"Winston Churchill once said: "The optimist sees opportunity in every danger. The pessimist sees danger in every opportunity" ************ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andy Mensah" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2004 8:59 PM Subject: [unioNews] Shaping prospects for a dangerous world Tuesday, January 20, 2004 <H3>Shaping prospects for a dangerous world</H3> Klaus Schwab DAVOS, Switzerland <B><i>Winston Churchill once said: "The optimist sees opportunity in every danger. The pessimist sees danger in every opportunity."</i></B> Optimists have had little cause for cheer in the first years of the 21st century. Security and prosperity are under threat. Instability and conflict are clouding a rosy view of the future. Despite the capture of Saddam Hussein in December and the recovery in financial markets in recent months, the world still seems fraught with danger and uncertainty. Global terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, the worsening of ethnic, religious, cultural and territorial tensions - these are grave dangers that threaten the world. Equally grave are the challenges to long-term sustainable development such as mass poverty, lack of access to water and basic services, degradation of the environment, the spread of infectious diseases, as well as economic and financial instability and business malpractice. These development challenges must not be ignored - for they are true threats to human security, as great as terrorist attacks and the act of war. But as all leaders know, with every risk comes an opportunity - an opportunity to challenge old assumptions and divisions, to develop new thinking and insights, to form new alliances and partnerships, and to effect new leadership and new solutions. At the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which will start Wednesday in Davos, global leaders will confront one basic fact: we will not have strong, sustained economic growth across the world unless we have security, but we will not have security in unstable parts of the world without the prospect of prosperity. To have both security and prosperity, we must have peace. This is the Davos imperative. But the pursuit of peace cannot be accomplished alone, however strong a nation, business or organization. It can be achieved only through partnerships between and among business, political and civil society leaders from around the world. Security has become the key priority for governments in the wake of recent atrocities and threats. And rightly so. It is the responsibility of every government to make its citizens feel safe and secure. At the same time business is an engine of global growth and prosperity. Businesses have the power and the responsibility to ensure that the breakthroughs in scientific and technological innovation, in communication, in education, in health care and in knowledge creation are used to enhance the prospect of a more prosperous and more just world for all. But to function properly, business needs an enabling environment. Physical and political security, and macroeconomic stability, are indispensable ingredients for business to fulfill its role in society. The leaders at Davos must demonstrate how pioneers, visionaries and risk-takers in all fields of life can become true leaders of the world community, where business, government and civil society can act together in the common interest, where responsible, enlightened leadership can transform people's lives and aspirations. As the world's leaders gather in Davos, they face great challenges: to identify the risks and threats that are preventing an optimistic view of our globalized world, to find new ways of tackling them, to break out of a negative cycle and to rebuild confidence in the future. To do so will require that business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society work together to battle and overcome the threats to our shared security and prosperity, that we identify, understand and respect the values that unite us as a common humanity and the differences that distinguish us as individuals and as peoples. If we succeed in our effort, we may be able to look back on this period of conflict and uncertainty as a time of great opportunity and liberation. We will have found new reasons for hope and optimism. We will have found peace. *** The writer is founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. Copyright © 2003 The International Herald Tribune lllll QUOTATION: "All of us may not live to see the higher accomplishments of an African empire, so strong and powerful as to compel the respect of mankind, but we in our lifetime can so work and act as to make the dream a possibility within another generation" -<html><A HREF="http://members.aol.com/GhanaUnion/afrohero.html">Ancestor Marcus Mosiah Garvey <i>(1887 - 1940)</i></A></html> llllllllll * //\\//\\ unioNews Newsgroup //\\//\\ * * http://members.aol.com/GhanaUnion * * We're One People * * Join the Chorus * - African Union Shall Succeed - ===================================== A luta Continua! To subscribe to this group, send an eMail to: [log in to unmask] Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unioNews/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [log in to unmask] Your use of Yahoo! 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