group, formed in our Annual Meeting 2006 focuses on New Mindsets/ Changing Attitudes.

We are looking forward to an exciting and intensive discussion process over the next days. What are the upcoming disruptive technologies changing the way we think and act, how to unleash the power of alternative energy and how to take responsibility for the next generations. What are the new mindsets that we need to create and how do we go about it? These are just some of the questions that we shall discuss on this blog and during our Action Group meetings.

Just “hot air”?

No, we don’t think so.

1. Each Action Group will be composed of different communities (such as Young Global Leaders, Business Leaders, Academia), representing the stakeholders of real-world issues, and providing a broad range of intellectual views and experiences
2. Whilst the brainstorming will not be limited in any way, at the end of the Annual Meeting Journey we will come up with a concrete recommendation
3. Throughout 2006 we will work hard to implement parts of the recommendation, by making the best use of the existing initiatives of the World Economic Forum.

We would like to especially invite everybody to contribute and to post your opinion. Please enter any relevant messages regarding this theme so we gather and sift through information as we go through our Annual Meeting and also beyond.

Please ensure you sign your name after each comment so we can attribute good ideas later.

We are looking forward to your posts!

Saman Ahsan                                                            

Global Leadership Fellow                                          

C-100 Initiative         

    

and

 

Emanuel Frauenlob

Global Leadership Fellow

Europe

What kind of initiatives should the Forum be aiming to implement?

FT.com asks this question in an online poll.

Some of our existing initiatives have been quite active in the last year or so. The Disaster Resource Network used our business expertise to lend a hand in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Asian tsunami. The education initiative has now become the Global Education Initiative - the Jordan Education Initiative helped 10,000 students in 300 schools and has been replicated in the Palestinian Territories and Rajasthan. After working with our business partners to establish AIDS programmes in the workplace, the Global Health Initiative now wants these companies' suppliers and distributers to do the same. They have 2 catchy announcements coming up in the next few days...

But back to the original question - what kind of initiatives should the Forum implement?

Engadin Ski Marathon

Several Forum staff members completed the Engadin Ski Marathon last Sunday.

Monika Boerlin, 4h 10mins
Elly Hammar,  5h 45mins
Mark Adams,  5h 21mins
Alex Wong,  3h 53mins
Matthias Lüfkens,  4h 27mins
Bud Ris,  5h 49mins

The Engadin website lists all of the finishing times and has a photo gallery.

It's a Forum of Communities

"So what do you do the rest of the year?"

This is a question I’m sometimes asked when I tell people I work at the World Economic Forum.

My answer? Well, the Forum is not just about bringing the world’s most influential leaders together each January for the Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The Forum also has various communities of leaders committed to improving the state of the world.

For example, the Forum’s Arab Business Council has made huge strides in developing a blueprint for reform. And it isn’t just a document, Arab countries like Jordan and Morocco (as well as the United States) have recognised it as plan for regional development.

We have other communities: Forum of Young Global Leaders, New Asian Leaders, Religious and Labour leaders, Technology Pioneers, Industry Governors, International Business Council, West-Islamic World Dialogue and NGOs.

Religious Leaders at the European Economic Summit in Warsaw

The World Economic Forum is a non profit, multi-stakeholders organisation (learn more). Religious leaders of the World take part in discussions and actions of the World Economic Forum and that is one of the reasons it is unique. Interacting with Religious Leaders, NGOs, Social Entrepreneurs (see my post on the World Soccer Cup for the Homeless), Politicians and not only Business People is just extraordinary.

I really enjoyed meeting again Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, President of the World Union for Progressive Judaism today as I was when the GLTs met with Religious Leaders from tens of different Religions and parts of the World at the GLT Breakfast with Religious leaders in Davos this year. Amazingly rich discussions about the role of Religions and how different Religions interact with one another in the World.

Rabbi Awraham and I discussed that we really needed to get young Religious Leaders into the GLT community and we will try to identify some around the world to join the community. If you know young religious Leaders, please comment.

What role do you think Religion should play in our World today ? Do you think Religion is losing interest or gaining interest from young people ?