Davos 2019 webinar: Reflecting on a watershed event for SA. Here’s why. 

LONDON — Ahead of Alec Hogg's traditional post-Davos road trip, he hosted a webinar yesterday for Biznews Premium members updating them on the latest information emerging from the World Economic Forum. Supported by the WEF's strategic communications head Oliver Cann, the message rang through that after nine years of mis-governance, South Africa is rapidly getting back on track. Global investors are slowly starting to embrace the message that while it will take time to clean up the mess, the country has a realistic and workable plan – one that resonates with international companies who appreciate that South Africa has listened to their callings, and its new leadership is determined to fulfil the destiny of being the gateway to the continent of a billion souls. A fascinating, uplifting hour. – Alec Hogg

Oliver Cann: I think for me, just for the benefit of giving you our insight, as the organisers of this annual meeting. Of course, it's not a conference, it's an annual meeting – it's a working meeting so, with over 350 sessions, 150 which are webcasts, it's kind of difficult to make your way around the entire meeting, and as much as I've been spending a lot of time this weekend trying to debrief and recap with colleagues, my picture is not complete but I hope to give you as much of  view as possible.

I think the only kind of headline I would give is that this was an issue driven meeting, and not a personality driven meeting. It's interesting that we had quite an ambitious theme this year, Globalisation 4.0 and to give you this full title, 'Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.' So, what we try to do is we try to set about imagining what a new round, an inevitable new round of globalisation might look like and, more importantly, how we can make it work without the frailties and the failings of past rounds of globalisation. And make it one that is human centred, to use a forum term, but basically fairer and more prosperous, and more equal for everybody.

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