Davos meet to focus on shaping the post-crisis world

The World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold its 39th annual meeting in Davos next week with the central theme of the global meet being ''Shaping the Post-Crisis World'' which aims to confront global challenges by overhauling institutions, systems and above all, the way of thinking.''

It will also set to discuss the global financial and economic crisis as well as a number of interrelated global risks, which include climate change, food and water security.

The annual meeting by the Geneva-based non-profit foundation will be held at the Swiss ski resort from 28 January to1 February and will be attended by 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.

Around 60 per cent 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.
Speaking at a press conference at the World Economic Forum's headquarters in Geneva, its 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 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, which 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

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.

India's Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra, is one among others who is co-chair of the meet.

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, 10 per cent of representatives of the world's media will also participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

This year, the World Economic Forum has launched video forums in partnership with YouTube and MySpace, 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. The forum will announce tomorrow, two winning entrants who will participate in the annual meeting as ''citizen journalists''.