"The football Cup is a proud moment for Africa, and the Davos Debates in Africa is just one way to engage people across the continent in a dialogue on how to create a lasting legacy for the continent as a whole," said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
Launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008 in Davos, Switzerland, the Davos Debates have been watched over 6.6 million times. At the Annual Meeting 2009, world leaders such as Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006); Shimon Peres, President of Israel; Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey; Henry Kissinger and Mohammad Yunus, among many others, replied directly to the YouTube community
(http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=55FDD4908EC3C593). In January 2009, 24-year old Colombian student Pablo Camacho was chosen for the best video entry and was invited to the Annual Meeting 2009 as a YouTube citizen reporter.
The Forum hosted a similar public debate in the Middle East about the importance of role models where H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan participated by uploading her video response (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E26E7F2E0971FD16). The Forum plans to host a debate at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2009 in Dalian, People’s Republic of China (10-12 September).
Prominent leaders from Africa and other parts of the world will participate in the 19th World Economic Forum on Africa to be held under the theme Implications of the Global Economic Crisis for Africa. The distinguished Co-Chairs of the 2009 World Economic Forum on Africa are Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006); Member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum; Soud Ba'alawy, Executive Chairman, Dubai Group, United Arab Emirates; Jiang Jianqing, Chairman of the Board, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, People's Republic of China; Graham Mackay, Chief Executive, SABMiller, United Kingdom; and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, World Bank, Washington DC.