 Initiative staff and volunteers participated in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in December 2003.In an address to The World Economic Forum on 31 January 1999, Secretary-General Annan argued that the "goals of the United Nations and those of business can, indeed, be mutually supportive" and proposed that the private sector and the United Nations initiate "a global compact of shared values and principles, which will give a human face to the global market".On 26 July 2000, the United Nations Global Compact was officially launched at UN headquarters in New York.