Special Report, live from Davos : World Economic Forum 2009! |

Special Report, live from Davos : World Economic Forum 2009!

Published by Raelene February 4th, 2009 in General

Worl Economic Forum The music scene has the Grammies, Hollywood has the Oscars and the business / political world has the World Economic Forum (WEF)… Davos 2009 and I was there! Not because I am a big shot business leader (…not yet anyway), but as an ambassador of South Africa and to help fly our flag high, and boy did we do that. Let me backtrack and give you an idea of what kind of a big deal the WEF is. It is an annual general meeting where political, economic and environmental leaders come together for 3 days and talk about the matters of the WORLD, the state of the enviroment and find solutions to the world’s political problems. So we’re talking about the presence of the likes of Kofi Anan, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Richard Brandson, Dali Lama, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu… 2500 of the most powerful individuals and companies in the world! All in one small, but luxurious, ski resort. Security was insane, we had local police, Swiss Army, USA FBI, secret service individual body guards.

How did I fit in?

Well, with so much happening in South Africa in the next year or two, we have the attention of the world. The International Marketing Council of SA decided to grab more of that attention, the SA way. Our country’s presence was splashed over all of that resort. We had our own taxi’s-painted with the SA flag cruising all over town, we had our delegates dressed with scarfs with our beautiful flag printed all over it, we took over the entertainment area of the Belvedere Hotel (where most of the forum took place), we hosted a hospitality lounge, with our very own ‘mixologist’ who created the most awesome South African cocktails. All to the sounds of Freshly Ground, Hugh Masekela and the late Mariam Makeba, the lounge introduced our best South African wines, beers, Amarula, ginger beer, dry fruit and of course… biltong (which we eventually got there - long story…involving the president’s jet!).

Swiss Newspaper People flocked to our lounge after a hard day of back-to-back meetings and conferencing. The South African amabassadors (Raelene, Michelle, Latisha and Kamo-representing different facets of South African society) were strategically placed to engaged in conversation about our country, reasons to come to the world cup, our achievements and the reason South Africa has such a great future ahead. This was such an EASY job, simply because we are a great country and I didn’t have to convince anybody. The international delegates were raving about our country, calling us an INSPIRING country that many countries around the world could learn a lesson from. Of course I handled all questions on crime and politicals diplomatically, and I even made it into the Swiss Sunday paper!

Our hospitality didn’t stop there, we hosted a truly South African dinner party, with our own chef, that prepared a delicious dinner of ostrich, kudu and koeksisters. Our president was introduced by Trevor Manual who was there with new wife and business woman, Maria Ramos. Present were ministers, CEO’s of all major banks, financial institutes, and energy and mineral moguls. In total there were 150 guests, who then enjoyed an after party led by the jazz sounds of Jimi Dludlu. The night was a success with evey guest going home with a goodie bag that consisted of an Anan Singh dvd and the official FIFA 2010 World Cup soccer ball.

Rae in Switzerland Other great parties that I attended were the Google party, where one had to keep their cool and not get star struck even if you saw the likes of Bill and Melinda Gates within arm’s reach. Davos is just one of those places - simply INCREDIBLE!

South Africa definitely showed the world that we are alive with GREAT possibility, it was an honour to be part of this sunny, friendly and reconcilled country… our international friends reminded me of how lucky I am to call myself a child of Mzansi!

9 Responses to “Special Report, live from Davos : World Economic Forum 2009!”

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1 Clayton Feb 4th, 2009 at 5:55 pm

What a lucky-fish you are!!! That sounds like an amazing 3 days, I cant believe you went all the way to Switzerland and didn’t ski though! LoL. Welcome home to Mzansi.
2 Sandi Feb 4th, 2009 at 7:00 pm

WOW Rae, you do us proud. What a wonderful experience and we know how much you take all the experiences in life and make the most of them. I hope you did have some star struck moments! I am sure others jaws dropped when they saw our gorgeous Rae! you go girl!
3 Vanessa Feb 5th, 2009 at 8:20 am

Rae, to have you as our ambassador, gives me a very safe and confident feeling. It’s wonderful to know that our precious countries reputation is being carried forward by someone like you… thank you for doing your bit… and boy, it sounded like an experience!
4 yojules Feb 5th, 2009 at 3:53 pm

Vanessa, I wish I had said that first! I’m so proud to know you, girl. The universe is clearly preparing you for great things…
5 Neliswa Fente Feb 6th, 2009 at 12:11 pm

Wow, Rae it sounds like you had an amazing experience, especially at your age. It is absolutely inspiring to see you do great things. You are truly blessed and wow wow wow you were surrounded by very powerful people and I am sure that you learnt so much… You go girl, you are making us so proud.
6 Amber Feb 8th, 2009 at 1:49 pm

This story inspires me on two angles:
Firstly in relation to a young person who has so much potential…and attitude I wish we could bottle it - we could make a fortune(I would give it to my kids…3 times a day)

But the other angle that gives me hope is about South Africa. We can, at times, all tend to be a bit negative when it comes to SA (come on admit it), but it has really struck a chord with me that SA (be it the the form of the International Marketing Council of SA) saw a gap, and took the opportunity to expose SA to some of the worlds most powerful business people. Surely this has to have some pay-offs for the country as a whole.

What has my mouth open in awe (and pride) is that SA took initiative and marketed our country in a very unique, professional way.
And sadly I realise I (and most of us) expect less these days. But this event, and the professional organisation of it shows that there is a lot going on behind the scenes..stuff bigger and more positive than cheap unsophisticated headlines about our (dare I say it) unsophisticated politicians.

SA is unique, and it is powerful with many amazing, smart people in it.
Rae, I am so glad you were there to give us a blow by blow account, and to put things a bit more into perspective.
And I hope the clever initiative pays off for our country - in a way that impacts all its people, not just the few wealthy.
7 Raelene Feb 13th, 2009 at 3:32 pm

Ambs, you right when you say a lot is happening behind the scenes..Unfortunately bad news always travels faster than the good! SA is definitely alive with great possibility!
8 Tracey Feb 20th, 2009 at 4:06 pm

Hi everyone, I was the project manager on this job and I must just say what an outstanding job Raelene and the other ambassadors did. We worked extremely long hours in difficult conditions, grabbing a meal when we had time and putting on a big warm smile everyday and night even if we felt exhausted. Not one murmur of complaint was heard and all I can say is this experience really showed me why I am proudly South African. The team was the life and soul of our events and I cannot thank each of them deeply enough for more than exceeding my expectations. You ROCK Rae! See you soon kiddo X
9 yojules Feb 24th, 2009 at 8:04 am

Tracey - you guys pulled off a brilliant task! Thank you so much for putting our name out there! SOUth Africa needs more people like you!

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Building and delivering training solutions that empower people with skills and insight to make better choices and live bigger lives. Being brave enough to take on the challenges at a scale that makes a significant impact in SA and beyond