Davos needs your help

Posted By Caitlin Wall Thursday, January 17, 2008 - 1:30 PM Share

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is slated to kick off next week. More than more than 2,500 of the world's top CEOs, political leaders, journalists, and other public figures will gather in the Alpine resort town of Davos, Switzerland, to network, munch on canapés, and share ideas to make the world a better place. But you don't have to be a member of the global elite to contribute. Perhaps taking a cue from this year's United States presidential debates, the WEF is calling on Web denizens to share their ideas through video submissions on the new Davos YouTube channel:

The WEF wants ordinary "global citizens" to post answers to the simple question, "What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?" (FP embarked on a similar, though admittedly less populist effort last year with our "21 Solutions to Save the World" package of stories. It contains contributions from such Davos luminaries as Paul Saffo, Esther Duflo, and C.K. Prahalad.)

Some of my favorite responses include:

"Silvercracker" wants to pump desalinized ocean water into barren lands in the Tropic of Capricorn to grow genetically modified tree farms.
"Neddotcom" says that NGOs need to collaborate better and suggests an independent body to coordinate and measure their efforts.
"Stejones," a Canadian engineering student, wants to create a product-labeling system that displays the product's environmental footprint and the percentage of its manufacturer's profits that have gone to international charities, so that consumers can make informed choices.

Any Passport readers out there with their own video answers? Let us know, and we'll blog them here.

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