The World Economic Forum, held annually in the Swiss Alpine town of Davos, is renowned as an intellectual marketplace for new ideas on global political, economic, social and cultural issues.
Lee Howell's job is to ensure that the right ideas get discussed. The managing director of the WEF is responsible for the editorial content of the forum, and for perhaps the most significant publication to come out of the organisation: the annual Global Risk report.
"The theme this year is 'resilient dynamism', but that needs some context," he says.
"The world is facing risks from another shock to the global economy, and facing challenges from Wall Street, Brussels, even mother nature in the form of climate and natural disasters.
"But you cannot control these events, they are exogenous variables, so leaders have to learn to make themselves resilient to them, and that requires dynamism to get out of the inert position we're in at the moment.
"Leaders have to take risks in order to return to growth and employment, and businessmen have to risk their capital to get those rewards," he says.
This risk-reward equation will be one of the dominant themes of the WEF in January, but before then Mr Howell has another task - to head up the summit of members of its global agenda council in Dubai next month. What gets decided in Dubai, when 1,200 experts from around the world gather to discuss the big issues of the day, will decide what makes it onto the final agenda for Davos.
"The Dubai summit acts as a brains trust and a think tank for the WEF. It's an incubator for possible global and regional solutions to problems. I like to think of it also as a gigantic MRI machine, a super-diagnostic organisation for the human condition," he says.
Dubai has hosted this gathering several times before (although last year it took place in Abu Dhabi), but this time it seems entirely appropriate: the UAE is seen as a haven of stability in an increasingly fractious region.
"At multiple levels, the Middle East is so important. For its trade and capital flows, of course, but there are always significant global implications from developments in the region. The Middle East punches above its weight in all kinds of sectors that are of keen interest to the WEF, such as energy, food security, geopolitics and communications," says Mr Howell.
"On societal and social issues, the Middle East really is part of the global conversation. There are a couple of big stories where the region is at the forefront of developments: the evolution of mobile and internet technology, and how this affects society; and the great debate about demography that's taking place all round the world.
"In Korea, Japan and China - the part of the world I grew up in - these countries are poor on natural resources and have ageing populations. But in the Middle East it's the opposite. There are great energy resources, of course, but also a very young population.
"With so many young people, the nexus between education, employment and entrepreneurship is fundamental, and the world will be watching the Middle East to see how it handles that situation."
The region also figures high on the WEF's risk assessments on certain criteria, says Mr Howell.
"If I could just highlight three areas, the first would be the risk of global governance failure affecting the region. In the peace process, in Syria and on the Iranian nuclear situation global institutions, like the United Nations, have underperformed in the Middle East.
"The second concern relating to the Middle East is in the geo-economic sphere, and especially in the growth of income inequality, which is especially troubling for young people," he says.
"And thirdly there is an environmental risk relating to water security and supply that is of vital concern to the region."
Next month in Dubai the WEF is experimenting with a new technique for understanding and dealing with world issues. Regional organisations such as the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) and the Arab League have been invited to the summit to give it greater regional perspective.
"We all face similar global issues, but what's of concern is how they play out on the regional level. These institutions form the front line for dealing with problems, and we need them to take a greater role, to learn from each other and from global experts."
The Davos meeting will be the biggest in its 41-year history. It has sometimes been criticised as a talking shop that achieves little practical result, but Mr Howell is focused on a pragmatic outcome this time.
"We are facing major leadership transitions in a volatile and uncertain environment.
"I'd like to think Davos can help world leaders understand the need for resilience in the face of future global shocks, and persuade them to take action, and some risks, especially in economics."
fkane@thenational.ae
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Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Read more about the coronavirus
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
MATCH INFO
Arsenal 1 (Aubameyang 12’) Liverpool 1 (Minamino 73’)
Arsenal win 5-4 on penalties
Man of the Match: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal)
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
List of alleged parties
- May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
- 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
- Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
- Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
- Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters
- Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
- Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
