Visit of Ambassador Urs Ziswiler; Davos 2007 Perspectives on the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum
Visit of Ambassador Urs Ziswiler; Davos 2007 Perspectives on the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum
Initially the new Ambassador of Switzerland to the US, Urs Ziswiler, was going to make the Consulate of Switzerland/SHARE his first stop back in May of last year. Although the weather would have been more pleasant then, he and his wife enjoyed their fascinating stay in Boston with a little delay last week (February 4-7, 2007).
An intriguing program showed them the wide variety of top notches in the Greater Boston Area - from research to Swiss businesses and higher education: starting with company visits at Lindt, Novartis, Straumann and Holcim, a roundtable discussion with young Swiss scientist as well as meetings at Harvard and Boston University.
Needless to say, the state of the art facilities and institutions left the Ambassador with a great impression of what makes this vibrant area tick and how well the Consulate/SHARE is imbedded in this area with its partners who were also invited to a Dinner Reception at the residence of the head of the Swiss Consulate/SHARE.
As Christoph von Arb, Consul and Director, mentioned in his welcome note at the Annual debriefing “Davos 2007 Perspectives on the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum” on Monday, February 5: “what makes a visit at the Consulate/SHARE unforgettable are the hands on, interactive events and networking opportunities with our local community.”
Moderated by Paul Smyke, our former colleague and senior adviser to the Managing Board of the World Economic Forum, our guests Hugh David Scott Greenway, a journalist for the Boston Globe, Yossi Sheffi, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Mindy Lubber, executive director of Ceres, shared their personal impression from there participation at this year’s World Economic Forum.
Climate Change was one of the main focuses at the 2007 meeting. Enthusiastically Lubber reported back that finally the topic reached the consciousness and seriousness it deserves; even CEOs were asking for regulations. Unfortunately, rising powers nations like China and India want to pursue power plants, holding back on the green agenda that Blair so vividly called for in his speech.
Further, the panelist reported back on some of the other pressing issues discussed such as security concern in Iran, the question of Turkey joining the European union as well as the third world topics famine, AIDS, hunger. An engaging Q+A rounded up the discussion.
