Record number of participants at the Davos Economic Forum
2023.01.15 00:53
Record number of participants at the Davos Economic Forum
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – As the World Economic Forum returns to its winter time slot, a record number of business and government leaders will gather in Davos, Switzerland, next week to discuss issues such as environmental collapse and the slowdown of the global economy.
The forum insists that it has the power to bring decision-makers together in a world facing multiple crises and growing geopolitical mistrust, despite being labeled by some as a talking shop for the wealthy that only contributes to the global carbon footprint.
“We are all stuck in a crisis mindset,” WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab told a news conference before the meeting about a world dealing with the Ukraine war, climate change, and simultaneous shortages of energy and food.
In 2020, just days before the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global health emergency, the last winter Davos gathering was held in person. The event in 2021 was virtual, and the one in 2016 was moved from January to May due to an increase in infections.
Schwab stated that a week-long series of informal gatherings, events, and discussion panels titled “Cooperation in a Fragmented World” should “help to shift that mindset.”
Despite the Russian delegation’s absence, organizers anticipated a “high-level” Chinese presence and hailed a record-breaking turnout in terms of number and diversity.
Along with 56 finance ministers, 19 governors of the central bank, 30 trade ministers, and 35 foreign ministers, 52 heads of state and government will attend. Among the 39 international agency heads will be the heads of the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations.
The high-end ski resort will host the most businesses ever, with more than 600 CEOs and 1,500 business leaders, including the most female executives ever.
Short-term issues like how to avoid a global recession in 2023 and how to prevent a failing global effort to combat climate change from being further hampered by the energy crunch caused by the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia are expected to be the focus of the discussions.
According to the organizers, several sessions on the war would be held, and Ukraine, which dominated the forum last year, would send a higher-level delegation.
There will be debate regarding the significance of reskilling workforces, creating jobs that are appropriately compensated, and overcoming gaps in gender parity and racial equity as advanced economies around the world struggle with tight labor markets.
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