The Hindu Business Line : Kerala imperative at Davos

THE Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) ended at Davos last weekend amidst a flurry of promises and resolutions to take forward the global agenda of development and growth. For Kerala, this year's meet had a special significance since it was for the first time that the State was making an official appearance at the prestigious gathering of business and political leaders from around the world. The Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, represented Kerala at Davos, the Swiss ski resort now synonymous with the WEF annual conclaves.

Mr Chandy was in the company of two other Chief Ministers - Ms Sheila Dikshit of Delhi and Ms Vasundhare Raja Scindia of Rajasthan. Both these States are industrially years ahead of Kerala, and it can be hardly surprising that they were invited to be guests at what is arguably a corporate party. Mr Chandy was notably a surprise invitee at the meet.

Yet perhaps the real reason for Kerala's inclusion - and the opportunity the State ought to have cashed in on - can be found in this year's theme for the WEF meet: `The Creative Imperative'. That theme suggests that the old assumptions and business-as-usual approach that have delivered results in the past are no longer good enough.

As Prof Klaus Schwab, WEF's Founder and Executive Chairman explained, "The assumptions, tools and frameworks that leaders have used to make decisions over the past decade appear inadequate. It is imperative for leaders of all walks of life to develop new capabilities if they expect to be successful and to maintain relevance."

As a crucible of social experimentation, Kerala is perhaps the only State in India that can qualify to have exploited in a relevant manner the creative imperative - albeit not in matters corporate or industrial. The State could have offered some of its lessons to the Davos gathering, which brought together, besides business leaders, members of civil society organizations, the media, academics, scientists and policy-makers.

Some of the sessions at the Davos meet tended to focus on this concern: A session on `The Role of Sports in Development' brought together leading sport figures - from the name of Brazil's legendary footballer, Pelé, to the organizer of the Homeless World Soccer Cup and the President of the International Olympic Committee - who presented their ideas on sport as a personal and social development tool.

A session on `A Bottom-up Approach to Governance' revealed how local governments have taken on greater immediacy in the lives of billions of people, and why, nonetheless, citizen participation remains a challenge. Yet another session dealt with aid versus development, and the role of microfinance.

All these are areas in which Kerala has more than adequate experience. Some of it is even unique. If "imperative" is taken to mean some kind of duty that is essential and urgent, then Kerala ought to have taken to Davos its own brand of "creative imperative". If the State failed to make much of an impact - even as the Indian delegation had chosen the collective slogan of `India Everywhere' - its leaders ought to do some serious soul-searching.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com