Press Release

Published 26.01.2008 Author FSPC Communication

Open Forum Davos: Those with other views have their say

The sixth Open Forum Davos has come to a successful conclusion. Up to 400 guests have followed seven public debates and helped to shape them. Moreover, today Federal President Pascal Couchepin took part in a panel. The Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (FSPC) and the World Economic Forum have announced that they will also be continuing the Open Forum Davos next year.

The sixth Open Forum Davos has also been a success. “The debates were controversial, open and ongoing,” was the way in which Thomas Wipf, President of the FSPC Council, summed it up. “For this we have to thank not only the panellists but above all the public who in 2008 too also helped to shape the debates in a committed way.”

The Open Forum Davos makes open and critical dialogue possible. This year there were seven topics on the programme. The well-founded perspectives of the panellists, half of whom had been invited by the FSPC and half by the World Economic Forum, ensured that the debates were exciting. By well-focussed questions and statements the public made the top figures from politics, business and civil society represented on the panel sensitive to their concerns. Thus the debate on “The Return of the Religious” also grappled with the Swiss “minaret imitative”. The panels on the future of the USA and of Russia showed that if the problems are to be fully grasped it is necessary for all sides to listen without prejudice.

During his opening speech to the World Economic Forum which was taking place in parallel Federal President Pascal Couchepin had emphasized the importance of the Open Forum Davos. Here a place has been created where those with other views can have their say.

The Open Forum Davos will be held again next year. The internet platform www.openforumdavos.ch continues to remain open. Here among other things it is possible to see video recordings of the panels and proposed themes for the next Open Forum Davos.