The Beginning of the End
The WEF Annual Meeting is drawing to a close, so where do we go from here?
BY JEFF CHU Davos
| JANUARY 30 |
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The crowds at the Congress Center have thinned out. The press room
doesn't have that same manic atmosphere. We've heard from a slew of
business and government leaders. And there's no longer a wait for a
urinal at peak hours in the men's room. The 2001 Annual Meeting is
drawing to a close and, as the hard work of putting words into action
begins, one question comes to mind: what have the participants gotten
done in Davos? Here is a brief rundown of what has happened in four of
the focus areas at this year's annual meeting:
The Digital Divide
Bridging the divide was one of the primary themes in Davos. But it wasn't
lost on all the participants that the technology used in Davos was far
from problem-free. The iPaq pocket PCs crashed early and often, and the
Intranet services were often overwhelmed by heavy demand. Does the Third
World really want all this? That's not a question that was often asked,
as many participants forged ahead with discussions on how to bridge the
widening digital divide. Corporations pledged to address issues of basic
education as well as more advanced IT-related training. Business and
government leaders also discussed establishing sustainable business
partnerships, rather than distributing one-time aid. But at least one
participant, Taizo Nishimuro, chairman of Toshiba, acknowledged, "There
are winners and losers. We cannot make everybody win."
The Global Economy
"We're at the beginning of what technology can do, not the end," said
Carleton Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard. But technology can't say
exactly where the world economy is going, nor can it prescribe a fix in
the event of a slowdown. The general mood in Davos was one of cautious
optimism. It's expected that the economy, particularly in the U.S. but
also in Europe, will slow somewhat this year, but most people predict-or
hope for-a soft-ish landing. In the tech sector, it seems like the wisest
policy is "wait and see," as companies figure out how to strengthen their
fundamentals and experiment with the models-business and product-of
tomorrow.
First World-Third World Relations
From the first day, the divide that emerged most prominently was not
technological but economic and specifically agricultural. Minister after
minister from Africa, Asia and Latin America hammered away at the farm
subsidies, in particular the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy,
that, in their view, hamper market access and render much of the global
market inaccessible to Third World farmers. Four African heads of state
also announced an initiative to tackle their continent's many problems.
It is, says Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, "a plan by Africa for
the people of Africa." But would they have announced it in Davos if they
didn't need significant Western help?
Health
There was at least $100 million worth of progress here in Davos, namely
in the form of a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. A session on Monday also outlined
concrete steps that are being taken to combat some of the most common and
fatal diseases in the Third World, including tuberculosis and malaria. A
working group will coordinate action among governments, NGOs and the
broader international community. They will consider options and prepare a
report to next year's Annual Meeting in Davos. The possibilities are
myriad. For example, if pesticide-treated mosquito nets were available in
malarial regions, the infection rate could decline by an estimated 30%.
But such nets are currently subject to tariffs and taxation that,
according to WHO director Gro-Harlem Brundtland, are counterproductive.
Jeffrey Sachs of Harvard University emphasized that while "business is
ready to deal," neither Bill Gates nor the rest of the business community
can do it all. Government must play a key, if not the key, role.
"Businesses are not fundamentally philanthropic institutions. They cannot
carry this burden," he said.
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The Beginning of the End
The WEF Annual Meeting is drawing to a close, so where do we go from here?
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Do Something
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Orange with Envy
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Westward Ho!
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Look Out for the Long Knives
The debate at Davos: will the U.S. economy take the rest of the world down with it?
Rich Man's Burden
The hypothetical bridge over the digital divide may be well-intended, but Davos may not be the best place to start construction
The Branding of Davos
The World Economic Forum induces a binge of generous corporate giving
Hello Mother, Hello Father
TIME's Jeff Chu sends his first postcard from Camp Davos
Perfect TEN
A group of technology pioneers are trying to bridge the digital divide
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