Rich And Powerful Meet At Davos

Insiders call it the Mecca of power networkers. The World Economic Forum, a weeklong annual meeting at this Alpine ski resort, calls itself the "foremost global partnership." The guest list is indeed impressive.

Several feet of snow have fallen overnight, the roads are risky, but that hasn't kept the important guests away. Under heavy security, a who's who of global movers and shakers are rubbing shoulders in Davos this week. They include Bill Gates, Nelson Mandela, Yassir Arafat, more than 1,000 CEOs of major corporations, heads of government and leading scientists and economists.

Vice President Al Gore is here, brushing up his business and foreign policy credentials. He will meet with Russian Prime Minister Yevgeni Primakov, among others.

The weather outside may be frightful for all but the most committed skiiers, but the climate inside the Forum meeting is a hothouse of intellectual activity that sparkles with ideas and solutions on such issues as the world's most pressing security threats, and the next likely storm to batter the global economy.

What's it like to be invited here? One old hand says you can meet more important people in a week than you could in a year of travelling around the world. That's why Sony, Coca Cola, and hundreds of other corporations shell out thousands of dollars each for the privilege of attending.

These annual powerfests sometimes produce instant headlines. But the real results of the thousands of individual conversations over coffee, drinks, or dinner, or even on ski lifts, will more likely be felt in future decisions in countries far from the snowy slopes of Davos.

For more on the meeting this week, and an updated list of webcast sessions and press conferences, see the World Economic Forum site.

Written by Tom Fenton
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