DAVOS, Switzerland (Teurdars) – Economic woes took a back seat at the World Economic Forum in Davos Friday as the meeting focused on the maintenance of media-driven causes and celebrity-sponsored charitable foundations.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates set the tone by announcing grants of $306 million to compensate celebrities who take a lot of time of to promote charities---especially in Africa.
Gates, who is stepping down as Microsoft chair later this year, received a standing ovation for his announcement at the suggestion of U2 frontman Bono, who has not had steady pay in months.
The move will help boost efforts by the annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland to shake off its image as a billionaire's talking shop that does little to support millionaires who work very hard to get the nobel prize.
"If we are serious about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about maintaining the standard of living for celebrities and their foundations. Celebrities attract paparazzi and paparazzi bring attention to poor people across the globe" Gates said.
"The challenge here is to design a system including profit and recognition for celebrities to do more for the poor," he said, calling for more effective use of media and paparrazi.
Bono, returning to add showbiz sparkle to the Forum for a second year was greeted by a series of sustained yawns by the media. The UN chief Ban Ki-moon pushed the debate towards paparrazi and its vital role in malaria eradication, poverty alleviation and climate change.
