Since 1971, the World Economic Forum has been providing CEO's and government officials with the opportunity to share ideas and debate even the most highly controversial topics in a safe environment. Today the World Economic Forum is "the foremost global partnership of business, political, intellectual and other leaders of society committed to improving the state of the world." It all started when Klaus Schwab, a former business professor who holds six honorary doctorates, decided that European business executives had a thing or two to learn from American management methods, and planned a retreat where ideas could be openly shared. And they've been sharing ever since.

The World Economic Forum is an annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland comprised of some of the most influential people from around the world. This year's key players include Tony Blair, Bill Gates, Michael Dell (Dell computers), and celebrities like Bono (U2) and Angelina Jolie. In all there will be about 1,300 participants from the business world, 165 political leaders and government officials, 50 non-government organization leaders, and a select number of celebrities who remain rooted to "the cause." 300 of the worlds most well recognized, not to mention international, journalists are also on hand, making this a great opportunity for businesses to get highly coveted worldwide press.

The theme for the 2006 Forum is The Creative Imperative, or how creativity and innovation are essential to sustained global development. Subtopics include issues such as New Mindsets and Changing Attitudes, that look at "global freedom and democracy, the impact of technology and digitization, the emergence of the open society, responding to extremism, and the expectations of the next generation," along with other topics such as Building Trust in Public and Private Institutions, Regional Identities and Struggles, and Creating Future Jobs. The notion of a conference on Creativity, an infinite pool of strategies and ideas, is interesting because usually these economic leaders are dealing with issues regarding the competition for finite resources.

So why is the World Economic Forum (WEF) different from any other major business conference? For starters, none of the speakers get paid; rather they have to pay a sum of about $23,000 a year just for the possibility of an opportunity to speak. And the price goes up from there if a company is looking for the chance to talk about industry-specific topics such as oil and pharmaceuticals. Also, the WEF is firmly tied to a mission, it's not just another gathering of CEOs looking to strut their stuff. Believe it or not, there are a lot of companies out there who are tired of always being driven by numbers and profits, they want to do good things but just don't know where to start. Stanley Bergman, CEO of Henry Schein, a Fortune 500 medical supply distributor, summarizes the appeal of the conference saying that, "The business community wants to respond to a crisis. Government wants businesses to respond, and with NGO's (non-government organizations), it's their job. Very often, people talk at cross-purpose. The World Economic Forum lets these sectors communicate directly." And since the WEF is an internationally attended meeting, it's ideal for companies who operate in more than one country because government officials from across the globe are all there together in one place.

It would be most unlikely to find a gathering of such influential people without at least a little bit of protest. Even with the "common good" purpose that the WEF promotes, there are still people who feel that this meeting is only truly conducive to powerful (and rich) men who are in a position to control the rest of the world. And while the topics of the WEF certainly pertain to a higher good, it's easy to see protester's concern about the few who make the decisions for the rest of us. So what do you do? Support a "good cause" and look past the fact that money can buy influence even in this most well intended conference? Or perhaps you could make sure you know what's going on in the rest of the world, and more importantly, work to improve it.

So whether you love the World Economic Forum or hate it, it's important to remember that there are an abundance of companies, political leaders, and everyday people who really want to make a difference. And while global changes don't happen overnight, it's encouraging to know that a place exists where people can still sit down and have a good, long talk. If you're an opponent of the WEF meeting, we would encourage you to become a member, go in, infiltrate the ranks, and reshape this conference to something that really stands for the global population. If you're a WEF supporter, we would encourage you to find an opponent, and help fund them so they can get to the next WEF and see what it's really all about. After all, sometimes we just have to be willing to put aside our social, economic, and even religious beliefs to get to a better place.