35th Annual Business Today International Conference
Emile du PlessisEssay 1
ESSAY 1 (Words 349)
My name is Emile du Plessis, currently a Master’s Degree Student in Economics at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. I am also a student of the financial crisis.
It would be an honour and privilege to attend the 35th Business Today International Conference at the Grand Hyatt in New York. The topic “Weathering the Storm: The Challenges and Opportunities of a Global Slowdown” could not have been more relevant, the timing not more perfect. I had the grand opportunity to attend both the 12th World Business Dialogue in Cologne, Germany in April and the 39th St Gallen Symposium in Switzerland in May this year. My knowledge and experience of these conferences, with topics very relevant to the financial crisis will be vital to the theme. At the St Gallen Symposium, the Nobel Prize laureate for Economics, Robert J. Aumann explained the financial crisis in an analogy of a baby that naturally falls before she can properly walk upright. Through debate we are assisting the markets in learning how to take the next stride.
I believe I have the necessary skills and expertise to contribute to the conference. My knowledge of economics to a Master’s Degree level has set a firm platform to approach a range of business topics with insight. Previous courses include International Trade, Financial Market Analysis, Macro- and Microeconomics and International Finance. These courses provided me with understanding of the global business dynamics such as the trade patterns, explanations and resolutions of historical financial crises, discovering and developing a competitive advantage and the expanding Chinese economy. The course on Public Economics in particular has highlighted the contentious role of increasing government participation in the financial markets with large fiscal stimulus and tighter regulation.
Lord Griffiths of Fforestfach noted at the St Gallen Symposium, “We are all students”. I am a student of the financial crisis and am readily willing to learn more to support our generation to make the difference. By engaging in regular debate we learn more, through critical evaluations we succeed and by formulating solutions we overcome the challenges of the global slowdown.
