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EventAnnual Meeting 2008Innovative Collaboration,The Only Global OptionParticipants at the World Economic Forum AnnualMeeting 2008 focused on the tools for addressing themany challenges emerging as a result of the shiftingpower equations in the world.The Power of Collaborative Innovation is arguably the lastremedy to the stresses of intense globalization that havebeen evident in financial market volatility, wideningincome disparities, and in conflict zones around theworld. As former British Prime Minister Tony Blairobserved in the closing plenary session: “Globalization isforcing changes in how people collaborate in afundamental way.” Blair added: “If we are interconnectedand the world is interconnected, the only way for the worldto work is to have a set of common values. We have nooption but to work together.”Collaborative innovation is far from the norm ininternational affairs, not least because the structures ofglobal governance have not evolved for nearly three22generations. Nation states still rule, while business andcivil society are often not at the table. In the currentcontext, the World Economic Forum provides a uniqueplatform for multiple stakeholders to address a range ofglobal, regional and industry issues. Fosteringcollaborative innovation becomes all the more critical inINDO-SWISS BUSINESS + JAN-FEB 2008