The Davos Debates in India: can India become a superpower?

• India’s first “Davos Debates in India” to open discussion on India’s future potential
• Global community invited to share its thoughts on video and participate in the discussions
• Join the debate today and give us your opinion at http://youtube.com/davos

Geneva, Switzerland, The World Economic Forum today launches the Davos Debates in India to coincide with its India Economic Summit, held in New Delhi on 8-10 November. The Forum invites the global community to share its thoughts on whether India can harness its huge potential effectively at http://youtube.com/davos. Internet users should answer the following question: Can India become a superpower?

To gather different perspectives, a street survey in collaboration with one of India’s leading broadcasters will capture viewpoints from the general public in the coming weeks. During the Summit, a dedicated video corner will allow more than 700 industry, government and thought leaders to reply to the videos submitted by the YouTube community. The best videos will become part of the discussions at the 2009 India Economic Summit.

Under the theme, “India’s Next Generation of Growth”, the World Economic Forum celebrates 25 years of collaboration and active engagement in India. As a result of over two decades of close partnership with India, the annual India Economic Summit is regarded as the most effective platform for formulating an agenda to further India’s growth.

The plenary sessions at the India Economic Summit will be streamed live on Livestream, and key quotes from the sessions will be tweeted live on the Forum’s Twitter stream, allowing a worldwide audience to follow the discussions.

Launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008 in Davos, Switzerland, the Davos Debates on YouTube have engaged world leaders such as Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006); Shimon Peres, President of Israel; Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey; Henry Kissinger and Mohammad Yunus, among many others, to reply directly to the YouTube community. In January 2009, 24-year old Colombian student Pablo Camacho was chosen for the best video entry and was invited, all expenses paid, to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, as a citizen reporter.

The Forum has hosted similar Davos Debates at its regional meetings in South Africa, Jordan and South Korea, with the notable participation of South African President Jacob Zuma and H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Note to Editors:

For information on the Summit go to the Forum’s website: http://www.weforum.org/india2009
Key sessions will be streamed live on Livestream http://livestream.com/worldeconomicforum
Videos of the plenary sessions will be also available on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/worldeconomicforum#p/a
All Press Releases are at http://www.weforum.org/pressreleases
Watch webcasts from India: http://www.weforum.org/india2009/webcasts
Join the Davos Debates in India (link http://youtube.com/davos)
Download free high-resolution photos from Flickr: http://www.weforum.org/india2009/photos
Follow the Forum on Twitter http://twitter.com/davos
Twitter users should use the hashtag #India09 for all tweets about the event. The short URL is http://tr.im/India09
The official host broadcasters for the India Economic Summit are New Delhi Television (NDTV)

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests (http://www.weforum.org)