First Vision’s first PV Global Meeting will take place in Paris on February 17 at the Palais Brongniart, but the organizer of textile fairs has already revealed the names of its first invitees. These include Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization since 2005, and Jean-Michel Black, CEO of the PPR subsidiary Redcats.

Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO - Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

The lecture series will begin with a Plenary Session dedicated to "the global economic situation and prospects and international trade." Three workshops will follow, dedicated respectively to the Internet, International sourcing and Brazil, where Première Vision held its fourth Premiere Brazil! festival in July.

This will be a topic on which Sergio Cabral, Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro, will certainly speak as "one of Brazil’s rising political figures" for Première Vision. As will Ricardo Antonio Weiss, CEO of the textile manufacturer Tavex Corporation, a member of the Brazilian Association of Textile and Clothing (ABIT) and the Association of Textile Industries of the state of Sao Paulo (Sinditextil). Also present will be Bernardo Stuhlberger, senior analyst for Latin America's New York office for economic analysis Medley Global Advisors.

A new Plenary Session will close the day's events with a discussion of new prospects for think tanks and strategic opportunities. The series will be headed by Professor Stéphane Garelli, Director of the World Competitiveness Center, and Vito di Bari, "considered one of the three most important futurologists in the world," according to First Vision. All the debates will be hosted by BBC reporter Stephen Sackur.

The price of attendance will be 1,200 euros for those registering before January 31st, and 1,400 euros until February 10th. Thereafter on-site registration will stand at 1,600 euros. Details can be found on the site dedicated to the event, which will take place three days after Première Vision Pluriel.