The world's most powerful business and political leaders are gathering in Davos this week for the annual WEF, and the global occupy movement will greet them with a protest camp unlike any other.

Outfitted with ice houses capable of sleeping over 50 protesters in sub-zero temperatures, along with heated teepees and a field kitchen, activists with Occupy WEF plan to ensure that the world's elite won't be able to find in Davos a retreat from visions of global protest. Indeed, the ice encampment will sit beneath the swank hotels at which leaders will be staying, providing a permanent reminder of the global protests that have arisen due, in large part, to the economic policies crafted by those gathering in Davos.





Activists at the Occupy WEF site prepare for this week's protest. Photos by Arnd Wiegmann.

While leaders at the forum will be gathering to discuss Europe's debt crisis and austerity measures, there is little doubt they will also be discussing issues of income disparity and those global protests dedicated to highlighting the chasms dividing the world's one percent and the 99 percent.

Indeed, a recent WEF risk report highlights the dangers such income disparities pose for world leaders. As Shaili Chopra in The Economic Times reports:

Austerity - too much or too little - is the key issue under focus at WEF in Davos this year. It comes on the heels of 2011, a year dedicated to 'the protestor'. A rising wave of protectionism, nationalism and social unrest has gripped the global economy that's still trying to come to terms with consensus and solutions. A WEF risk report highlights growing income disparity as a key threat for global economies that will propel political backlash and social unrest. What's worse, growth is low, unemployment is rising, the youth are disillusioned and there is no promise that future standards of living will be any better. International Monetary Fund and 10 other economic bodies have made 'call to action' to increase growth and curb protectionism. “The world faces significant and urgent challenges that weigh heavily on prospects for future growth,” points out IMF Chief Christine Lagarde in the brief. “We worry about decelerating global growth and rising uncertainty, high unemployment.”

The occupy igloo camp in Davos plans to make visible those disparities with glowing orbs of ice, chants and, well, the power of occupying a physical space.

And it couldn't happen in a more appropriate location.

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