Davos agenda extends beyond business and politics

Much of the debate in Davos will concentrate on business, but plenty of other issues will come under the spotlight, including the United States' role as global policeman, and whether Hollywood will be usurped as capital of the entertainment industry.

Much of the debate in Davos will concentrate on business, but plenty of other issues will come under the spotlight. The first day will see presentations on key economic and geo-political issues before the summit’s formal opening in the evening.

The first sessions will focus on outlining some of the main themes. Much attention will be given to the presentation of the third annual survey of chief executives.

The Chief Executive Officers of Dupont USA and PricewaterhouseCoopers USA, Charles Holliday and James Schiro, will report on how their counterparts view the creation of wealth, the future uses of technology and the impact on the widening gap between the world’s poorer and richer nations.

In other discussions, the recent conflicts in East Timor and Kosovo will also come under the spotlight with a debate on how intervention in Indonesia and the Balkans has altered the conduct of international affairs.

The session will address questions such as the impact on global stability and whether the world has entered an era of international intervention or if the United States has already reached a point of crisis fatigue.

Another discussion will consider scientific progress in medicine and ask whether mankind is playing God in fighting illness and disease.

On a lighter note, delegates will also be looking at the future of cinema and whether Hollywood is about to see its global dominance challenged by the growing entertainment industries in India, the Middle East and South Africa.

By Michael Hollingdale