Open Forum Davos 2006

“Respecting, Crossing and Shifting Boundaries”
Davos, Switzerland, 26-29 January 2006

For the fourth year in a row, the World Economic Forum co-organized the Open Forum with the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches. Individual sessions were also co-organized with the Terre des hommes Foundation and the Swiss Red Cross. There were a number of controversial debates around the overall topic “Respecting, Crossing and Shifting Boundaries”. Boundaries play a key role in our lives. They provide us with guidelines and a framework in which to operate and give orientation. However, boundaries also restrict our movement. Therefore, they are often crossed or moved. What was accepted and followed yesterday is no longer valid today. Such shifts in boundaries often happen without being noticed: respected boundaries and limits seem to be moved over night, step by step. We often realise only afterwards, that decisions which were taken democratically and with clear goals, had evolved in a different way than originally intended. Shifting boundaries is ethically and politically relevant. Who moves boundaries? Where are the boundaries shifted to? By the order of whom? Authorised by whom? The debates were open to the public and took place in Davos between Thursday 26 and Sunday 29 January 2006 in the Main Hall of the Alpine Middle School. The Open Forum 2006 addressed the following topics: l Labour Migration: How Far is Too Far? Thursday 26 January, 12.30-14.00 l Does Global Tax Competition Increase Poverty? Thursday 26 January, 18.30-20.00 l Human Rights: Reudced to Charity? Friday 27 January, 12.30-14.00 l Water: Property or Human Right? Friday 27 January, 18.30-20.00 l Are Researchers Moving Limits Without Being Noticed? Saturday 28 January, 12.30-14.00 l Breaking the Glass-Ceiling: More Women in Top Positions Saturday, 28 January, 15.30-17.00 l The Future of Europe in the World Saturday, 28 January, 18.30-20.00 l Closing: Respecting, Crossing and Shifting Boundaries? Sunday 29 January, 11.00-12.30

· André Schneider, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, World Economic Forum
· Thomas Wipf, President of the Council, Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, Switzerland
Webcast

12.30 - 14.00
Labour Migration: How Far is Too Far?
With countries opening their borders it has become easier for both individuals and companies to relocate. Although today we are afraid of increased competition for jobs, tomorrow we will not have enough people to do the work and to cover the increasing social costs due to demographic changes.
1) What is the impact of labour migration in Europe?
2) How can regulations be adapted to reduce illegal migration?
3) How can migrants be integrated in the job market?

A session co-organized with the Swiss Red Cross

· Yilmaz Argüden, Chairman, Arge Consulting, Turkey
· John G. Evans, General Secretary, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, Paris
· Piia-Noora Kauppi, Member of the European Parliament, Brussels; Young Global Leader
· René Rhinow, President, Swiss Red Cross, Switzerland
· N. K. Singh, Chairman, Management Development Institute, India

Moderated by
· Bendicht Luginbühl, Journalist, Switzerland
Webcast

18.30 - 20.00
Does Global Tax Competition Increase Poverty?
Governments are giving more and more tax cuts as a result of worldwide competition to attract multinational companies and foreign investment. Global corporations are striving to decrease their tax burden; to this end, they often have recourse to consultancies, use tax havens and apply sophisticated (and at times abusive) methods.
1) Does global tax competition reduce government revenues in such a way that it endangers the financing of the UN Millennium Development Goals to relieve poverty?
2) Do tax avoidance strategies by global businesses contradict their proclaimed corporate social responsibility?
3) Is a "race to the bottom" taking place? How can it be stopped?

A session co-organized with Bread for All

· Peter Athanas, Chief Executive Officer, Ernst & Young, Switzerland
· Youssuf Boutros-Ghali, Minister of Finance of Egypt
· Leonor M. Briones, Co-Convenor, Social Watch; Former Treasurer of the Philippines, Philippines
· Brian C. McK. Henderson, Chairman, Global Public Sector Client Group, Merrill Lynch & Co., USA
· Sheila Killian, Lecturer, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Ireland

Introduced by
· Reto Gmünder, Secretary-General, Bread for All, Switzerland

Moderated by
· Hugo Bigi, Journalist, Tele Züri, Switzerland
Webcast

Friday 27 January
12.30 - 14.00
Human Rights: Reduced to Charity?
The Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948) and the Convention on Child Rights (1989) are supposed to be milestones for a world in which economic development, democracy and the respect for basic rights are combined. However, it is clear that some nations apply the rules whenever it is convenient for them. Their policy is liberal for some, and "compassionate" (President Bush's 2001 inaugural speech) for others.
1) Are we moving towards a situation in which rights are applied and enforced only when it fits the interest and willingness of nations to do so? Have we moved from a rights-based approach to one based on charity?
2) How has the use of fear (security/terrorism) by nations influenced their attitude towards the respect of rights?
3) How must nations, business and NGOs focus their actions with respect to the application of these basic rights?

