It's that time again! The Vampire Elite to gather in Davos for a blood fest! [View All]

[Joanne98]

Updated 14:15 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The eyes of the world are on Washington 20 January, but they will soon shift to Davos in Switzerland, where some 2,500 people from 96 countries will gather for the annual meeting of the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) 28 January-1 February. The group includes 1,400 chief executives and chairpersons from what the WEF calls “the world’s leading companies.” The figure is the highest since the first forum in 1971. The WEF does not generally announce in advance all the heads of state who are expected although China’s Premier Wen Jiabao announced in December that he would be coming.

Other participants from around the world include:
• 250 public figures, including 41 heads of state or government, 60 ministers, 30 heads or senior officials of international organizations and 10 ambassadors
• More than 510 participants from civil society, including 50 heads or representatives of non-governmental organizations, 225 media leaders, 215 leaders from academic institutions and think tanks, 10 religious leaders of different faiths and 10 trade union leaders.

In preparation for the upcoming meeting the WEF 14 January published a report on the global financial system with a review of the near-term outlook and systemic changes that can be expected. “New Financial Architecture” can be downloaded.

Geneva, meanwhile, continues to grapple with the question of whether or not to authorize anti-Davos protests in the city and, if yes, where, reports the Tribune de Geneve (Fre).

The forum has several co-chairs:
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006); member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum
Stephen Green, Group chairman, HSBC Holdings, United Kingdom
Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra, India
Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive officer, News Corporation, USA
Maria Ramos, Group chief executive, Transnet Limited, South Africa
Jeroen van der Veer, chief executive, Royal Dutch Shell plc
Werner Wenning, chairman of the Board of Management, Bayer, Germany

http://genevalunch.com/2009/01/20/warming-up-for-davos-wef-considers-the-future-of-banking/