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"... it's important for you, as business leaders, to say where do you think the responsibility lies? Perhaps the responsibility for education and training lies with the government. What about the responsibility for pensions and healthcare? What about the responsibility of paying a living wage?"
Laura D. Tyson (webcast I session)
Dean, London Business School |
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This year at the Annual Meeting 2006, participants prioritized 11 questions during the Big Debate. They continued to gather knowledge, opinions and data during 240 sessions, including the CEO series, and culminated in a targeted workshop to consider the priorities for the coming year. This vast array of knowledge sharing through discussion helped launch new initiatives and expanded current ones to continue addressing some of the world’s most pressing issues and further will help shape the agenda for the Forum’s regional and industry events during 2006.
| Recommendations from the Annual Meeting: |
| • | Prepare for future jobs: Realign the global education system to meet future demand
for skill sets, particularly in vocational occupations |
| • | Restore balance in the global economy: Develop policies for greater savings in the
US and consumption-led growth in China |
| • | Sustain growth in China and India: Build support for business education and
entrepreneurship |
| • | Protect the environment through better resource management: Expand water
management initiatives to address urban and agricultural use, especially in developing markets |
| • | Mitigate the impact of an increasingly fluid labour market: Improve social security
when changing jobs |
| • | Manage disruption: Develop models to design, build and implement more quickly |
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2006 closed with participants supporting the project expansions in health, education, hunger and public-private partnerships as well as recommending broad action areas that private and public institutions should undertake.
1. Health Initiative launches Global Stop TB campaign
The Forum's Global Health Initiative helps companies design workplace health programmes for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Having reached over 10 million employees with such programmes, the initiative continues to expand efforts to assist companies extend programmes throughout their supply chains, targeting rapidly growing economies like China and India. During the Annual Meeting, the global Stop TB campaign was launched with US$ 1.2 billion committed by core partners.
2. Global Education Initiative expands to Palestinian Territories and Egypt
The Global Education Initiative launches collaborative public-private partnerships to improve education systems. In Jordan, with the direct support of the King and Queen, it has engaged over 45 public and private partners to transform curricula, teaching and IT infrastructure for 50,000 schoolchildren. The programme is now underway in Rajasthan, focusing on 100 girls’ schools, and during the Annual Meeting work was initiated in the Palestinian Authority and Egypt.
3. Disaster relief platform formed
Following the major natural disasters of 2005, the Forum was asked to serve as a major platform for engaging private sector support for relief efforts, building on and expanding its Disaster Resource Network through planning that took place at the Annual Meeting.
4. New Hunger Initiative launched
Under the leadership of the Forum’s food and beverage company members, business and public leaders developed a business-led action plan to help reduce hunger in Africa and discussed it with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The group has recommended that the Forum serve as a platform for putting this plan into action during 2006. |
