- Influential leaders from around the globe to meet in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2020.
- The meeting is centered around the theme Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.
- Nearly 3,000 participants from 117 countries to participate in the 50th Annual Meeting.
The world’s top leaders from politics, business, civil society, academia, media and the arts are set to descend on the Swiss mountain village of Davos for the World Economic Forum’s 50th Annual Meeting from 21-24 January.
The 2020 event will convene nearly 3,000 participants from 117 countries, including 53 heads of state - with US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel among them.
Have you read?
The Forum's Board of Trustees will play an expanded role this year, as co-chairs of Davos 2020.
What’s this year’s meeting about?
The theme for Davos 2020 is Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World, with a focus on renewing the concept of stakeholder capitalism to overcome income inequality, societal division and the climate crisis.
The meeting will be guided by the Forum’s recently released Davos Manifesto 2020, which builds on the original Davos Manifesto of 1973 and lays out a vision for stakeholder capitalism that addresses fair taxation, zero tolerance for corruption and respect for human rights.
“Business has now to fully embrace stakeholder capitalism, which means not only maximizing profits, but use their capabilities and resources in cooperation with governments and civil society to address the key issues of this decade. They have to actively contribute to a more cohesive and sustainable world,” said Forum Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab.
The big conversations
The meeting will focus on six core areas of activity through which stakeholders can advance the mission of creating a more cohesive and sustainable world : Ecology, Economy, Society, Industry, Technology and Geopolitics. These topics will be explored through nearly 400 different sessions, roughly a third of which will be livestreamed to our website.
Who's coming?
Top political leaders taking part include:
Donald Trump, President of the United States of America; Han Zheng, Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China; Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany; Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy; H.R.H. The Prince of Wales; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain; Simonetta Sommaruga, President of the Swiss Confederation; Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; Sebastian Kurz, Federal Chancellor of Austria; Ivan Duque, President of Colombia; Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Lenin Moreno Garcés, President of Ecuador; Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland; Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana; Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece; Barham Salih, President of Iraq; Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach of Ireland; Omar Al Razzaz, Prime Minister of Jordan; Khaltmaagiin Battulga, President of Mongolia; Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana; Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands; Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway; Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan; Mohammad Ibrahim Shtayyeh, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority; Andrzej Duda, President of Poland; Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation; Macky Sall, President of Senegal; Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore; Kais Saied, President of Tunisia; Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.
Leaders from international organizations include:
Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations; Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund; Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO); Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary-General, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); David Beasley, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP); Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Liu Fang, Secretary-General, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO; Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO); Angel Gurría, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank; Peter Maurer, President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank; Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO); Jürgen Stock, Secretary-General, International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL); and Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
More than 1,680 leaders from the private sector will participate in the Annual Meeting this year, including Members and Partners of the World Economic Forum.
Leaders from civil society taking part in the meeting include:
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); Luca Visentini, General Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC); Micah White, Co-Creator, Occupy Wall Street; Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch; Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director, Greenpeace International; David Miliband, President, International Rescue Committee; Seth F. Berkley, Chief Executive Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT); and His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.
This year over 120 of our civic-minded young leaders will join as members of the our Global Shapers, Young Global Leaders, and Social Entrepreneur communities. We will also welcome 10 leaders under the age of 20 representing the viewpoints of younger generations, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. For more information on these young teenage changemakers, click here.
Adding a new dimension this year is the Arts and Culture Festival. Running alongside the Annual Meeting, the Festival will feature a number of sessions and immersive art installations, including those featuring the participation of the winners of the 26th Annual Crystal Awards and our Cultural Leaders.
Key cultural leaders attending this year's meeting include:
Deepika Padukone, Actress and Founder, Live Love Laugh Foundation; will.i.am, Founder and CEO, I.AM.PLUS; Jin Xing, Choreographer and Founder, Jin Xing Dance Theatre Shanghai; Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist and Co-Chair Annual Meeting 2020; Mary Beard, Professor, University of Cambridge; Rena Efendi, Photographer, National Geographic; and Wanuri Kahiu, Filmmaker, AFROBUBBLEGUM.
How do I keep up with the meeting?
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