Editor’s note: We have just found Irene Hell’s post on the Annual Meeting 2006. Big apologies to Irene for posting this so late.

Davos 2006: Big CEOs with big cigars and a vision to save the world

If Steven Spielberg would be asked to produce a movie about a secretive meeting of the most powerful people in the world who come together in the Swiss mountains in order to save the planet, he could not do a better job than Professor Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum.

There is no place like Davos and there is almost no big name in the world of business, culture, sports and religion which can not be found on the stunning list of participants: Bill Clinton, Queen Rania of Jordan, Bill Gates, George Soros, Kofi Annan, Georgio Armani, Angelina Jolie, Michael Douglas, Peter Gabriel, dozens of heads of states, ambassadors and ministers, the CEOs of almost all major billion dollar companies, modern mystics and sports legends such as Mohammed Ali and Pele.

Conspiracy

More than 2200 power players and celebrities came from all continents to join the biggest elite gathering of the world. They hover in by helicopter or climb out of luxurious limousines – always surrounded by bodyguards with head sets and protected by snipers on the roofs. Security is tight in Davos. Together the CEOs and owners of conglomerates who come here control more than half of the income of the whole world. This stunning fact inspires the wildest conspiracy theories.

Before I came to Davos I was convinced that here in the small and quiet mountain village big CEOs with big cigars have their secret meetings with presidents, dictators and ministers, Arabian rulers, secret service agents as well as billionaires. In discrete hotel rooms filled with cigar smoke they meet in order to divide the world amongst each other and decide over war and peace.

I still think that this is right and I wish I could attend one of these meetings.

However what really surprised me is how serious Professor Schwab is with his vision and his mission. In 1971 Professor Schwab came up with the idea to found an independent and neutral Swiss organization that brings together the most influential people in order to improve the state of the world. Now, a little more than 30 years later, the whole world elite follows his invitation and for many celebrities it is the no plus ultra to get a Davos badge.

"There is too much talk at the World Economic Forum", complains George Soros, one of the most legendary and outspoken members of the World Economic Forum. Soros gave away billions of dollars to his Open Society Institute in order to fight the suffering of the world.

The philanthropist would love to see his complacent fellow billionaires and the CEOs doing the same thing. If they would, they could solve almost all the problems of the planet and certainly would find a good night’s sleep.

Kofi Annan and his Devils

Professor Schwab is aware of the immense power of his "Private World Government. " He constantly tries to open the eyes of his elite club members who probably eat with golden folks from golden plates. In India he encouraged companies like Infosys and Cisco Systems to finance food for Indian school children who have almost nothing to eat and he is also a big supporter of Kofi Annan. Therefore it is no surprise that the Secretary General of the United Nations launched his historic Global Compact between the United Nations and the private sector at the World Economic Forum in 1999.

"Many of my colleagues in the Secretariat – and many representatives of member States – would hardly have been more shocked if I had proposed a compact with the Devil", Kofi Annan recalled in his plenary session at the most recent Davos meeting on January 26 where he talked about "A new Mindset for the United Nations." CEOs and members of the private sector are not necessarily devils, however Kofi Annan needs all the help that he can get. Among the 2400 companies who joined his Global Compact initiative in order to fight corruption and the subsequent poverty are many members of the World Economic Forum such as Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the CEO of Nestle and Maurice Levy the CEO of the Publicis Group.

Queen Rania: The Arabian Queen of hearts.

The session of Queen Rania of Jordan was – as always – the crown and the highlight of Davos 2006. The Arabian Queen of hearts uses her brilliant mind, her stunning beauty and her big heart to bring more love and peace into the relationship between Muslims and other confessions. "Youth is the catalyst for change – change is the only constant", she said in her session and explained that her region urgently needs to build 50 million jobs for young people: "We have to empower young people to be creative", Queen Rania says. Together with King Abdullah she works hard to encourage young people to build a vision for their life and she constantly encourages other women to use their power to change things for the better.

Billion Dollar Bill Clinton

After I was fortunate to cover Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative last September in New York, I was really curious to see how Mr. Schwab would react to the fact that the former President of the United States copied his invention. I was surprised. Instead of witnessing a fight of divas I saw two good old friends teaming up for the same heroic mission to save the world. With his charisma and his powers of persuasion, Bill Clinton managed to collect more than 1.25 billion dollars in only three days for almost 200 humanitarian and environmental projects all over the world. His trick: After being a politician almost all his life he did not let the participants get away with talk. Every one of his rich friends had to sign a check.

On Saturday January 28, Bill Clinton said he wants to work even more closely with Klaus Schwab and maybe George Soros will be happy soon, when the members of the World Economic Forum open their hearts and dig deep in their pockets in order to follow the example and donate a billion dollars for good causes as well. Bill Clinton said it is easy to destroy but very hard to build. It is easy to criticize the World Economic Forum but almost impossible to build a phenomenon like this. I think with the unparalleled initiatives of Klaus Schwab and his excellent staff, the world is in much better shape.

There is no place like Davos.

I am very happy with the stunning Davos 2006 and I think most colleagues from the reporting press are also happy with their scoops. To me it is always a great privilege to be invited to the meetings of the World Economic Forum. Therefore I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Klaus Schwab, Mark Adams, the Director of Media, Senior Press Officer Fon Mathuros and the whole world class team of the WEF that they allowed me to cover "History as it Happens."

Irene Hell, Correspondent for The Independent on Sunday.