Preparing for the World Economic Forum in Dalian

By Sebastien Marot*, Executive Director, Friends-International, Cambodia

The start of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian is a couple of days away and I am very much looking forward to this event. It was there I received the award for social entrepreneur of the year in 2009, so for me it is a special place. As usual, the days before are a time of stress: Am I prepared enough? Will I be able to finish what I have to do before leaving? Which airline am I flying on? Why did I decide to catch an overnight flight… again?

To reduce that stress, I follow two main principles:

1) I give myself only a few objectives and focus on these then I leave the rest to serendipity. So far this has worked very nicely for me… This year I have a few simple objectives; finalizing some collaborations that were initiated during the previous Forum meetings and need just a little push to get off the ground. But, adding to my stress of things to be done (including writing this blog) I still need to go through the list of participants and see if there is anyone else I would want to actively pursue.

2) I will try to enjoy myself. This should not be too difficult because I will be meeting the other “Schwabies”. I had a look through the list and was glad to see some familiar faces – I know we will again have some very passionate discussions and good times together. On top of that I know I’ll be supported and coached by the great Schwab Foundation team: they’re always making sure that we have plenty of time to exchange, share and ensure we meet the right people. So this should give us plenty of opportunity to wreak havoc in the corridors again…

This year though, there is an additional source of stress: I was asked to be a panelist on “Education and Employment”: a fantastic topic, but there is so much to say! Where to start? Am I prepared well enough? The other panelists have very impressive CVs and the discussion will certainly be very intense and of high quality: I need to give myself more time to gather my thoughts and time seems to be in short supply at the moment.

Overall, I am thrilled to join again and am looking forward to meeting as many interesting people as possible – see you all there!

*Sebastian Marot is Executive Director, Friends-International, Cambodia. He is attending the upcoming World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions held in Dalian, China 14-16 September 2011.