By Alec Hogg
Thursday is always my best Davos Day. It’s also the fullest. So clogged that all I could manage before collapsing at midnight was posting the day’s pics to my Facebook page. Â So yesterday’s diary post is a little late. When you click through the album and have a read of the captions, you’ll appreciate why (link below).
For me, Day Two is dominated by the quite extraordinary programme the WEF puts together for the five dozen or so members and invited guests of its International Media Council. I was included for the first time three years back and block off pretty much all of Thursday for IMC meetings.
One ends up in a small group of like minds who get to interview people whose diaries you’d be most unlikely to crack into during WEF Week. If ever. And despite being among those running the great publications of the world, as it’s all terribly democratic and we all get to pose your own question. Not that you need to jump in. The quality of the discourse is unmatched. And sometimes you get really lucky. Like I did yesterday when for much of yesterday’s session I had the privilege of sitting next to Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf, a giant of our industry and one generous in sharing his ideas and assessments during the breaks.
The only downside is that the sessions are strictly off the record to encourage an easier flow of information. But that’s OK, because as a journalist you tend to build a picture over time – and this kind of engagement fills in a lot of gaps in the jigsaw puzzle.
Yesterday’s lineup included the national leaders of Egypt, Iran and Australia, and the Treasury Secretary (Finance Minister) of the United States. Plus a potent panel that included the Internet’s creator and Google’s head of legal discussing the ethics and consequences of  Snowden-type leaks to the media. Today we get to engage with the new President of Brazil who in Davos for the first time.
The IMC also ended our day with a dinner with a difference. Jeanette and I were among the group that heard five creative geniuses sharing how they get the juices flowing. While simultaneously enjoying our best meal yet in Davos – a never ending stream of “tasters” from a clearly world-class chef.
It was an honour to have countryman Anant Singh among the five, explaining the long road to the eventual release of his Mandela movie which is setting records everywhere. The evening closed with a spontaneous  jamming session between megastar musician Peter Gabriel and cellist Zoe Keating. Talk about Only in Davos.
In between all that I got to take in sessions over breakfast and lunch facilitated by the inimitable Tom Friedman.
I first encountered Tom in 1999 when his book The Lexus and the Olive Tree changed my outlook on the world. As it did for millions of others. He’s even better known for one of his subsequent contributions, The World is Flat. Tom, who for the past 32 years has been a columnist on the New York Times,  has also appeared on the biennial list of the world’s great thinkers (the one Clayton Christensen headed in 2011 and last year) . So this is one very serious source of enlightened insights.
What I drew most from chatting to Tom before the first of his two events was his enthusiasm for life and learning. It’s rare that you get the chance to hear one of the great communicators of our time explain why he is addicted to the WEF annual meeting, why he finds the feast of brain food so stimulating despite having come back for many years. Tom is an antidote to the bored cynics of our industry. An inspiration for every journalist, especially those just starting out as he possesses the ever curious gene. Without which it’s really not worth bothering. Â Enjoy the pics.
