In roughly two months time， leaders from all walks of life will gather in the Swiss
town of Davos to discuss the world′s most pressing issues.
Over the years， Korea has transformed into an advanced economy， so has the country′s
status in the international arena... as well as the World Economic Forum.
Not only is Korea taking part in identifying the global challenges facing the world today，
but， in fact， at the forefront of a worldwide revolution.
In this two－part series， we′ll tell you how... but first... in part one we give
you an understanding of what really goes on at the World Economic Forum. Think ′World
Economic Forum′ and the first thing that comes to mind is most likely the snow－capped
mountains in the ski resort town of Davos. That image followed by a group of the superrich
sipping champagne... networking. While that may be partly true... the WEF is
more than just complimentary drinks in the Alps. Not only is it more than that， it′s
more than Davos as well. Lee Howell is Head of Global Programming at
the World Economic Forum. He is the main architect of the WEF′s summits
like this one in Abu Dhabi as well as the annual meeting in Davos every January.
What he does... together with the rest of the WEF staff... is provide a UNIQUE space
for thought leaders from academia， business， civil society， international organization
and government to foster creative and collaborative thinking... and more importantly the creation
of a roadmap for action to be delivered in Davos.
″I think first it′s a recognition that complex issue requires fresh approach. Part
of that approach is to recognize that you need a variety of different stakeholders to
really produce the diversity of thinking that′s needed and come up with creative and innovative
ideas. So， you want to create an informal environment
that brings in elements of technology － technology to help you understand an issue faster so
you can go from the diagnostic to prescriptive and environment that is energizing.″
Energizing and interactive because... he says... in this fast－moving times and a highly interconnected
world that we live in， pressing global problems arise quickly and without warning.
Yet， to address them requires levels of global cooperation that are difficult to attain
precisely because of the complexity of the world.
″The World Economic Forum has been recognized as an international organization for private
and public cooperation. What does that mean？ Does that change anything for the forum？″
″I think the most significant consideration is how do you become a platform？
That is to enable and catalyze the creativity and innovation of others.
Increasingly， global issues require less of a vertical penetration... most global issues
are horizontal and they require basically breaking silos.
The only way you can break silos is to sort of say， ′Hey， this is platform for all
you actors to basically run your apps－ so
to speak－ on this platform. And