THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM… NOT JUST DAVOSFROM ITS ORIGINS TO THE PRESENT DAY: CHARACTERISTICS, INTERESTING FACTS AND MUCH MORE ABOUT THE MOSTIMPORTANT MEETING OF GOVERNMENTS, ENTREPRENEURS AND INTELLECTUALS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

January 2017

WHAT IS THE WEF?

The World Economic Forum (WEF), better known as the ‘Davos Forum’, is an international non-for-profit organisation committed to ‘improving the state of the world’. At Davos institutions and private entities discuss global topics, examine problems and search for possible solutions.The WEF is independent, impartial, non-political and not tied to any special interests.Its mission? To be a place in which to debate/compare issues; a catalyst of the thoughts of leaders in all important sectors so as to lay the foundation for public-private cooperation.Our culture? No-one is completely independent; every stakeholder is accountable for its actions to all parts of society and has a duty to help find a satisfactory solution to the problems on the global agenda.

THE DEBUT

Why Switzerland? Not (just) for the breathtaking beauty of its landscape, but because it was a neutral country (and therefore safer).That year Prof. Schwab founded the ‘European Management Forum’, with headquarters in Geneva. This led to the Davos meetings becoming annual event.In 1974 the Forum began to change: it wasn’t just managers and business leaders who met to discuss the energy crisis, but also politicians and governments.

In the summer of 1971, the economist and engineer Prof. Klaus Schwab organised the first ‘European management symposium’ in the Swiss al-pine village of Davos. It was sponsored by the European Commission with the contri-bution of the most important industrial associations in Eu-rope. The meetings initially focused on how European firms could catch up with US management practices.

AS THE YEARS GO BY...

The Foundation has a permanent structure and a Statute; then its activities began to develop and involve more than just the annual meeting in Davos.In 1987 it changed its name to the World Economic Forum (WEF). Its headquarters are still in Switzerland (Cologny), but it has opened two subsidiaries in New York and Peking.The WEF is guided by a Board of Trustees - twelve exceptional individuals and outstanding leaders from the world of business, universities, civil society, etc. Al Gore, Christine Lagarde and Luis Alberto Moreno are just three of its members.Board members are the guardians of its mission and values and oversee the Forum’s work.

AND THE WEF EXPANDS

The WEF currently has approximately 1,000 affiliated businesses; most are multinationals interested in contributing to shaping the political, social and economic agenda of the countries in which they operate; the WEF affiliation fee varies according to each member’s level of involvement. There are strategic partners (€500,000 per annum!) as well as sectoral and regional partners.The WEF is social: it has accounts on Facebook, Twitter and also Linkedin.

DAVOS

The most important activity of the WEF still remains the winter Forum in Davos, a marathon of meetings lasting a total of five days, strictly behind closed doors. During the Forum the top managers of the WEF’s affiliated businesses pay a quota of roughly $25,000 to meet with political and NGO leaders, scientists, civil society leaders and religious leaders to discuss key topics of global concern: international geo-political conflicts, economic issues, the environment, etc.Approximately 200 meetings take place in those five days; making head or tail of these chaotic events is so complicated that each year the participants are not given a programme, but a book, a sort of ‘survival handbook’. Accredited journalists are not allowed to follow the meetings in person but from a building some distance from the main Congress Centre. To shuttle to and fro they must use the caddy provided to them.

HOW TO ARRIVE AND FIND ONE’S WAY IN THE LABYRINTHINE MEANDERS OF THE WEF

In a helicopter? Congratulations, you’ve made it!In your car? Don’t be depressed, it’s still a sign of distinction.With the small panoramic (and every expensive) train? It shows you have taste and you’re not doing too badly!With the free shuttle from Zurich airport? Oh well, what’s important, after all, is to get there!

Davos is a real labyrinth: the Congress Centre has meeting rooms and several work areas. But that’s not all.There’s a nuclear fallout shelter! It was built during the Cold War and up until recently most of the working journalists were packed into this room.And don’t forget the Prayer Room...

HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE IN DAVOS

The WEF is an event that succeeds in bringing together the ‘most powerful men in the world’ (chiefly from western countries). It is thanks to its participants that Davos has often been a place where important historical events have taken place. A few examples:

1988: the ‘Davos Declaration’ signed by Greece and Turkey, a key step towards détente between the two countries.1989: North and South Korea held their first ministerial-level meetings in Davos.1994: Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat signed a framework agreement on Gaza and Jericho.

HISTORIC STATEMENTS IN DAVOS

Important speeches have been made, the kind that leave a lingering mark, and several statements have remained impressed in people’s memory. Here are a few of them: ‘Goals are only wishes unless you have a plan’ Melinda Gates.‘Acting is a humanising profession. I’m forced, by the nature of my job, to be somebody else’ Kevin Spacey.‘A degree of volatility is OK. The market sorts things out eventually’ Christine Lagarde.

