|
WEF takes global view
|
 |
January 31, 2002: 1:45 p.m. ET
Organizers focus on inclusion as economic forum opens in New York amid tight security.
By Staff Writer Richard Richtmyer
|
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The World Economic Forum kicked off here Thursday, and organizers of the annual event set a tone of inclusion and optimism.
At the same time, thousands of police and private security agents converged on the city to protect the some 3,000 business and government leaders who turned out for the event, bracing for an influx of protesters expected to arrive later in the week.
The meeting, commonly called Davos, referring to the Swiss town where it has been held since its inception, is a gathering of business and government leaders from around the world to discuss issues affecting world business and the global economy.
Solidarity with the Big Apple
The change of venue was announced in November, and the organizers characterized it as a show of solidarity with New York in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which killed thousands of people and destroyed the World Trade Center.
In a press briefing Thursday morning, the co-chairs of the event said they also hoped the shift would reflect one of the themes they are trying to get across this year: the idea of diversity.
"We can't think of a more appropriate place for a world economic forum to be held than the most diverse city in the world, which also happens to be the financial capital of the world," said former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Giuliani served as mayor for two terms and led the city through the Sept. 11 crisis before leaving office on Jan. 1.
Indeed, many of the panel discussions scheduled for this year's event, which has been dubbed "Davos on the Hudson," also have to do with the impact of Sept. 11 on global business.
In addition to "Reducing Poverty and Improving Equity," themes of this year's event include "Advancing Security and Addressing Vulnerability" and "Restoring Sustained Economic Growth."
Many of the world's corporate and political leaders began gathering Thursday at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in midtown Manhattan. They will discuss everything from the promise of biotechnology in wiping out disease to the problems caused by international money laundering and the challenge of attracting investment during difficult economic times.
Forum chair seeks action
"I'm very optimistic about what can come out of this, provided we enter it with the right spirit," said Niall Fitzgerald, chairman and CEO of the United Kingdom's consumer products firm Unilever and a co-chairman of this year's event.
| |
|
|
Jacob Frenkel, left, president of Merrill Lynch International exchanges business cards with Henry Kravis, financier and founding partner of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. during the World Economic Forum at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. | |
Fitzgerald said it is important for the participants to do more than just talk about issues at the forum but to come away from it with a specific action plan.
"I hope that out of each session comes clear and sensible things that we can agree on and then agree to do them," he said.
Other co-chairs of the event include Raymond Gilmartin, chairman and CEO of U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck; Yotaro Kobayashaki, chairman and CEO of Japan's Fuji-Xerox; and Roberto Civita, chairman and CEO of Brazil's Abril Group.
The extraordinarily tight security surrounding this year's event, which also is expected to draw celebrities including Elton John and Alec Baldwin, will enable the participants to mingle freely.
The New York City Police Department has formed a security zone around the Waldorf, and even most of the working press has been restricted access, relegated to cover the event from a separate hotel several blocks away.
|
|
|
Pedestrians pass a group of Falun Gong practioners who staged meditation exercises on Park Avenue across the street from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. | |
Overshadowing the content of the forum's various panels this year have been the security measures and the potential for violence, which has come to characterize the Davos event as well as similar events that have taken place recently.
More than 4,000 of New York's 40,000 officers have been assigned to police the event. Although there were few signs of protesters early Thursday, several major demonstrations are planned for the weekend.
"I expect this meeting to be peaceful," said Giuliani, who has been largely credited for a dramatic reduction in crime in New York City. "If it isn't, I expect it to be handled very quickly, and you won't even know about it." 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
