29th of January: " Closing Remarks at the World Economic Forum"
Annual Meeting closes with new initiatives that seize "the creative imperative"—
The World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2006 has closed with participants detailing new projects in disaster relief, hunger, anti-corruption, financing for development and public-private partnerships. "I was particularly impressed by this notion of 'I will'," said Founder Klaus Schwab. "That's what the purpose of this meeting is. The Forum will provide platforms for collaborative efforts so the new initiatives or ones that have been enhanced will be implemented," he told participants in Davos.
Held under the theme "The Creative Imperative", participants used workshops and discussion groups to generate innovative solutions to global challenges. "There was a new effort to bring together people to discuss the big themes, and brainstorm action," reported Laura Tyson, Dean of the "LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL". In response, the Chairman and CEO of Nestlé, Peter Brabeck, urged participants to take individual responsibility to act. "I think sometimes we are not translating what we are discussing in virtual terms into action which would really reflect the 'spirit of Davos'. I think the Forum is here to help us to find out what the main issues are and then it is up to us to act individually," he said. "Some of what we achieved in the trade sessions, discussing the education divide and others, we got excellent inputs to create a more balanced world," added Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries. The panellists agreed that the rise of the developing world is changing the balance of power. This makes it imperative that social imbalances are redressed, said James Wolfensohn, former head of the World Bank. .
------- Annan Details UN Reform Plan -------
World Economic Forum-Davos Meeting 2006
The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan communicated his vision for a reformed UN to Annual Meeting participants. "My objective has been to persuade member states that the UN needs to engage not only with governments, but with people," he said, adding that "only if it does that, can it fulfil its vocation and be of use to humanity in the 21st century."
" Annan then focused on the way that the UN is changing to focus more on human rights, saying that “within the next week or two we may see agreement on … the establishment of a more authoritative Human Rights Council, to replace the now widely discredited Commission". The reform theme was picked up by the other participants, with actions regarding nuclear weapons being highlighted as a particular concern. “We still do not have a convention in regard to even the regulation of nuclear weapons. We need to inject a sense of urgency into the problem of weapons of mass destruction in the world,” said Jayantha Dhanapala, Senior Adviser, UN Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process.
Posted by: Dr. C. J. Reiss
The ReissCorp Foundation
http://www.reisscorp.org
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