What to expect from the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos

The World Economic Forum was founded in 1971 following a proposal by Klaus Schwab, a Swiss business professor, to create a space to analyze and find solutions to global problems. Year after year, political leaders, business personalities and intellectuals have picked up the gauntlet. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting has become one of the world’s most important centers of social and economic debate. In 2018, the WEF wants to take another step and establish itself as a space for “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World,” as its theme says. Between January 23-26, over 3,000 participants from more than 100 countries will gather in Davos to take a close look at the reality of the geopolitical changes that have shaped the world in recent months. This year’s edition, the 48th, will be chaired exclusively by women. The Foreum’s goal is to have leading figures from all spheres of global society work together to promote global social and economic growth. In 2018, participants in this “summit of summits” will contribute to multiple agendas that focus on the key challenges facing the world in 2018: The first one, the Global Agenda, seeks to support efforts to improve global governance mechanisms and advance major multilateral processes; for example, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The Geopolitical Agenda seeks to improve the adaptation to change by international leaders. The Economic Agendawill focus on supporting sustainable and inclusive economic development, while the Regional Agenda, will examine the social and economic transformations occurring in all regions. In the Industry and Business Agenda participants will contribute to the shaping of new industry ecosystems and help industry and government leaders prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Finally, in the Future Agenda, attendees will share the ideas, innovations and discoveries that will have a global impact. Davos builds on the overarching idea that through collaboration, it is possible to build a future with less divisions. That’s what will take place in the more than 400 meetings that will be held over four intense days. “Our collective inability to secure inclusive growth and preserve our scarce resources puts multiple global systems at risk simultaneously. Our first response must be to develop new models for cooperation that are not based on narrow interests but on the destiny of humanity as a whole,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum.

What is Davos?

 

Davos is the highest city in Europe. Surrounded by mountains, it houses the largest ski station in Switzerland. However, Davos is not famous for its snow but for the fact that it hosts the World Economic Forum (WEF). This annual meeting is attended by political, business, cultural and media leaders who wish to take part in the international agenda.

Davos is one of several forum meetings – WEF holds regional meetings in Africa, Europe and Eurasia, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America. The meeting’s agenda also includes discussion forums for each sector, from automobile to finance. Lastly, Davos generates research reports. This is an event comprised of many other events.

When does the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting take place? The 48th Meeting of the WEF in Davos will be held January 23-26, 2018

What is its goal?   Its goal is to build a better world. How will it do this? By involving people with power to change the world (political leaders, CEOs and other world leaders) so as to set challenges and define solutions and measures while always having society’s best interests at heart. To achieve this, Davos has launched several permanent communities which collaborate in high-level meetings, research networks and digital-based team work. The Davos Forum generates thousands of ideas but not all of them materialize. Nevertheless, some of them have borne incredible fruit: the Northern American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) –between the USA, Canada and Mexico– was first proposed during an informal meeting at Davos. Article written by David Corral, Carmen Álvarez, Miriam Gidrón.