If the World Economic Forum is ever mentioned, the first thought you’d probably have is of a collection of global heavyweights “committed to improving the state of the world”. Of course, like with any other conference or organization, the extent of such slogans is a careful media construct while simultaneously subject to their scrutiny.
Of the 29 social enterprises represented, roughly one third earned less than 50 percent of their own revenue, with the figure in some cases as low as 15 percent. Can we expect all social enterprises working in difficult social and environmental areas to be financially self-reliant?
Religion has always been a broad topic. Rather than simply being two sides of the same coin, a discussion on religion is an octagonal die; loaded with biases, experiences, and deep rooted beliefs. Add to this the inherently subjective nature of religion, and you’ve got a piece controversial enough for some to admonish and others to re-tweet. Johnny Cash’s “I walk the line” never sounded more relevant. That being said, we turn now to the discussion.
Despite recent drawbacks, the Eurozone is out of the emergency room after years of trials and tribulations. But the latest report by the European Commission throws some doubt on this assessment. It is clear that the Eurozone has issues to tackle that are beyond the immediate economic collapse of some of its members.
Since its inception in 2005, the Huffington Post has grown to be the most visited news site in the U.S. Their story of rapid growth proves to be a classic success story in entrepreneurship and business development. In an era when anyone can call themselves a reporter, the Huffington Post has managed to develop a distinctive voice. Powered by social media and the ever-increasing number of blogs (over 180 million at the end of 2011), they successfully established themselves as the de facto “Internet newspaper.” (more…)
The attraction of a Davos Open Forum session is obvious as the audience arrives much in advance to guarantee themselves a seat. Normally, we would enter the transformed swimming pool to find a neatly arranged row of chairs on the stage. The blue and white colored name tags are an early announcement of who will speak during the evening. But Thursday evening was different. Instead of chairs, we have a set of instruments and no label revealing the upcoming star of the evening.
The lack of clear direction and conclusion at the Open Forum session on New Models for NGOs in the 21st Century perhaps represents the main crux of the problems facing NGOs today – an outdated focus on old structures that should be replaced by visioning for new models.
“The economy, stupid,” was the quote hanging at President Bill Clinton’s Little Rock 1992 campaign headquarters. Although the quote has gone through many incarnations in the past decades, it really captured the zeitgeist for the President. Perhaps it has even captured every zeitgeist to ever have existed for every political candidate – this for the simple reason that the economy is something that affects each and every one of us.
As we waited for the official inauguration of the 2013 Open Forum Davos, a quirky, but memorable-looking man placed a small flowerpot in my hands. The finely crafted hand-made bouquet was decorated with a tiny blinking centime (French term for one-cent coins), which symbolizes serendipity for the receiver.
The sense of importance in the tiny village of Davos is hard to miss. If it isn’t a throng of bodyguards escorting Henry Kissinger back to his hotel, it’s the gymnastics that must be performed to get past barriers and the Swiss police to gain access to the Congress Centre where the main action of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting is taking place. The message is clear and it is loud – if you’re not one of the chosen, you are not welcome. The Open Forum at the WEF is thus a refreshing change of pace.
We were invited by a local German-speaking newspaper to write an opinion piece, reflecting on our experience at the World Economic Forum. This is our contribution. Dieser Artikel wurde in Zusammenarbeit mit Nikolaj Fischer verfasst. Das Weltwirtschaftsforum (WEF) sollte vergangene Woche erneut Spiegelbild weltpolitischen Ausmaßes sein. Prominent eingespielte Gäste wie Angela Merkel spiegeln die Machtverschiebungen auf dem politischen Parkett Europas wieder.