While the rich elite jaunt off to Davos, Nairobi is the focus of another world still possible, writes Gamal Nkrumah While the world is awash with capital, the incidence of poverty is rising on a global scale. Some strongly believe there is a symbiotic relationship between these two phenomena. The time has arrived for this year's World Economic Forum (WEF). Political and business leaders, celebrities and intellectuals are gathered in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland, to debate in brainstorming sessions the state of the global economy. Like in previous years, "WEF 2007" seems oriented in the main towards the economic over the political. Perhaps this explains the conspicuous absence of many Arab leaders from the proceedings. G8 chairwoman, the notoriously lacklustre German Chancellor Angela Merkel is among the high-powered leaders in Davos. Germany's economic fortunes have revived this year after a decade in the doldrums. Merkel will deliver the keynote this year, with estimated 2,400 participants from 90 countries in attendance. "The Shifting Power Equation" is the theme this year. Globalisation and glaring income inequalities across the globe are to be discussed as grave detriments to development. Even WEF founder Klaus Schwab had to concede: "We are living in a schizophrenic world." Doubtless many among the activists, academics and intellectuals converging on the Kenyan capital Nairobi to participate in the World Social Forum (WSF) -- an anti-globalisation alternative to the WEF -- would agree. The Nairobi crowd don't think much of Davos. They urged the world leaders to stop issuing empty political statements and concentrate instead on serious attempts to eradicate world poverty. The venue of WSF 2007 is of immense symbolic significance. Much of Africa wallows in the mire of underdevelopment. The continent's transportation and communications infrastructure is far more ramshackle than any other continent. Moreover, Africa has suffered a series of debilitating civil wars, with resulting ruined economies and social upheaval. Parts of the continent, such as southern Sudan, have experienced a complete breakdown in all social services, including health and education. The vast region is in dire need of infrastructural reconstruction -- there is not a single tarred road in a sprawling backwater the size of Germany, France and Spain put together. Violence and political tension underlines the need for speedy rehabilitation. Nairobi's shantytowns are home to thousands of southern Sudanese refugees and other displaced people from war-torn zones across eastern and central Africa. The Kenyan capital has become a byword for petty crime and violence -- of course, refugees from neighbouring countries are blamed for the mayhem. The choice of Nairobi as venue for the WSF appears designed to highlight the gap between the comfort of those in attendance in Davos and the real picture of global inequality and poverty. The WSF is seen as the radical alternative to Davos and the WEF. "As you know, the forum was inspired by Davos, the WEF. What we observed is that when leaders of the business world and political world meet in Davos, they speak about a world that does not seem to care about the poor, minorities, and the marginalised. So it is almost like looking at two different worlds in which we live," explained Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner and distinguished environmentalist Wangari Maathai. A formidable woman, Maathai urged the formation of a global counter-force to challenge neo-liberal economic certitudes. The upbeat theme of the Nairobi meeting is "People's Struggles -- People's Alternatives: Another World is Possible." Maathai personifies the resolve of participants for social and economic justice worldwide. "The agenda of the [Nairobi] summit is best explained by the theme, which is that it is possible to have a different world where these issues are addressed. In other words, the current world that we have, with all the problems that we face at a national level, and at regional level -- issues such as poverty, debt, and about which we have been speaking for many years -- can still be changed," Maathai said.
