Highlights from the World Social Forum held in Belem, Brazil. The World Social Forum is the anti-Davos Forum.

Return to Main

Prime Minister Gordon Brown with Christiane Amanpour.

Return to Main

This plenary session is actually titled “The Fight Against Protectionism.” It should be called “Maintaining Income Inequality.”

The panel is moderated by Robert Z. Lawrence, the is Albert L. Williams Professor of International Trade at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Panelists
Mari Pangestu, Minister of Trade of Indonesia and a fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
Doris Leuthard, a member of the Swiss Federal Council and head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs.
Celso Amorim, the Foreign Minister of Brazil.
Baroness Ashton of Upholland, A Life Peer, a Labour member of the British House of Lords, as well as former Leader of the House of Lords and former Lord President of the Council. She is currently the European Trade Commissioner.
Kim Jong-Hoon, Trade Minister of the Republic of Korea.
Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

Return to Main

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director of the World Bank.
Melinda French Gates, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mari Pangestu, Minister of Trade of Indonesia and a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Mark G. Parker, Chief Executive Officer and President of Nike Inc.
Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director.
Muhammad Yunnus, founder of Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank and the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on micro-finanacing.

The panel is moderated by Helene D. Gayle, the CEO of CARE and a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

To change the world starts with empowering girls.

Return to Main

In his weekly address, President Barack Obama announced that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is preparing a new strategy for reviving our financial system, and urged the Senate to pass swiftly American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

Return to Main

President Obama and Vice President Biden speak about the new Middle Class Task Force dedicated to raising the living standards of middle class families. Learn more at A Strong Middle Class.

Return to Main

At the G20 Summit in November 2008, governments representing 85% of the world economy pledged to work together to restore global growth.

Where does this pledge stand today and what are the next steps to revive global growth?

Panelists
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico
Han Seung-Soo, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea
Kgalema Motlanthe, President of South Africa

This panel is chaired by Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek International, USA.

Return to Main

Sort of a sparse panel to discuss Latin America but that might be because of all regions of the world, none has more vociferously rejected neo-liberalism than Latin America. Where it not for neo-liberalism, there would be no Hugo Chavez. One failure begets another it seems.

The panel on Latin America:

José Miguel Insulza. A member of Chile’s Socialist Party—part of a moderate coalition of democratic parties—Insulza has held a number of high-level government posts. Under the presidency of Patricio Aylwin, Insulza served as Chilean Ambassador for International Cooperation, Director of Multilateral Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Vice President of the International Cooperation Agency. He is currently the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States.

Felipe Calderón Hinojosa. The President of Mexico and a member of the conservative pro-business Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) which has ruled Mexico since 2000.

Álvaro Uribe Vélez. The President of Colombia. Mr. Uribe is head of a national unity government but hails from the neo-liberal wing of the Colombian Liberal Party. His term expires in August 2010.

The panel is moderated by Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León, the former President of Mexico (1994 to 2000). He is currently the Director of the Center For The Study Of Globalization at Yale University. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.

Return to Main

This week, Iraqis are preparing to go to the polls with high hopes. More that 14,000 candidates — including nearly 4,000 women — are running for provincial councils in elections across the country on Saturday.

Despite increased security, the campaign has been marred by violence. Six candidates have been assassinated. Still, many observers say this campaign shows significant improvements over that of 2005. Early voting went smoothly and Sunni Arabs are expected to turn out in large numbers, unlike the last election.

Michael Wahid Hanna, a specialist on the Middle East and international security at the Century Foundation, discusses what is at stake in the elections and what they mean for Iraq’s future.

Return to Main

From the World Economic Forum in Davos, a panel on global food security.

The Panelists
Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General
William H. Gates III, founder and former CEO of Microsoft Corporation, current Chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Irene B. Rosenfeld, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of Kraft Foods
Michael Treschow, Chairman of the Board of Unilever, Ericsson and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise.
Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand

This panel is moderated by Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Previously, Ms. Sheeran served in the US State Department and as Deputy US Trade Representative.

Return to Main