I was very privileged to be at the recent World Economic Forum global get-together in snowy Davos last week. It got a lot of media coverage, but I thought you’d like to hear about it from someone who was directly involved in the discussions.
Those present included global business leaders, senior politicians, academics, representatives from the third sector and many other leading lights in their respective fields. I had my forebodings about the event, wondering whether, and how, this diverse group of people would be able to explore some of the global challenges ahead. The issues under discussion included how to best emerge from the recession without getting us into another downturn in the near future; how to deal with climate change; how to control the increasing menace of chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes, mental ill health, heart disease and the like; how to create sustainable companies / communities / countries; how to feed the poor; managing greed in the developed world. A daunting list indeed!
It was fascinating that most of these topics were discussed with key international decision-makers there and involved – this meant that they came up with, at times, very novel ideas and solutions. Of course, these global problems cannot all be solved at Davos in a week, but the issues and potential remedies will be taken forward by the various global agenda councils of the World Economic Forum – ‘off piste’, as it were – during the year following the conference. Obviously some issues are more difficult to resolve than others, but progress can be made and there was definitely an appetite to do something – to make an effort to drive change.
As a participant observer I was struck by the informal nature of the event (although well organised), and the presence of so many opinion-leaders and decision-makers in one place. This made it work in a way I had not anticipated. Between the sessions there was a casual and laid back atmosphere that made for stimulating conversations and unforeseen connections between various people working on different, but related topics from a variety of angles.
On balance, people seemed to be focused on the big picture global issues, and not on narrow self-interested ones relating to their company, country or sector. The organisers had found the right tone and encouraged the right focus. It was heartening to see delegates going beyond their comfort zone and trying to grapple with the big challenges that concern most citizens today— the recession, health and well-being, job and financial security, sustainability and food shortages – in short, the survival of the planet.
