DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The World Economic Forum held in the Swiss ski resort of Davos has the official goal of “improving the state of the world.” In practice, it’s a massive networking event that brings together 2,500 heads of state, business leaders, philanthropists and artists.
Here are some glimpses of what’s happening and being discussed at Davos on Saturday, the forum’s last day:
YOUR TURN NOW
That’s the message to governments from Benoit Coeure, a leading official at the European Central Bank, in the wake of the bank’s 1.1 trillion-euro ($1.2 trillion) stimulus.
“We have done our part, others have to do their part,” he told a panel at the World Economic Forum.
He hopes the stimulus, which is designed to boost the ailing eurozone economy, will give governments the space and encouragement to get on with a raft of structural reforms, such as making the job market more flexible.
“In the case of Europe, being patient is just a risk that we don’t want to take,” he said.
Some in Europe, particularly in Germany, are worried that the ECB’s bond-buying program may ease the pressure on governments to do more to reforming their economies.
—By Pan Pylas, Twitter: www.twitter.com/panpylas
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STATE OF MIND
Sitting in silence on a chair and thinking of nothing is not something you’d think people come to do at Davos.
But that’s what dozens of business leaders, politicians and power brokers do every morning at a meditation session that kicks off the daily schedule.
Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present, to the sensations in the body and calming the mind. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who has helped popularize the practice around the world, based on Buddhist and Yoga traditions, leads the sessions.
The meditation helps, among other things, to reduce stress — something a lot of participants at the World Economic Forum can use after a long week of back-to-back meetings.
-By Carlo Piovano, Twitter: www.twitter.com/cpiovano
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