annual three-day conference attended by about 100 of Europe's and North America's most influential bankers, economists, politicians, and government officials. The conference, held in a different Western country each year, is conducted in an atmosphere of rigid secrecy. The conference provides a private, informal environment in which those who influence national policies and international affairs can get to know each other and discuss without commitment their common problems. After each conference a private report of the meeting is circulated only to past and present participants, and in the report speakers are identified only by their country. The conferences were initiated by Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands and took their name from the hotel at Oosterbeek, Neth., where the first conference was held in 1954. An international steering committee generally selects different delegates each year.