I just arrived at the Sharm el Sheik International conference center, an impressive new facility which is now filling up with the conference’s participants. Security in Sharm is very tight. Police and roadblocks all over the place. Baggage checks and scans, etc.

Today at 14,00 the WEF will start in earnest, with an address from President Mubarak. Conferences like these will lots of ‘high powered’ people feel weird. Lots of egos here. And the WEF is one big machine when it comes to organization and logistics.

One session I am looking forward to is the one on Innovation, which will be held later today.

I just found out the WEF has a blog. But judging from the number of comments on their posts, it seems that the WEF audience is not very clued in on blogging yet.

I was just checking the BBC and New York Times site and there’s no mention of the Forum on their front pages (yet).

Other WEF news:
Al Jazeera
Google

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4 responses to “Blogging form the WEF, Sharm el Sheikh”

  1. rami abdelrahman Avatar
    rami abdelrahman

    WEF is no big news for BBC or New York Time… It is actually something very despised in Europe, even in Switzerland. Just remember that this is the forum that makes globalisation a business, strictly for the benefit of the elite. This is a place where humanity is only a global business opportunity.

    I have been to three WEF’s before, but as a crticial journalist. And honestly, there never was news, unless the big boss says its news.

    It is just a big hype for the elite. And a good environment to meet influencial people and establish relations. There are some honest people there, there are some good people, but trust me, even those cannot really speak up thier minds in this greedy capitalist club.

  2. Issam Avatar
    Issam

    Rami, a lot of people in the West also hate becuase, they are against outsourcing jobs to the third world countries. In that sense, they believe that that this club is motivated by greed want to exploit them by taking their jobs and giving it away to cheap labor in Jordan and Egypt and India. For me, the bottom line is that if we do not open our markets and economy to those opportunies they will go somewhere else. There is no lack or shortage of demand, therefore, I prefer that these factories to be built in south Jordan instead of somewhere in China. If we do not share a dime of their profit, at least we’ll have thousands of new work opportunities. SO let our people work.

  3. Toujan Avatar
    Toujan

    I was speaking to my in-laws this morning. They live and work in Sharm. They told me that the government ‘deported’ all workers from Sharm, reduced the number of ‘services’ (i.e. micro busses and service cars) from say 100 to 15… all in an effort to make Sharm look better…. not sure I’m too happy about this!

  4. Firas Avatar
    Firas

    In the past years they have been holding these things in third world countries, and especially the Arab world for a reason!

    PEOPLE DON’T PROTEST!
    And the region is full of opportunists, especially those middle aged guys who didn’t believe they are invited to attend the thing!

    Now it’s basically as AbdulRahman said: It’s a greedy capitalist club!Call it economical reform, modernization, privatization it’s all the same!

    How do you see the region in 2020? Lets see, either ruled by thugs1, or ruled by thugs2
    1: Extremists
    2: Capatilists

    Lots of egos here Mmmmh….explains a lot!