That will be the directive today as the world's top business leaders and 'thinkers' convene in Davos, Switzerland for the annual economic summit of summits.
NBA Commissioner David Stern has been making the trip for years, frequently meeting with movers and shakers who applaud the NBA for its global outlook in business, sports, entertainment and 'worldwide community relations.'
Basketball without Borders has been a very popular topic at many of the forums over the years. Tony Blair, Nelson Mandela and, even, Bono like the B w/o B gig.
That aside, here is the executive summary for this year's meeting:
Purpose
For over three decades, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting has provided anunrivalled platform for leaders from all walks of life to shape the global agenda at the start of each year. At the core is its multi-stakeholder model that leverages the
collective wisdom of leaders from business, government, the media, academia, the arts and civil society by building a global platform for collaboration and action to address priorities on the global agenda.
The Power of Collaborative Innovation Looking to the future, it becomes readily apparent that complexity, competing interests and scarce resources remain the
greatest obstacles to progress on the global agenda in the absence of greater leadership and global stewardship. It is in this challenging context that the World Economic Forum will highlight The Power of Collaborative Innovation as the principal
theme for the Annual Meeting 2008 in Davos.
A “shifting power equation” was the framework in which the global agenda was discussed in Davos at the beginning of 2007. As we look towards 2008, this shift will continue to influence the strategies of business, government and other stakeholders in
the world economy. But closer examination of the international environment also reveals that leadership vacuums are beginning to emerge on a wide range of critical issues looming on the horizon. Moreover, a paradox has emerged in our networked world
where knowledge is ubiquitous and change is rapid, but the absence of a common vision and agenda ensures that the status quo will be maintained with respect to major global challenges.
The focus on collaboration and innovation underscores the opportunity to leverage the Forum’s multi-stakeholder model so that platforms can be built for like-minded communities to initiate necessary changes together.
In this regard, 2008 will also witness a number of innovations that will make the “Spirit of Davos” more powerful. One such
innovation is WELCOM, which integrates Web 2.0 technology in a new collaborative intelligence platform for the Forum’s
community of 10,000 global leaders who represent all sectors of society. WELCOM is the result of the joint effort of a number of Strategic Partners of the World Economic Forum.
The Annual Meeting 2008 program will also harness the wisdom and experience of next year’s diverse and international Co-
Chairs: Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1997-2007) and Member of the Foundation Board of the World
Economic Forum; James Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Henry A. Kissinger,
Chairman, Kissinger Associates; Indra K. Nooyi, President and Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo; and Wang Jianzhou,
Chairman and Chief Executive, China Mobile Communications Corporation.
In conclusion, the Annual Meeting 2008 will provide our members and constituents again with the strategic insights, ideas,
initiatives and solutions to confront the political, economic, social and, above all, business challenges in 2008.
On 23-24 August, 48 members of the International Business Council (CEOs of the world’s top companies) met in Geneva to
help prepare the program and ensure its business relevance.
The program will continuously be adapted to reflect the latest economic and political developments of the next four months.
Based on current registrations, we foresee that the Annual Meeting 2008 will once more bring together the world’s most
influential and relevant global decision-makers.
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