WEF to feature six sessions for interaction with public

DAVOS: Providing a platform for the public to interact with global leaders, the World Economic Forum will have at least six sessions on diverse topics including gender equality, refugees and capitalism.

Swiss Confederation President Didier Burkhalter, Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Kofi Annan Foundation Chairman Kofi Annan and Goldman Sachs International Chairman Peter D Sutherland would be among the personalities participating in these sessions.
The Open Forum Davos 2014 would open its doors to the general public from January 22 to 24 here.

"Upholding its tradition of stimulating dialogue among thought leaders on a range of issues, the Open Forum will offer six sessions covering such diverse topics as refugees, immigration, gender equality, education and capitalism," according to a WEF release.

Each session would provide a platform for debate and interaction on controversial topics between the public and scholars, business leaders and policy-makers.

Others who would be participating in the open forums include OECD's Secretary General Angel Gurria, Novartis CEO Joseph Jimenez, European Parliament President Martin Schulz, WPP CEO Martin Sorrell, UK-based Save the Children International CEO Jasmine Whitbread and Bangladesh-based Yunus Centre Chairman Muhammad Yunus.

At this Annual Meeting of WEF, being held in this Swiss skiing resort town of Davos, hundreds of top-notch CEOs would discuss the state of the global economy among themselves and around 40 heads of government.

Apart from economic issues and hardcore business talks, problems in Syria, Iran's possible return to global diplomatic tables, as also the ever-evolving future of euro zone is expected to hog the limelight during the summit.

Forty heads of state or government expected here include those from the UK, Australia, Japan, Iran, Israel, Brazil, Italy, Mauritius, Republic of Korea besides Switzerland itself.

The Indian leaders expected to attend the meeting include Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Minister for Urban Development & Parliamentary Affairs Kamal Nath.

Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Praful Patel, Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan are also scheduled to attend WEF.