Andrew Charlesworth, IT journalist

The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting gathers political, business and social leaders from around the world every January in Davos, Switzerland, to set the global agenda for action on the major issues for the coming year.  The theme of the 2007 Annual Meeting was “The Shifting Power Equation”, reflecting the rise of emerging economies, networked and informed consumers, and the need for sustainable development. 

BT is a strategic partner of the World Economic Forum, and five senior BT executives participated in and listened to the discussions, sharing and gaining insights which are needed to help BT’s customers thrive in a time of technological and geopolitical flux.  Taking part from BT were chief executive Ben Verwaayen; CTO Matt Bross; CEO of BT Global Services, Andy Green; President of BT International, Francois Barrault; and head of BT Wholesale, Paul Reynolds.

Tackling serious issues

In 2006, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting was famous for the famous – Bono, Angelina Jolie, Michael Douglas and Lionel Richie, to name but a few.  The star contingent in 2007 was much smaller.  The World Economic Forum has made a deliberate decision to avoid the Annual Meeting turning into a celebrity circus so it can continue to tackle serious issues in-depth.

For example, several sessions were based on the recognition that globalisation – shorthand for the arrival in the world economy of billions of new workers and customers from nations like China and India – has a human downside; as well as an upside for business owners.

Without such discussion, the issue wouldn’t be how to share the gains of globalisation with all.  It would be how to break the news to millions of young workers in developing nations, who have yet to benefit; and thousands of ageing workers in the developed nations, who have lost their jobs; that the rewards of globalisation will hopefully be gathered by their children, not themselves. 

Technology’s role

Economic globalisation is made possible by technological globalisation.  Technology also has the potential to spread the rewards of globalisation more evenly among the talented.

“There is greater integration of markets and talent on a global scale than ever before,” said Ben Verwaayen, chief executive of BT.  “If you are a smart person anywhere in the world you can be connected to the global market in real time.”

This year, the IT & Telecoms Governors Meeting at Davos convened with two other industry groups - Media & Entertainment and Financial Services.  It was a move that reflected the increasing convergence of issues across the conventional boundaries of industries.  The role of technology in bringing global markets together was further recognised in the Technology Pioneers programme, of which BT is a sponsor.  For the first time, the programme was run as an integral part of the Annual Meeting, rather than parallel to it.

Diversity

Integrating diverse talent into the global economy was also the theme of a session hosted by BT and the business TV channel, CNBC.  Recruiting a diverse workforce helps an organisation in two key ways: to better serve its global audience, and to widen the pool of potential employees it can recruit.  You can read more about the session in the article “The diversity dividend” in this issue. 

Sustainability

The Alpine resort of Davos used to be a place where the wealthy came to recover from consumption - another name for the disease tuberculosis.  This year, the world’s elite gathered to alleviate the symptoms created by consumption of a different kind – energy consumption.

One of the early debates at Davos, to decide on the power shifts that would most affect the world in the coming years, didn’t include climate change on the initial agenda.  It was shoe-horned in by business leaders at the debate.  Was that a surprise? “CEOs have children too,” commented Francois Barrault, President of BT International.

The delegates went on to vote on the motion that climate change has gone from being a concern to an imperative.  A large majority felt that climate change was the issue most likely to affect the world, and the issue the global community was least prepared to tackle.  Climate change was also the subject of numerous other sessions, which concluded that governments, companies and individuals all have a role to play in mitigating its effect. 

“BT hasn’t waited for politicians to formulate policy but has gone ahead and set-up the world’s biggest green energy contract,” said Paul Reynolds, head of BT Wholesale.  “But that doesn’t mean we can relax.  There is still lots more to do.”