The "forum" part
of World Economic Forum is slightly misleading.
The word implies a public meeting place, open for
discussion. However, the WEF, which declares "impartiality" on
the opening page of its 2002 Participants Yearbook,
has a "members" list which caps at 1,000 "of
the world's foremost corporations"-each of
which pays more than $20,000 to belong.
While
on the subject of semantics, "foremost" is
also subjective. The term references categories like
size, wealth, international presence and, one would
hope, a "commitment to improve the state of the
world"-the Forum's mission statement. However,
with so many criteria to consider, which companies
have the winning combination? Moreover, if the Forum
intends to act in the interest of the "global
public," as the preface declares, why are not
more members of the public-minus the "foremost" 1,000-not
invited?
Actually,
there are more invitees: the "partners" (not
to be confused with WEF "members"). "Partners," according
to the official WEF brochure, "are a
small group of companies selected from among
the most engaged Forum Members." These
companies "commit to a higher level
of ongoing involvement in the Forum and its
activities."
Thumb through the pages of the Annual Meeting
2002 Participants Yearbook and you'll find
Philip Bowring, a columnist for the International
Herald Tribune; Michael Dell, Chairman and
CEO of Dell Computer Corporation; Shekhar
Kapur, Film Director of Creative Artists
Agency; and Olympia Snowe (yes, a woman),
a Republican Senator from Maine.
Then
there is the Foundation Board, a committee "of
eminent figures from business and politics" which
supervises Forum activities - not to be confused
with the Leadership Team "which supervises
ongoing projects and initiatives." The
Forum is advised, meanwhile, (ah, semantics)
by a World Business Council, "comprised
of CEOs from the world's largest and most
influential companies," and is directed
by a Managing Board.
The
Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum,
the
organization's flagship event,
began when Klaus Schwab, a professor of business
administration at the University of Geneva,
planned a business conference in the Alpine
resort of Davos in 1970. A year later, after
the first "official" Davos meeting,
the "European Management Forum" was
founded as a not-for-profit foundation. In
1987, "in recognition of the Forum's
transformation from a European to a global
institution," the World Economic Forum
was born.
Of course, anybody can congregate if they
so choose. The main question here is this:
How can an organization that has consultative
status with the United Nations, that wants
to close the global digital divide, that
encourages sustainable development, that
aims to provide adequate healthcare to all
countries, East or West, and promotes inclusivity
be so exclusive? Ostracized parties in New
York and elsewhere should decide for themselves.
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