The forum's annual meeting is the world's leading business-related summit. This year's theme is "Shaping the Global Agenda - The Shifting Power Equation".

At the annual meeting, leaders from business, government, and society from more than 100 countries will help set the global agenda, identify emerging issues and challenges, and engage in dialogue, initiative and action.

What is "The shifting power equation?"

As the global importance of Brazil, Russia, India and China (the “BRIC” countries) increases, new business models will evolve. The annual meeting will question whether the global environment can sustain the rate of change and offer unique insights into the governance deficit and the need for collective responses.

This year's focus areas are:

Driving Growth
Addressing Global Fault Lines
Exploring Identity and the Communication Disconnect
Leading in a Networked World

Five BT executives are participating at the annual meeting.

BT's participants are:

Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive Officer, BT
Andy Green, Chief Executive Officer, BT Global Services
Paul Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer, BT Wholesale UK
Matt Bross, Chief Technology Officer, BT Group
François Barrault, President, BT International

BT will host two speaker platforms at this event, in our role as a strategic partner. This will include interactive panel discussions and offer a chance to speak with Ben Verwaayen, CEO BT:

Role 1
Update 2007: Leading in a Networked World
Date/time: Wednesday, 24 January 2007, 10:45-12:00
Venue: Congress Centre, Aspen WorkSpace 1+ 2

Leaders discuss how they gain fresh mandates to effectively move agendas forward, in an always-connected world with new competition and increased weight of emerging market economies, even as power shifts and disperses.

Click here to find out who the other panellists and moderator will be.

Role 2
New Blood for Industrialized Societies
Date/time: Friday, 26 January 2007, 12:45-14:15
Venue: Grill, Hotel Fluela

Over 140 million people live outside their countries of birth, with illegal immigration the most rapidly growing form of human migration. Developed economies, in particular the EU and US, face new challenges, as well as opportunities, in managing their immigration policies. Significant issues include:

What forces will drive global migration over the next 15 to 20 years?
How are developed economies, especially the US and the EU, responding?
Will current policies meet the needs of business and society in the next generation?

Click here to find out who the other panellists and moderator will be.