NEW YORK, Jan 21: Leaders in politics and business are gathering in the mountain resort of Davos in Switzerland ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting that will start from Tuesday.
With around 350 sessions, 180 of which are webcast, the Davos 2019 programme covers a range of topics, from the global economy to the climate crisis, from the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its impact on society through to the importance of meditation and mindfulness.
The annual meeting of World Economic Forum is scheduled to start from Tuesday 22 January to Friday 25 January. The meeting will host more than 3,000 participants from 115 economies.
The theme for 2019 annual meeting is Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’, reports ABC News.
This year the World Economic Forum has taken up on two major trends – global cooperation challenges, and changes as a result of the high-tech digital revolution.
Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chief Executive of the World Economic Forum, explained:
?This fourth wave of globalization needs to be human-centred, inclusive and sustainable. We are entering a period of profound global instability brought on by the technological disruption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the realignment of geo-economics and geopolitical forces.
“We need principals from all stakeholder groups in Davos to summon the imagination and commitment necessary to tackle it,? he added.
The conversations covered will include geopolitics in a multiconceptual world, the future of the economy, industry systems and technology policy, risk resilience to promote systems thinking, human capital and society, and global institutional reform.
According to Professor Adrienne S?rbom, author of “Discreet Power: How the World Economic Forum Shapes Market Agendas, Around 60 percent of Davos attendees will be representatives of the World Economic Forum’s major donors known as industry affiliates
IHS Markit economist and 10-time attendee Nariman Behravesh said ?In terms of economists there are about half a dozen that they keep inviting back.There are a lot of really good economists in the U.S. and the U.K. and elsewhere that don’t get invited. I don’t really understand why they bring people to say essentially the same thing they said the last year and the year before.?
The World Economic Forum is an exclusive affair and tickets often cost thousands of dollars. It’s also been accused of ?serving the elite,? according to Behravesh.
A number of famous faces, however, will be present. Prince William is expected to talk about mental health. The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, will address a ?range of topics? and Sir David Attenborough will discuss biodiversity. They will be joined by Winnie Byanyima, head of Oxfam International, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro will also join.
(UNI)
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