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• The World Economic Forum is an international non-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is an association of of world leaders, intellectuals and journalists who hold annual meetings in Davos. The members curate informal debates regarding issues of global economic and social development.

  The World Economic Forum's annual meeting got underway on January 28, 2009. The event was expected to last through February 1, 2009.

• Fast Facts

  1. Founded: 1971
  2. Founder: Klaus M. Schwab
  3. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
  4. Independent Non-governmental organization (NGO)
  5. Overseen by the Swiss Federal GovernmentWorld Economic Forum: About Us
  6. Annual meeting held in Davos, Switzerland
  7. Latest meeting held in January 2009
  8. Theme: "Shaping the Post-Crisis World"
  9. International email address: contact AT weforum.org
  10. International phone number: +41 (0) 22 869 1212
  11. U.S. email address: forumusa AT weforum.org
  12. U.S. phone number: (212)703-2300
  13. Slogan: "Committed to improving the state of the world"

• Davos Debate

  On January 29, 2009, the second day of the 2009 World Economic Forum, the International Trade Union Confederation general secretary warned that millions of jobs would be lost in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis. Guy Ryder did not express confidence in world leader's abilities to avoid further economic instability, saying "Davos does not make me at all confident. I don't see any of the leadership here that is needed to get us out of this crisis . . . There is very little contrition here."Times Online: Unions condemn delegates on crisis (January 30, 2009)

  During a debate on January 29, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Israel over the offensive in the Gaza Strip. After the confrontation with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Erdogan "stormed off the stage" and threatened to not return to Davos in the future. World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab said Erdogan and Peres had "spoken by phone" since then. Schwab said, "So the incident, you may say, is closed."Market Watch: 'Incident closed' after Davos debate spurs walkout (January 30, 2009) Erdogan returned to Turkey early on Friday, January 30, 2009, and was greeted by "a hero's welcome" at the airport in Istanbul by more than 5,000 Hamas supporters.CBC.ca: Turkish PM gets hero's welcome after shouting match... (January 30, 2009)

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Davos 2008 | Bono | Bill Gates | Bill Clinton | Tony Blair | Henry Kissinger | Condoleezza Rice | Angelina Jolie | Brad Pitt | Switzerland | Shimon Peres | Turkey | Israel | Recep Tayyip Erdogan

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