Press Release

Published 12.01.2006 Author FSPC – Communication

Open Forum Davos 2006: Respecting, crossing and shifting boundaries

From 26 to 29 January 2006 the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (FSPC) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) are again holding the Davos Open Forum, which is accessible to all. Within the framework of seven panels questions will be discussed and argued over under the heading ‘Respecting, crossing and shifting boundaries’. The co-organizers of the Davos Open Forum 2006 are Bread for All, Terre des hommes and the Swiss Red Cross.

Those expected at the Open Forum Davos 2006 include Kenneth Roth, Executive Director Human Rights Watch; John G. Evans, General Secretary, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD Council; Alice Schwarzer, women’s rights journalist and writer; Federal President Moritz Leuenberger; Federal Councillors Joseph Deiss and Micheline Calmy-Rey; National Councillor Andreas Gross; Daniel Vasella, CEO and President of Novartis; Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, CEO and Chairman of Nestlé; René Rhinow, President of the Swiss Red Cross; Mamphela Ramphele, Co-Chair, Global Commission on International Migration; Youssuf Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian Finance Minister; Mari Pangestu, Indonesian Trade Minister; Reto Gmünder, General Secretary Bread for All; Seter Brey, General Secretary und CEO Terre des hommes Foundation; Maria Mutagamba, Uganda Minister for Water; Peter Gruss, President of the Max Planck Gesellschaft; Christoph Stückelberger, Head of the Institute for Theology and Ethics of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches; Sharan Burrow, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions; Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter, Bishop of the Northelbian Evangelical Church; Timothy Garton Ash, Professor of European Studies in the University of Oxford, UK; Paola Antonelli, Curator of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art, and many more.

Open Forum Davos offers the opportunity to carry on an open and critical discussion of globalization, its effects and future orientations. Here it seeks to build a bridge between civil society, the World Economic Forum and the population generally. ‘The Open Forum is not meant to be a symposium of specialists but a dialogue platform for central topics of social and political discussion which takes up above all questions of human dignity, economic justice and ecological responsibility. As churches, with our commitment we want to make a contribution to ongoing dialogue with sometimes opposed positions.’ Thus Thomas Wipf, President of the FSPC Council. Open Forum Davos was held for the first time in 2003. It takes place annually in parallel to the meeting of the World Economic Forum.

The programme of Open Forum Davos 2006:

Thursday, 26 January, 12.15-12.30: Opening
Thursday, 26 January, 12.30-14.00: Labour Migration: How Far is Too Far? (Co-organizer: Swiss Red Cross)
Thursday, 26 January, 18.30-20.00: Does Global Tax Compeition Increase Poverty? (Co-organizer: Bread for All)
Friday, 27 January 12.30-14.00: Human Rights: Reduced to Charity? (Co-organizer: Terre des hommes Foundation)
Friday, 27 January 18.30-20.00: Water: Property or Human Right?
Saturday, 28 January, 12.30-14.00: Are Researchers Moving Limits Without Being Noticed?
Saturday, 28. January: 15.30-17.00: Breaking the Glass Ceiling: More Women in Top Positions
Saturday, 28. January: 18.30-20.00: The Future of Europe in the World.
Sunday, 29 January: 11.00-12.30: Respecting, Crossing and Shifting Boundaries

Events at the Open Forum are open to the public and free of charge. They take place in the hall of the Swiss Alpine Middle School, Guggerbachstrasse 72, Davos. Languages of the discussions are German and English (simultaneous translation).

Programme downloadPDF 482.65 KByte