High-profile Personalities in Saudi Delegation to World Economic Forum at Davos.

[Dover]

....About the importance of being at Davos, Al-Mady of SABIC said: “The company of fellow government and industry leaders is both educational and inspirational. Ideas and experiences can be freely exchanged, and mutual interests explored and promoted.” A comment from a delegate, Al-Mady observed, can be as rewarding as a daylong meeting with experts. “If I can walk away with an enriched vision and just one useful idea or if I can contribute to someone else’s insight or growth, then my participation (at Davos) will have been worthwhile.”

Among the heads of state or government participating in the Davos meeting are Jordan’s King Abdallah, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

Personalities from the media and cultural world will include Al Jazeera International’s Riz Khan, BBC’s Nik Gowing, Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria, Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, musicians Bono and Peter Gabriel, author Paulo Coelho and chess champion Anatoly Karpov.

The annual gathering in Davos, which dates back to 1971, is this year co-chaired by Lord Browne of British Petroleum; Eric Schmidt of Google; Neville Isdell of Coca-Cola; Sunil Bharti Mittal of India’s Bharti Enterprises; Michelle Guthrie of Star TV; and James Schiro of Zurich Financial Services.

The summit will focus primarily on exploring the implications of the shifting power equation. New factors are influencing the global agenda, from rapidly rising emerging economies to radical shifts in communication power from institutions to individuals and small groups while consumers replace producers as catalysts for innovation. Whether and how these factors will disrupt or destabilize the global system over the coming decades is uncertain. The WEF will explore the possible implications and consider solutions for managing the shift.

The forum participants will also discuss how, despite huge financial resources committed to aid in the past, many countries are still struggling with poverty, hunger, disease and violations of human rights. The participants will look for answers to such questions as: How efficient is current development aid? How can they improve its quality? Should donor countries be able to decide how money is spent in receiving countries? What are the innovative sources for financing development?
Cont'd

http://www.arabnews.com/services/print/print.asp?artid=91249&d=22&m=1&y=2007&hl=High-Profile%20Personalities%20in%20Saudi%20Delegation%20to%20WEF

[Demeter]

1. Let Me Guess---NO American Officials Attending

Now time to check the article....

[Demeter]

2. A Gaggle of Senators (Both Sides) and some Low Level Wonks

Nothing on the order of a Decider, or one who gets the ear of the Decider, or the ear of the mouth of the Decider, no Cabinet members....

[Dover]

3. Actually there are.....>>>>

Here's the official site with current lists: http://www.weforum.org/en/events/AnnualMeeting2007/SelectedParticipants/index.htm



http://www.newsahead.com/PREVIEW07/World_Economic_Forum_Jan_07.htm

The expected 2000 participants in 2007 are likely to include a few heads of state. Chancellor Merkel is likely to promote her single market ideas in person. The rest include government figures, academics, and representatives of non-governmental organizations. In other years keynote speakers have included Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Cisco's John Chambers, Sony's Noguyuki Idei, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf and Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo, US Attorney General John Ashcroft and former US President Bill Clinton.



But just try to find an article about it in a US paper. Tough time finding one on Goggle anyway...

[redqueen]

6. US papers don't consider this kind of thing news, it seems...

any stories which might possibly contribute to the idea that we are NOT the center of the world are ignored.

[Dover]

4. ,,dupe..

...

[TayTay]

5. Some of the American delegates include

Tim Adams	        US Undersecretary of the Treasury 
                          for International Affairs
Kay Bailey Hutchison	Senator from Texas (Republican)
Samuel W. Bodman	US Secretary of Energy
Maria Cantwell 	        Senator from Washington (Democrat),
Saxby Chambliss 	Senator from Georgia (Republican),
Elaine L. Chao	        US Secretary of Labor
Michael Chertoff	US Secretary of Homeland Security
Jon Corzine 	        Governor of New Jersey
Dianne Feinstein 	Senator from California (Democrat),
Barney Frank 	        Congressman from Massachusetts
Mike Johanns	        US Secretary of Agriculture
John F. Kerry	        Senator from Massachusetts (Democrat)
Robert M. Kimmitt	US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
Annette La Porte	Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Patrick J. Leahy	Senator from Vermont (Democrat)
Sander M. Levin 	Congressman from Michigan
John Lipsky	        International Monetary Fund (IMF),
Trent Lott 	        Senator from Mississippi (Republican),
Edward J. Markey	Congressman from Massachusetts
Kevin J. Martin 	Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
Mel Martinez 	        Senator from Florida (Republican)
John McCain	        Senator from Arizona (Republican),
Luis A. Moreno 	        President, Inter-American 
                          Development Bank
Fabian Núñez	        Speaker of the California State Assembly
Deborah Platt Majoras 	Chairman, Federal Trade Commission,
Dina H. Powell 	        US Deputy Undersecretary of State
Susan Schwab	        US Trade Representative
Christopher Shays 	Congressman from Connecticut (Republican)
Josette Sheeran 	US Undersecretary of State
Gordon H. Smith 	Senator from Oregon (Republican),
Lars Thunell	        International Finance Corporation
Ann M. Veneman	        UNICEF
Mark R. Warner	        Governor of Virginia (2002-2006)
Paul D. Wolfowitz	President, World Bank


Source:  World Economic Forum,
http://www.weforum.org/en/events/AnnualMeeting2007/SelectedParticipants/SelectedPublicFigures/index.htm

4 of the listed US Senators are member of the US Senate
Finance Committee.  This committee has oversight on 80% of the
budget of the US government.  They are Lott, Cantell, Smith
and Kerry.

[Dover]

7. Thought this was an interesting statement from the OP article...

as regards the subjects to be covered at the summit:

"...consumers replace producers as catalysts for innovation".

Any thoughts about the broader implications of that, or seen any other discussions of this anywhere?
I believe Alvin Toffler referred to this group as 'prosumers'. And then there was the December, Time's Person of the Year: You, cover and story. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html?cnn=yes

Here's one bloggers comments on this: Globalization and the rise of networked societies is changing all our lives and not all of it is to the good (Al Queda is the quintessential networked group). But there is one thing we should be thankful for and that is, for the first time in history, people who have never had the opportunity to create their own products and services, are now being given the tools to build them. From the malls of LA to the villages of India, people are collaborating, co-creating, sharing, learning, networking and innovating and we haven't even begun to understand what that means. Shaping your own personal music library with the iPod, branding your products your own way on YouTube or simply putting together your own communications network on your cell is just the very beginning of the massive mass innovation to come.

The PUSH of tech-driven innovation is being replacing by the PULL of people-driven innovation. Smart CEOs and companies around the world get this and are moving fast to harness this newly released power. And increasingly, people-driven innovation is changing the social, economic and political spheres as well.




Also if anyone is interested in following events/programs of the WEF, here are some bloggers:

http://www.forumblog.org/