As I am sitting down to pen this column, worldwide attention is now focused on the upcoming Super Bowl at which the Pittsburg Steelers and Seattle Seahawks will vie for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the National Football League’s most prized possession. The 22-inch tall sterling silver trophy will be presented Sunday evening to the winning team in recognition of its accomplishments in achieving world-champion status.
While this meeting will take place in Detroit, the participants of the economic “Super Bowl,” the World Economic Forum (WEF), met last week in Davos, Switzerland to search for ways to implement new initiatives and enhance previously established ones related to world disaster relief, hunger, anti-corruption, and financing for development and public-private partnerships.
The results of the Detroit game will be known after only a few hours (many of you will know by the time you read this little epistle); the results of the WEF will take much longer to ascertain, principally because underlying the decisions made by the hundreds of business and government leaders who participated in the annual economic forum were foundational desires to advance global commerce, secure world peace, and ensure prosperity for everyone. These are definitely noble and worthwhile goals, but certainly ones that cannot be reached quickly.
The interaction between countries has always been economically important, but this kind of network of involvement has progressed extensively since 1971 when Klaus Schwab founded the WEC to bring corporate and government leaders together to foster social responsibility and strengthen economic stability.
The subjects addressed at the forum included practically everything from agricultural reform to nuclear proliferation. Cultivating trade ties between various nations and providing assistance in the wake of natural disasters also received a significant amount of attention, as did ideas to prevent the spread of AIDS.
The rapidly expanding need for improving healthcare and increasing its accessibility to wider portions of the world population was considered of extreme importance. Another matter of strategic significance that was evaluated was how greater collaboration between businesses could be a key method to improve market access and enrich opportunities.
The challenges societies face in forging changes to long-held traditions, as well as recasting and diversifying labor forces, were frequently topics among the forum participants, as were various suggestions for facilitating these moves. Creativity and determination seemed to be the key to success in most areas of interest.
Business leaders who participated in the forum acknowledged the value of defining strategies for expanding private-sector relationships with governments, agencies, and non-profit groups to address many of the more severe troubles facing developing nations. Business expertise and skills were considered that might be applied to programs designed to tackle various world problems.
After nearly a week, the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2006 concluded with much agreement relating to projects—both practical and idealistic. Although the recommendations emanating from forum members were basically suggestions, participants’ discussion and examination of issues were eye-opening to many people.
Thus, the real value of the World Economic Forum was that it provided unique opportunities for creative thinking and offered a platform for future collaborative endeavors that could eventually prove highly beneficial to the economy and people of the entire world. Admittedly, such cerebral activities do not generate the same drama as a long touchdown pass or, for that matter, even a plunge into the line for no gain, or the latest 30-second, multi-million dollar ad. Over time, however, their impact can be much more profound.