Life Beyond Debt

World Economic Forum takes place in Davos

 

Around 2,000 business and political leaders from all over the world gathered in Davos in Switzerland last week for the World Economic Forum. The theme of the forum was "Shaping the post-crisis world". The talks were dominated by the current global economic crisis, but it remains to be seen if any of the proposals made during the week will turn into action.

Early in the week the International Monetary Fund claimed that Britain among major countries was "worst-placed" to deal with the credit crunch. Gordon Brown countered this claim by noting that the UK has a lower national debt than most other countries. Brown joined other leaders (including Russia's Putin and China's Jiabao) in emphasising his opposition to protectionism, saying that this would hurt poorer countries. Instead he said that governments have three priorities, according to the Guardian: "to prevent further bank collapses, to use fiscal and monetary policy to stimulate economies and to boost lending to businesses and individuals."

Among other proposals, Japan promised a development assistance package to struggling Asian countries, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the creation of a UN economic body modelled after the UN security council.

Any global reform agreements will depend on U.S. action - however, there was no high-ranking representative from the U.S. at the forum as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stayed home to work on passing an economic stimulus package through Congress. President Obama will attend the G20 summit in the UK in April which will almost certainly be centred around the economic situation.

The forum ended with general agreement that nations must work cooperatively, at government, business and societal levels, to tackle the crisis. Founder Klaus Schwab announced a "Global Redesign Initiative" to come out of the forum. There were pledges to come to a global free trade agreement this year. However, no concrete plan of action was finalised. Attendants generally looked to the G20 meeting as a starting point for global reform, but many seemed unsure what the best solutions will be to unprecedented problems.

Closer to home, the Evangelical Alliance will be holding a Life Beyond Debt event in London on February 5. The conference will feature experts from churches and Christian organisations talking about the role the Church has to play in money education and dealing with debt. They will also speak about examples of effective church action, to highlight resources available to other Christians who want to serve people in need. Communities Secretary Hazel Blears will be the keynote speaker, and representatives of several denominations and leaders of key Christian debt and money agencies will issue a public statement at the conference. In it they will commit to encourage and challenge the Church in the community to contribute generously towards building a just society which cares for the poor.

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