DAVOS TALK

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The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (January 25-29 2006) challenges the Status Quo.

Excerpts:

Stopping AIDS requires changing society --

Poverty, stigma and gender relations are the drivers of the AIDS epidemic and the fundamental factors to be addressed, according to Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, Geneva. "In the long term we have to change the norms and social behaviours that are the driving forces" of the disease, said Piot. However, he cautioned that once the debate turns in this direction "the discussion becomes very difficult".

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin argued that "women can be the driving force of social change" and called for "massive investment in the education of women and addressing sexuality within that framework". Women can provide the answer provided they are supported, he said, adding that changing family relations is "difficult to do" but something that has to be done.

Europe recasts its labour force --

German Chancellor Angela Merkel laid emphasis on the "social waste" in Europe's labour force, where the diversity of its human resources is being "neglected terribly" in terms of gender, age and ethnic origin. "Our society needs to entrust more tasks to those who have something to contribute," said Merkel. She also said that "We have to give the disadvantaged a greater share in development. If we close ourselves off, we erode our whole ethical foundation."

World leaders embrace "The Creative Imperative" --

"The assumptions, tools and frameworks that leaders have used to make decisions over the past decade appear inadequate. It is imperative for leaders of all walks of life to develop new capabilities if they expect to be successful and to maintain relevance," said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Creativity is needed to find new tools and solutions to tackle dark clouds like global imbalances, according to Mukesh Ambani from India and Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting 2006. "The world has a real chance if we form global partnerships to banish poverty and we need creative solutions. What we are going to do at the Annual Meeting is have a dialogue among the different constituents to form a partnership to create a more balanced world," he said.

Vocational training required to fill skills gap --

"What we are seeing in the US is the skills gap, where we have workers looking for jobs but also employers looking for workers", said Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor at the US department of Labor. She outlined a need for increased training in order to serve the number of new industries who are desperately seeking workers.

The nature of the globalization of jobs and its implications for forward planning were highlighted by Professor Jagdish Bhagwati of Columbia University: "Because people and companies can move around, manpower planning becomes difficult." Professor Bhagwati also had a message for countries that were resisting the need for labour law reform. "You have to learn to redo your social protection...if companies can't fire in Germany, they will hire somewhere else," he said. The participants agreed that the jobs of the future would increasingly come from the vocational sector, with a rise in face-to-face service jobs in particular. The need to convince young people of the value of vocational training was identified as paramount.

Source: webcast