Bono & Gabriel Only Glitterati at ‘07 Davos

Bono and Peter Gabriel are hanging out in Davos, Switzerland this week, attending the 5 day World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. First of all, picturing Bono in a room full of stuffy business and political leaders is kind of funny. Of course, I’m imagining him in his sunglasses that look like goggles. I guess it’s not so bad. the meeting is a “tie-free zone” after all.

Global warming and security are the two big topics of discussion this year. Sounds like they’ll have plenty of fuel for the fire. According to the article, “the initial lack of thick snow in the town that bills itself as the highest ski resort in Europe was a firm reminder that climate change is a hot topic.”

Bloggers are also out in Davos in full-force. They are chattering about the fact that there isn’t as much “glitz” as there has been in past years. This year, no Angelina Jolie, no Sharon Stone. Reuters blogger Jeremy Gaunt asked, “Could it be that Davos is no longer hip?”

Not so, says Klaus Schwab, the founder, executive chairman and all-round booster of the World Economic Forum whose goal is no less than shaping the global agenda. “We invited what you call ’star’ people only the last years because they were relevant to a very specific topic,” he told celebrity-starved reporters. “This year we don’t feel in need of such a special accelerator, multiplier of the message.”

“Ouch,” wrote Jeremy. I agree! No need for star power this year to spread the word? Just Bono, who will talk about Africa, and Peter Gabriel, who is currently active in Witness.org, which uses video technology to expose human rights violations. Peter actually blogged about Witness earlier this month in the Huffington Post.

If you don’t know much about this meeting, take a few minutes to search the web. There are hundreds of articles floating about. The meeting’s website allows readers to watch live webcasts (and later on demand webcasts), plus it provides a way to join the conversation.

I’ve already learned something today. I could be standing right behind Peter Gabriel at the grocery store and wouldn’t know the difference.

Source: In-Forum