I was at Davos again this year, but decidedly quiet on the blogging front — I did a bit of Twittering, but for the most part was really there to focus on the topics at hand. If you didn’t make it this year don’t worry, they provided HD links to download most all the big sessions, which is pretty neat. Highlights include Putin schooling Michael Dell in the opening plenary (Number 31) “The Values Behind Capitalism” with Indra Nooyi (CEO of PepsiCo), Tony Blair, and others (Number 60), and one of the most intense sessions I’ve ever witnessed, “Gaza: The Case for Middle East Peace” with Tayyip Erdogan, Amere Moussa and Shimon Peres. At the end of the spirited (read: insane) debate, Prime Minster Erdogan of Turkey, walked off the stage. Interested in geopolitics? Watch it, (Number 97).

Overall, given the financial crisis, this year was a little surreal. Unlike many of the other people, I actually left hopeful. My sessions on Creative Leadership and Youth Culture were off the record, but what I can tell you is this: There are some incredibly savvy young people moving the needle across the board, and we need more of them. We simply can’t depend on the old guard to fix things. They’re too busy looking backwards, analyzing where they screwed up in the first place to see the future. Each and every one of us will be paramount in our own way — whether it’s solving the financial crisis, climate change, or making the world as a whole a better place, it’s going to be fresh thinking and innovation that saves the day.

Turns out, at QWSTION, Black is the new black. Their newest collection, Black, features six, supremely-dark new bags that not only hides dirt (though not white cat hair) but the contrast also shows off each bag’s eye-poppingly bright silver hardware. From the overnight bag to the messenger backpack to the drawstringed pouch, the Swiss designers combined each carryall with a coated cotton-canvas shell and a nylon interior so they’ll hold up if you’re not the type to handle your bags with kid gloves. And, to boot, they’ve produced a website that, while it doesn’t let you actually touch the items, does provide images that feel awfully tactile.

There’s something about airplanes that really gets us going. Taking off, sleeping for no reason, watching tiny personal TVs and getting snacks at our seat … there’s something about that experience. The plane landing sculpture that recently appeared in the Zurich airport immortalizes the moment just before a plane lands. The Swiss let the artists have access to an actual tarmac to create their near life-size blow up plane. Check out this link for a look the process of blowing and deflating the airplane and some really surreal shots of it hovering in flight. The sculpture was a part of the Shifting Identities – (Swiss) Art Now project and has made appearances in London and Paris.

I’ve landed in London (warm, rainy, safe) and am here for a quick weekend on my way to Davos, Switzerland for the 2008 World Economic Forum. This year’s annual meeting explores the power of collaborative innovation – five days filled with more than 2,500 invited participants from 88 countries. This includes 27 heads of state and government, religious leaders, media leaders, and pretty much leaders of, well, big deal companies. The forum has between 40 and 80 sessions everyday including everything from sessions like Myths and Realities of Private Equity, Japan: A Forgotten Power, Turkey’s Challenges, and many, many more. The whole gist of the week is obviously to get global leaders on the same page about everything from climate change to the global economy. I’ll be joining a panel on the power of social media with the International Media Council — and have no idea what to expect except for pure inspiration. I’m very humbled having been invited to such an incredible event. I’ll be updating throughout the week about my experience on Twitter, and of course, here on this blog. Any readers going (or folks who want to chat in London), drop me a line!