Deliver Your News to the World

Annual Meeting 2009 - "Shaping the Post-Crisis World"


WEBWIRE

Geneva, Switzerland – The World Economic Forum today unveiled the programme for its 39th Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters. The overarching theme of the meeting, which will take place from 28 January to 1 February, is “Shaping the Post-Crisis World”. Over the course of the five-day meeting, more than 2,500 participants from 96 countries will convene in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, including a record 41 heads of state or government. Key finance, foreign affairs, trade and energy ministers will join heads of non-governmental organizations, social entrepreneurs and religious leaders at the Meeting. Around 60% of the participants are business leaders drawn principally from the Forum’s members – 1,000 of the foremost companies from around the world and across all economic sectors.

As well as looking at the immediate crisis and ways to stabilize and relaunch the global economy, the Annual Meeting programme also pinpoints a number of interrelated global risks including climate change, food and water security. The Meeting will also consider the institutions that the world needs to cooperate and confront global challenges and will look to improve the ethical value base for business as a constructive social actor.

Speaking at a press conference at the World Economic Forum’s headquarters in Geneva, Founder and Executive Chairman Professor Klaus Schwab said: “The Annual Meeting 2009 is one of the most crucial in the near 40 year history of the World Economic Forum. The extraordinary participation in terms of political and business leaders and other stakeholders demonstrates that our Annual Meeting will be the place where key actors can address both a crisis of unprecedented scope and, at the same time, the sort of world we collectively want to see emerging once the crisis is over. What we are experiencing is the birth of a new era, a wake-up call to overhaul our institutions, our systems and, above all, our way of thinking.”

The Meeting’s programme will follow six programmatic tracks that are high on the global agenda in 2009. These include Promoting Stability in the Financial System and Reviving Global Economic Growth; Ensuring Effective Global, Regional and National Governance for the Long Term; Addressing the Challenges of Sustainability and Development; Shaping the Values and Leadership Principles for a Post-Crisis World; Catalysing the Next Wave of Growth through Innovation, Science and Technology; and Understanding the Implications on Industry Business Models.

This year, in partnership with YouTube and MySpace, the World Economic Forum has launched on-line video forums (www.youtube.com/davos), (www.myspace.com/myspacejournal) with the aim of creating a broad dialogue with a wider public. Each of the social networks asked their members to respond to key questions drawn from the Annual Meeting programme. So far, more than 400 videos have been submitted and have been watched more than 600,000 times. Tomorrow, the Forum will announce two winning entrants who will participate in the Annual Meeting as “citizen journalists”.

All participants of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009 can watch the responses to The Davos Debates and are encouraged to reply directly to questions from the wider public in the YouTube video booth set up for this purpose in the Congress Centre. Some of the best contributions will be used in key sessions in the programme.

The Co-Chairs are:
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006); Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum
Stephen Green, Group Chairman, HSBC Holdings, United Kingdom
Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, India
Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, News Corporation, USA
Maria Ramos, Group Chief Executive, Transnet, South Africa
Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive, Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Werner Wenning, Chairman of the Board of Management, Bayer, Germany

Among the record number of world leaders taking part in the Annual Meeting, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will address participants on the opening day. Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany, Germany; Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; and Premier Taro Aso of Japan will also address sessions of the Meeting. Public figures include 41 heads of state and government, 17 ministers of finance, 19 central bankers, 22 trade ministers, 16 ministers of foreign affairs, 15 ministers of environment and energy, 9 EU commissioners and the heads of 30 international organizations.

Business leaders from all sectors and from all regions will be well represented among the participants in this year’s Annual Meeting. Other participants include heads of NGOs and labour leaders, Social Entrepreneurs and Young Global Leaders.

In addition, representatives of the world’s media will participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, with 10% of participants drawn from media organizations around the world.



WebWireID85130





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.