A session co-organized with the Terre des Hommes Foundation

· Noorkhanom Ahmadzai, Head, Mother Healthcare Program, Terre des hommes, Afghanistan
· Reinhardt Fichtl, Delegate, Terre des hommes Foundation, Nepal
· Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Geneva
· Katherine Marshall, Director and Counsellor, World Bank, Washington DC
· Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch, USA

Introduced by
· Peter Brey, Secretary-General, Terre des hommes Foundation, Switzerland

Moderated by
Christine Maier, TV Host, Swiss Television SF DRS, Switzerland
Webcast

18.30 - 20.00
Water: Property or Human Right?
Currently, 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean water, 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. In 50 years, an even higher number of people will be suffering from water shortage according to the estimates of the UN. Therefore, access to water should become a basic human right. Whether the privatisation of the water sector is needed to meet this objective or whether privatization is misleading, is currently subject to debates.
1) What are the consequences of water scarcity and how can the problems be solved?
2) Who decides on the privatization of the water industry and how decisions are taken? Who benefits from privatisation?
3) What is the content and scope of water as a human right?

· Nancy Birdsall, President, Center for Global Development, USA
· Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé, Switzerland; Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting 2006
· Ulrike Ebert, External Affairs & International Water Policy, RWE Thames Water, United Kingdom
· Firmino Mucavele, Chief Executive, NEPAD Secretariat, South Africa
· Christoph Stückelberger, Director, Institute for Theology and Ethics, Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, Switzerland

Moderated by
· Bendicht Luginbühl, Journalist, Switzerland
Webcast

Saturday 28 January
12.30 - 14.00
Are Researchers Moving Limits without Being Noticed?
Research, particularly in the areas of natural sciences, technology and medicine, opens the door for progress, but at the same time increasingly releases fear. Fighting illnesses, yes, but how long should we prolong life? Protecting life, yes, but how far should we go to artificially create it, change it or select it? Use energy more efficiently, yes, but what energy is preferable? Especially in research, limits are pushed, mostly in an unnoticed and creeping way.
1) Are there limits in research? And if yes, which ones?
2) Are researchers moving barriers? To what extent are the funding institutions restricting the independence for research?
3) What role do national governments play in setting limits in research?

· Peter Gruss, President, Max Planck Society, Germany
· Ilona Kickbusch, Senior Adviser, Kickbusch Health Consult, Switzerland
· Elena Lazos, Professor, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, UNAM, Mexico
· Christoph Stückelberger, Director, Institute for Theology and Ethics, Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, Switzerland
· Daniel Vasella, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Novartis, Switzerland

Moderated by
· Urs Leuthard, TV Host, Arena, Swiss Television SF DRS, Switzerland
Webcast

15.30 - 17.00
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: More Women in Top Positions
Around the world, barely one percent of women are in CEO positions. In other areas, such as politics and civil society, women are similarly underrepresented in higher positions. Access of women to top positions is blocked, as by a "glass ceiling", an invisible but difficult to overcome barrier.
1) How can this glass ceiling be removed?
2) What is the responsibility of men in this process?
3) How does the world change when women make it to top positions?

· Sharan Burrow, President, Australian Council of Trade Unions, Australia
· Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, India
· Alice Schwarzer, Writer and Journalist; Editor, "Emma", Germany
· Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter, Bishop of the Northelbian Evangelical Church, Germany

Introduced by
· Micheline Calmy-Rey, Federal Councillor of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation

Moderated by
· Christine Maier, TV Host, Swiss Television SF DRS, Switzerland
Webcast

18.30 - 20.00
The Future of Europe in the World
For centuries, Europe has played a key role in economic, political and social affairs in the world. At the end of the 20th century, the USA appeared to be the remaining super power. Today Asian States, such as China and India, are catching up. We're facing a new global power balance. What will be the role of Europe?
1) Will Europe be off track economically, politically and culturally?
2) What will the future of Europe look like?
3) What role should Switzerland play in this process?

· Joseph Deiss, Federal Councillor of the Economy of the Swiss Confederation
· Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
· Andreas Gross, National Councillor of Switzerland
· Erika Mann, Member of the European Parliament, Brussels
· Urs Schottli, Correspondent, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, People's Republic of China

Moderated by
· Reto Brennwald, Journalist, Swiss Radio DRS, Switzerland
Webcast

· André Schneider, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, World Economic Forum
· Thomas Wipf, President of the Council, Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, Switzerland
Webcast