And this year?The Chinese President Xi compared protectionism to ‘locking yourself in a dark room’ in that ‘you keep out wind and rain, but also air and light’. He also added ‘no-one will win a trade war’. Should he have added: ‘But China is a winner in any trade peace’.Without naming the U.S. president-elect, Xi told participants: ‘We are not jealous of the success of others. We will open our arms to other countries’.

The priceless statement about Brexit by Wolfang Scäuble, the German Finance Minister. He cited an old German aphorism and translated it directly into English (terrorising his collaborators): ‘You never eat as hot as it is cooked’. Referring to May’s bluff (?) about threatening to lower taxes in Great Britain and turn the island into a new Singapore.

‘I wrote a political and economics essay in FAZ that was 25,000 characters [but] the replies I got were on Twitter − 140 characters’. Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern feeling the pain of becoming a politician in the age of populism.This is how Arnold Trump, an anonymous former head of state, defined Trump ‘He isn’t the Terminator. He’s the Disintegrator’.The place of honour goes to Padoan. ‘The problem in Europe is Europe’: Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told WEF delegates, including Christine Lagarde, with whom he shared a stage, that there is a tendency to say, ‘our problems are generated in Brussels or sometimes in Frankfurt,’ but that while populists may not be ‘giving the right answers, they are raising the right issues’. Angry for the European Commission letter?

IT’S TIME FOR SOME INTERESTING FACTS

Speed datingHow long does a one-on-one meeting last? Half an hour, not more. There are (almost) no exceptions. It’s a sort of speed dating between successful middle-aged individuals all a bit jetlagged and groggy.

Too many people? Yes, but how difficult it is to meet! Participants cannot wander freely around the Congress Centre, on the contrary. The security system is so tight that the participants’ right to circulate depends on the colour of their badge. It’s practically a caste system.The best badge? White, reserved for Heads of State and Government, and then badges that are gradually darker in colour.

Doing anything tonight?Meetings, assemblies and considera-tions about chief world systems during the day... partying by night! Apparently the top party is always organised by Google on Wednesday night. But not this year.The prize for best party was assigned to RED nightcap with Bill Gates in Schtzalp. Better than the one with Shakira!Hotel Europe and its obnoxious bar with Barry Colson playing the piano is always people’s favourite night stop before going to bed.

A little high lifePeople who go to Davos don’t only meet politicians and entrepreneurs, but also actors, singers and sports champions. Bono (U2) and Leonardo Di Caprio are just two of those who have passed through. This year: Shakira, Matt Damon, Michael Johnson, the Black Eyed Peas, Jamie Oliver, Gillian Anderson (X-Files). Has the Davos-man become an alien? It looks that way!

CRITICS OF THE WEF MAINTAIN THAT...

Not everyone likes the WEF; in fact it always attracts profound criticism.

The ‘NO GLOBAL’ movementThey maintain it celebrates capitalism, the root cause of world poverty and environmental pollution. On several occasions the no global movement has demonstrated in Davos against the WEF. However this year there were almost no demonstrators. Only a small one organised by the (local) Green party in Davos Platz at around 4pm on Wednesday.

NGOs and defenders of Human RightsIn fact many partners, guests and financial sponsors of the WEF are accused of violating the fundamental rights of numerous populations.

Kenneth RogoffThe professor at Harvard and former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund says that Davos always gets it wrong: incorrect forecasts? e.g., Hillary Clinton’s defeat, Brexit, and even the outcome of the Italian referendum on December 4th.

Too little economySeveral detractors maintain that, especially in recent years, the high life aspects of the Davos meetings have taken centre stage to the detriment of what it was originally meant to be: an economic forum. In particular, the issues on recent agendas are less to do with economics and more to do with topics that are far more interesting for the mass media and comprehensible for a large audience. In addition, more and more people who attract media attention have been invited to attend.

WHAT WILL WE REMEMBER ABOUT THE WEF 2017?

China’s first time at Davos. Chinese President Xi Jinping sounded more Silicon Valley than single-party Communist leader at times during his opening keynote speech If Xi wanted his carefully calibrated and reassuring remarks to contrast sharply with the style of President Donald Trump, he succeeded, in a speech peppered with quotes from Dickens, Chinese proverbs and his own jokes. Read the speech in full here.Barack Obama’s last time at DavosAlbeit not in the flesh, instead he sent Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry.Trump didn’t goBut was everywhere: in speeches, in his tweets from the Trump Tower, in the corridors. He didn’t send any of ‘his’ men. Except for the founder of SkyBridge Capital, the multimillionaire Anthony Scaramucci, now one of the new President’s top advisors nicknamed ‘the Trump whisperer’.

Which important politicians were missing?❯  Angela Merkel who this year said nein;❯  Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission; not an issue since he never goes to Davos.

Theresa May The first British Minister arrived on Wednesday to talk to leaders of the financial community. After Brexit, she wants Great Britain to play ‘a new leadership role’ and said she valued financial services in the city of London and wanted to ensure they remained there.The Russians, the new Russians. They don’t dominate Davos as they did in the old days, yet they’re not persona non grata like they were immediately after the conflict in Ukraine broke out in 2014.

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