BY JEFF CHU Davos
| JANUARY 29 |
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Davos participants can't sit still. They're running from one meeting to
another, the first reception of the night to the next, then on to dinner
and some apres-everything social event. If I couldn't get them to sit for
a proper interview, at least I could find out, while they were on the
run, why they were here and what the whole thing was worth. So here are
some of the thoughts from a cross-section of the participants on Davos,
its purpose and the experience of the World Economic Forum:
Susan Greenfield, Alzheimer's researcher and director of the Royal
Institution of Great Britain:
"Davos has been an opportunity to meet a whole range of people I wouldn't
normally meet and be exposed to a whole range of issues, agendas and
debates that wouldn't normally come within my orbit."
Josef Joffe, Co-editor of Die Zeit:
"I feel like I'm back at Esalen in the '70s . It's a kind of atmosphere
of `see me, feel me, hear me, touch me.'"
Youssou N'Dour, musician:
"I think Davos today means we get to think about others. The effect of
bringing artists to Davos this time is really positive. I think it's
bringing something new here."
William Roedy, President of MTV Networks (Int'l) and Ambassador for
UNAIDS:
"I'm here under two hats. For MTV, it's a great gathering of diversity,
an international gathering. It's great to check the pulse of the world.
For UNAIDS, this is a tremendous opportunity to mobilize key business
members of the community. The good news this year is that there's much
more interest in the cause."
Pierre Sané, Secretary-General of Amnesty International:
"For me, coming here means the opportunity to influence a lot of people
who have a lot of power and influence. And I think we are making
progress. We can see in the themes of the meeting, the issues being
discussed, and the diversity of the conference that we are moving in the
right direction."
Joseph Stiglitz, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Professor
of Economics at Stanford University:
"The point of this meeting is that it reflects debates from all over the
world which get crystallized at one place . [But] would it be more
effective if there were more of a balance, having more of the voices at
the table talking to government and business?"
Patty Stonesifer, President, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation:
"We have a significant presence here in order to meet with leaders and
discuss the issues and priorities to see if we can't increase government
support for our programs and initiatives as well as market support among
business leaders. It's very different from most people here."
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