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World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum logo.svg
World Economic Forum headquarters (cropped).jpg
Headquarters in Cologny, Switzerland
Formation 24 January 1971; 54 years ago (1971-01-24)
Founder Klaus Schwab
Type International NGO, lobbying organisation
Legal status Foundation
Purpose Influencing global agendas and decision making, lobbying for public-private cooperation
Headquarters Cologny, Switzerland
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
President
Børge Brende
Formerly called
European Management Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer Klaus Schwab.

The foundation's stated mission is "improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas".

The foundation is mostly funded by its 1,000 member multi-national companies.

The WEF is mostly known for its annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland. The meeting brings together some 3,000 paying members and selected participants – among whom are investors, business leaders, political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists – for up to five days to discuss global issues across 500 sessions.

Aside from Davos, the organization convenes regional conferences, it produces a series of reports, engages its members in sector-specific initiatives and provides a platform for leaders from selected stakeholder groups to collaborate on projects and initiatives.

20th Anniversary Schwab Foundation Gala Dinner (43075411050)
Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman, World Economic Forum

Organization

Headquartered in Cologny, the WEF also has offices in New York, Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul. In January 2015, it was designated an NGO with "other international body" status by the Swiss Federal Government under the Swiss Host-State Act.

On 10 October 2016, the WEF announced the opening of its new Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco. According to the WEF, the center will "serve as a platform for interaction, insight and impact on the scientific and technological changes that are changing the way we live, work and relate to one another".

The World Economic Forum declares that it is impartial and that it is not tied to any political, partisan, or national interests. Until 2012, it had observer status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council; it is under the supervision of the Swiss Federal Council. The foundation's highest governance body is the foundation board.

The managing board is chaired by the WEF's president, Børge Brende, and acts as the executive body of the World Economic Forum. Managing board members are Børge Brende, Julien Gattoni, Jeremy Jurgens, Adrian Monck, Sarita Nayyar, Olivier M. Schwab, Saadia Zahidi, and Alois Zwinggi.

Board of trustees

The WEF was chaired by founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab until his departure in 2025 and is guided by a board of trustees that is made up of leaders from business, politics, academia and civil society.

Membership

The foundation is funded by its 1,000 member companies, typically global enterprises with more than five billion dollars in turnover (varying by industry and region). These enterprises rank among the top companies within their industry and/or country and play a leading role in shaping the future of their industry and/or region. Membership is stratified by the level of engagement with forum activities, with the level of membership fees increasing as participation in meetings, projects, and initiatives rises. In 2011, an annual membership cost $52,000 for an individual member, $263,000 for "Industry Partner" and $527,000 for "Strategic Partner". An admission fee costs $19,000 per person. In 2014, WEF raised annual fees by 20 percent, bringing the cost for "Strategic Partner" from CHF 500,000 ($523,000) to CHF 600,000 ($628,000).

Activities

Annual meeting in Davos

Ettinger Sport during WEF2018
A sports shop has turned into a temporary informal reception location "Caspian Week", WEF 2018.

The flagship event of the World Economic Forum is the invitation-only annual meeting held at the end of January in Davos, Switzerland, bringing together chief executive officers from its 1,000 member companies, as well as selected politicians, representatives from academia, NGOs, religious leaders, and the media in an alpine environment. The winter discussions ostensibly focus around key issues of global concern (such as the globalization, capital markets, wealth management, international conflicts, environmental problems and their possible solutions). The participants also take part in role playing events, such as the Investment Heat Map. Informal winter meetings may have led to as many ideas and solutions as the official sessions.

Summer annual meeting

In 2007, the foundation established the Annual Meeting of the New Champions (also called Summer Davos), held annually in China, alternating between Dalian and Tianjin, bringing together 1,500 participants from what the foundation calls Global Growth Companies, primarily from rapidly growing emerging countries such as China, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil, but also including quickly growing companies from developed countries. The meeting also engages with the next generation of global leaders from fast-growing regions and competitive cities, as well as technology pioneers from around the globe. The premier of China has delivered a plenary address at each annual meeting.

Regional meetings

India in the New Global Reality Economic Summit 2011
Prithviraj Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra, India; Sudha Pilay, member-secretary, Planning Commission, India; and Ben Verwaayen, chief executive officer, Alcatel-Lucent, France, were the co-chairs of the India Economic Summit 2011 in Mumbai.

Every year regional meetings take place, enabling close contact among corporate business leaders, local government leaders, and NGOs. Meetings are held in Africa, East Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The mix of hosting countries varies from year to year.

Young Global Leaders

The group of Young Global Leaders consists of 800 people chosen by the WEF organizers as being representative of contemporary leadership. After five years of participation they are considered alumni.

Social entrepreneurs

Since 2000, the WEF has been promoting models developed by those in close collaboration with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, highlighting social entrepreneurship as a key element to advance societies and address social problems. Selected social entrepreneurs are invited to participate in the foundation's regional meetings and the annual meetings where they may meet chief executives and senior government officials. At the annual meeting 2003, for example, Jeroo Billimoria met with Roberto Blois, deputy secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, an encounter that produced a key partnership for her organization Child helpline international.

Research reports

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy World Economic Forum 2013
Two-time Academy Award winner, Pakistani journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at WEF in 2013

The foundation also acts as a think tank, publishing a wide range of reports. In particular, "Strategic Insight Teams" focus on producing reports of relevance in the fields of competitiveness, global risks, and scenario thinking.

The "Competitiveness Team" produces a range of annual economic reports (first published in brackets): the Global Competitiveness Report (1979) measured competitiveness of countries and economies; The Global Information Technology Report (2001) assessed their competitiveness based on their IT readiness; the Global Gender Gap Report examined critical areas of inequality between men and women; the Global Risks Report (2006) assessed key global risks; the Global Travel and Tourism Report (2007) measured travel and tourism competitiveness; the Financial Development Report (2008) aimed to provide a comprehensive means for countries to establish benchmarks for various aspects of their financial systems and establish priorities for improvement; and the Global Enabling Trade Report (2008) presented a cross-country analysis of the large number of measures facilitating trade among nations.

The "Risk Response Network" produces a yearly report assessing risks which are deemed to be within the scope of these teams, have cross-industry relevance, are uncertain, have the potential to cause upwards of US$10 billion in economic damage, have the potential to cause major human suffering, and which require a multi-stakeholder approach for mitigation.

In 2020, the forum published a report entitled Nature Risk Rising: Why the Crisis Engulfing Nature Matters for Business and the Economy. In this report the forum estimated that approximately half of global GDP is highly or moderately dependent on nature (the same as IPBES's 2019 assessment report). The report also found that 1 dollar spent on nature restoration yields 9 dollars in economic benefits.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Foro Económico Mundial para niños

  • 2009 Davos incident
  • Antalya Diplomacy Forum
  • Asian Leadership Conference
  • Bilderberg Meeting
  • Boao Forum for Asia
  • Davos process
  • Eurofi
  • European Business Summit
  • Event 201
  • Group of 3
  • Horasis
  • International Transport Forum
  • St. Petersburg International Economic Forum
  • World Knowledge Forum
  • World Social Forum
  • World Youth Forum
  • Alliance for Responsible Citizenship
  • St. Gallen Symposium
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