AmericaSpeaks ETM Model Used at 2005 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

When a large number of the planet’s movers and shakers met for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in late January, 2005, they were in for a big surprise.

Instead of the usual opening session, where speakers inspire the attendees from the podium, this one was set up quite differently. AmericaSpeaks, one of the leading global innovators in 21st Century Democracy had been retained the the organizers to use its
highly successful model to get the attendees to do something else.

According to AmericaSpeaks, "More than 700 of the world’s political, economic and social leaders participated in the ‘Global Town Hall Meeting’...to collectively prioritize the toughest issues that need world leaders’ attention and action."

The top six issues so priortized were: poverty, equitable lobalization, climate change, education, the Middle East, and global governance. The use of this highly interactive method caught some other media attention.

Business Week Online (January 28, 2005) ran an article called "Putting Global Concerns to a Vote," and Forbes had an article called"Democracy, Davos Style." (January 28, 2005)

Deliberative democracy and Davos: quite a potentially powerful combination.

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