The World Economic Forum hosted annually in the popular ski resort town of Davos, Switzerland kicked off this week and is set to be a major gathering of the world’s economic and financial powers.
Below we have compiled some reasons why Davos 2023 matters.
What is the World Economic Forum?
Founded back in 1971, WEF or Davos as it has become popularly called has a mission of bringing together the private and public sectors to foster co-operation on political, social, and economic issues.
Who attends Davos?
Typically, you can expect to see world leaders rubbing shoulders with captains of industry in a gathering of the who’s who of the one per cent, but celebrities and other public figures have also attended Davos in the past.
Sitting and former US Presidents, climate activist Greta Thunberg, and Elton John are all past attendees of the Davos conference.
The official guest list is between 2,000 and 3,000 but WEF attracts many more people who want to take part in the discussions. It is also the place where companies and sometimes countries set up a roadshow to sell concepts and attract investment.
Why does it matter?
While Davos is never far from critique with many observing the absurdity of asking the wealthy and elite to solve the world’s issues when they are often at the centre of the problems.
Climate change is often on the agenda at Davos but one in ten participants fly to the World Economic Forum on private jets.
Still, WEF has been the site of some significant achievements like an agreement signed in 1988, known as the Davos Agreement, which helped to avert a military conflict between Greece and Turkey.
In 1992, the last president of apartheid South Africa and the soon-to-be next South African president Nelson Mandela made their first joint international appearance at the Davos stage and a year later the pair would share the Nobel Peace Prize.
