WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM:As the great and the good head to davos this month, Caroline Caseyrecalls her first time speaking at the event
Have you ever stood in the shower, the morning before a big event and thought "what on earth have I got myself into"?
Davos is a closed club; a gathering in Switzerland of the world's most influential and powerful people.
So exclusive, it has provoked scaremongers and conspiracy theorists to paint it as a group of individuals plotting to take over the world and the uninvited to scorn it as an elitist talk shop and cynics dismiss it as a shallow, over hyped ego convention.
And I had been invited.
It had all seemed like a great idea back in October 2005 when, totally unexpectedly, I had received a letter announcing my appointment as a Young Global Leader (YGL) of the World Economic Forum along with my Davos invitation.
A great idea, until I realised I was the only Irish YGL with no way of identifying the few invited Irish participants. This meant one thing. I would be going alone.
Alone, visually impaired and out of my depth, it was a miracle I got out of the shower that first morning in Davos and skidded through snow, ice and heavily armed security checkpoints to arrive panting, frozen and shiny faced into the immense congress centre cloakroom, in one piece.
Once I arrived, though, trepidation was forgotten. The air seemed to throb with back slapping, triple cheek kissing and high fiving.
Myriad languages rose and fell around us. The smell of determination, focus and energy was unmistakable. It was vast, it was loud, it was exciting, it was terrifying and it was a spectacle. Business cards were proffered at the speed of light while intimate huddles of people in vigorous debate whooshed by like wafts of hot air.
Everyone was having those strange prairie dog type conversations; the ones where people look over your shoulder to find a more important or interesting person to talk to. And in Davos there are plenty to choose from.
The participants ranged from Bill Clinton to Angelina Jolie. Politicians, inventors, presidents, academics, religious leaders entrepreneurs, artists, writers, corporate giants; you name it, Davos had it.
On discovering the Irish contingent - Bono, Mary Robinson, the Archbishop of Dublin, Peter Sutherland, Denis O'Brien, Tom Arnold, Charlie McCreevy and yours truly, it became clear - I was out-peered and needed friends, fast.
The quickest way to get to know people in Davos is to talk. I have never experienced such extraordinary conversations. Your brain never rests and unless you get involved, you get left out. So, armed with your very best 30-second elevator pitch, a truck load of business cards and an instinct to know when you are boring someone, you've got to roll up your sleeves, bite back your shrinking ego and rush in.
In hindsight, my much feared baptism of fire - speaking at the YGL opening dinner within hours of arrival - was my salvation.
I may not be a Norwegian prince, the founder of Google, or the inventor of Skype but being an ex-elephant handler and social entrepreneur seemed good enough to at least bag some much needed friends, or in my case, eyes.
Davos is certainly not the place to be alone and visually impaired. To my sheer embarrassment I learnt this lesson while negotiating the last step on a staircase and found myself ploughing head long into Michael Dell while slamming Bill Gates into a nearby wall.
So what would I say to the critics? Yes, of course, with so many of the world's elite and accomplished in such a small place, egos do roar and, with names you have dreamed of meeting just at your finger tips, at times it seems like the backstage of a rock concert. Yes, there are exclusive meetings, hierarchies and VIP areas, but on the other hand you can just as easily find yourself sitting beside Martin Sorrel or chatting to Richard Branson. Davos is what you make of it.
Does anything get done? Yes it does and how could it not, pulsing with some of the most ambitious and driven people, all wanting to make an impact.
People work hard, play hard and think hard in Davos, an intoxicating mix to get things done but there is no doubt that the real value lies outside the formal sessions, dinners and debates.
The unplanned corridor meetings, informal introductions and drinks at the bar, where people really connect or find something in common, prove far more powerful.
Because surprisingly, Davos is not just about egos, networking and posturing. It is simply about people.
Davos is both humbling and educating. It challenges you to look beyond yourself. Amongst the 300 different sessions a year ranging from global warming to happy marriages, from education to space travel, there is something for everyone to learn, even the most cynical.
In Davos, there is always someone better, far greater than you and better and far greater than the best.
There is always someone to learn from, no matter who you are.
Considering this year's theme, The Power of Collaborative Innovation, the ability to learn from others, no matter who they are is imperative and perfectly encapsulates the true Davos aspiration.
And as luck would have it, they have invited me back for a third time, and I can't wait.
Aside from hosting the first ever session solely focused on disability and the chance to catch up with friends, this time I think I know what I am at - and once I give all staircases a wide berth, what on earth can go wrong?
Caroline Casey is chief executive of the Aisling Foundation and O2 Ability Awards.
She is on the board of Fás, the Irish Charities Tax Reform Group and a number of other charities.
