Davos blog: Hanging out with Helle

In Davos so far, I have been rubbing shoulders with the powerful and the famous. Like a young blonde Danish Prime Minister and a Nobel in Economics

by Gregory Rockson

The 42nd Annual meeting of the World Economic Forum officially began on Wednesday and as a first timer, it has been nothing short of incredible.

This years gathering brought together more than 2500 world leaders in business, government and civil society. The theme for the meeting is the 'Great Transformation: Shaping New Models.' We live in a world that is economically, socially and morally bankrupt. However, as the population of the world continues to grow, there is the need for us to develop new innovative models to repair our broken world. In the words of Albert Einstein: 'We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we had when we created them.'

With the long list of VIPs and world leaders attending the meeting, security is really tight in Davos. You cannot get access to the Congress Center (the venue of the meeting) without a badge. With the countless number of black sedans moving around the streets of Davos, the traffic is sometimes unbearable.

Hi Helle! I am Greg

I have spent a majority of my time in Davos attending bilateral meetings and randomly meeting people in the hall way for small conversations. The World Economic Forum strives to promote a intimate conversations between participants so you wont be surprised to find Bill Gates or the president of a country walking around.

Almost everyone is very nice and would spend a few minutes of their time (which is the most precious commodity in Davos) to chat with you.

I met Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt today on my way to a meeting. I walked up to her, introduced myself and we spoke for a few seconds. Later in the day, when she saw me again, she made it a point to say hi before leaving. This is the spirit of Davos. Irrespective of your position/status, respecting other participants is an important quality to have.

Parties, more parties

One of the great places to meet people is by taking the shuttle.

I met the Governor of Connecticut, and Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Noble Laureate winner in Economics a few days ago.

Apart from all the meetings and discussions that take place at Davos, another important part of the annual gathering is parties. There are normally between 40-50 parties going on each night and they go on till late. Davos has been a good so far and I am looking forward to the remaining days!

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