International forum draws leaders, protesters

Economic, political and academic luminaries gathered for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last month to discuss, among other issues, the growing divide between First and Third World countries.\nFor most of the past decade, the annual forum was an opportunity for world leaders to praise the benefits of new technologies and the resulting strong economic growth their countries experienced. The growing divide has usually been a side issue -- but this year was different.\nMexico's President Vincente Fox, at his first Davos gathering, decried past attempts to overlook the "very divided and unequal societies that now occupy so much of the globe."\nFox said mass consumerism creates " … an intense, restless desire for spiritual rebirth."\nThe small Swiss ski village housing the forum was under security a gathering of this kind has ever received, according to the Washington Post. Police in full body armor patrolled the outskirts of the village, preventing any unwanted guests from even getting a glimpse of the meeting.\nIn one of the more excessive examples of the security measures, a group of journalists -- which had written, "Don't trust the leaders" on the side of its van -- claimed the van was searched nine times in one day, according to The Wall Street Journal Europe.\nThe paradoxical atmosphere of the forum was widely acknowledged among its attendees. Both protestors and world leaders were concerned about the same things -- but the world leaders refused to let protestors into the vicinity of the conference.\nGeorge Soros, a financier and philanthropist, told the Washington Post: "The excessive precautions were a victory for those who wanted to disrupt Davos. I do think these people have something to protest about. The global capital system creates a very uneven playing field."\nAlthough Davos is better known for its discussions than its actions, some business leaders made headway toward shrinking the inequality gap. Bill Gates, co-founder and chief software architect of Microsoft Corp., announced a $100 million donation from his humanitarian foundation to the fight to find a cure for AIDS. His foundation has also made large contributions to fighting malaria, trachoma and other infectious diseases.\nCarly Fiorna, chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, discussed her company's initiatives to increase computer literacy in Third World countries.\n"This is not just philanthropy … Companies like ours need to spend as much time right now worrying about where our markets will be in five to 10 years as we spend worrying where the next technologies come from," she said.\nThe forum appears to be an opportunity for leaders of developed countries to share their ideas, and attempt to garner support for initiatives that will shrink the divide between the wealthy and those 1 billion people forced to live on less than $1 a day. While intentions vary, many of the world's most powerful individuals show their concern about the future of Third World countries.