They possessed something more valuable than all the durables that most of us depend on. That something is time.

Eorann arrived right in the middle of solemn celebrations held in London to mark the birth of the `five billionth baby'. But, naturally, nobody knows precisely when - or where - that epochmaking child was born.

In the villages which nestle between the takes and mountains, live most of Guatemala's Indians, who make up 60 per cent of the population. In their colourful hand-woven and embroidered costumes they represent a culture with different values to the Hispanics who have dominated the country since the 16th century. The relationship between these two cultures, embittered by centuries of exploitation, is the vital issue now facing this war-torn country.

The truth is that a civilization has been shattered, and is in need of rebuilding. This goes beyond the realms of politics and power. No leader, however enlightened, will be able to create a stable structure until new foundations have been laid.

They had jointly convened an initial round table conference on world trade conflicts the previous year.

From Aubern Street - where Martin Luther King Jr was laid to rest next door to his Ebenezer Baptist Church - the multistorey spires of downtown Atlanta gleam on the skyline a mile away like a shining 21st century citadel of economic success.

A recent Nigerian conference took a form strikingly different from the usual sedentary occasions held within four walls. This 'rolling conference' spanned four different venues hundreds of miles apart.