Criticism

The European Management Forum changed its name to the World Economic Forum in 1987 and sought to broaden its vision further to include providing a platform for resolving international conflicts. Political leaders have used Davos as a neutral platform to resolve their differences. The "Davos Declaration" was signed in 1988 by Greece and Turkey which saw them turn back from the brink of war. In 1992, South African President F. W. de Klerk met Nelson Mandela and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the Annual Meeting, their first joint appearance outside South Africa. At 1994’s Annual Meeting, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a draft agreement on Gaza and Jericho.In 2008 Bill Gates held a keynote speech on ‘Creative Capitalism’ – the form of capitalism that works both to generate profits and solve the world’s inequities, using market forces to better address the needs of the poor. In 2009 a remark by Turkish PM Erdogan that "When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill" to Israeli President Peres.

In the late 1990s the Forum, as well as the G7, World Bank, WTO and the IMF, came under heavy criticism by anti-globalisation activists who claim capitalism and globalization are increasing poverty and destroying the environment. 1500 demonstrators disrupted the World Economic Forum in Melbourne, Australia, obstructing the passage of 200 delegates to the meeting. Demonstrations are repeatedly held in Davosto protest against the meeting of “fat cats in the snow” as rock singer Bono tongue-in-cheek termed it.

Climate change

In the late 1990s the Forum, as well as the G7, World Bank, WTO and the IMF, came under heavy criticism by anti-globalisation activists who claim capitalism and globalization are increasing poverty and destroying the environment. 1500 demonstrators disrupted the World Economic Forum in Melbourne, Australia, obstructing the passage of 200 delegates to the meeting. Demonstrations are repeatedly held in Davosto protest against the meeting of “fat cats in the snow” as rock singer Bono tongue-in-cheek termed it.

In January 2000 1000 protestors marched through Davos and during the demonstrations the window of the local McDonalds was smashed.The tight security measures around Davos have kept demonstrators away from accessing the Alpine resort and most demonstrations are now held in Zürich, Bern or Basel The costs of the security measures which are shared by the Forum and the Swiss cantonal and national authorities have also been frequently criticised in the Swiss national media.

Starting at the Annual Meeting in January 2003 in Davos, an Open Forum Davos was held in parallel with the main Annual Meeting opening up the debate about globalisation to the general public. The Open Forum has been held in the local high school every year featuring top politicians and business leaders and is open to all members of the public free of charge.The Annual Meeting has also been decried as a “mix of pomp and platitude” and criticized for moving away from serious economics and accomplishing little of substance, particularly with the increasing involvement of NGOs that have little or no expertise in economics. Instead of a discussion on the world economy with knowledgeable experts alongside key business and political players, Davos now features the top media political causes of the day (such as global climate change and AIDS in Africa).

Initiatives

The Global Risk Network produces a yearly report assessing those risks which are deemed to be global in scope, 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 multistakeholder approach for mitigation.

The Scenario Planning team develops a range of regional, industry-focused and issue-specific scenario reports designed to challenge readers' assumptions, raise awareness of critical underlying factors and stimulate fresh thinking about the future.[39] Recent reports include a major publication on possible near- and long-term impacts of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, The Future of the Global Financial System: A Near-Term Outlook and Long-Term Scenarios and scenarios on the impact of demographic shifts on pension and healthcare financing, Financing Demographic Shifts: Pension and Healthcare Scenarios to 2030.

The Global Health Initiative (GHI) was launched by Kofi Annan at the Annual Meeting in 2002. The GHI’s mission is to engage businesses in public-private partnerships to tackle HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and Health Systems.Henry Kissinger, the chief architect of Chile's violent military coup in 1973, at the World Economic Forum's 'India Economic Summit', November, 2008, New Delhi.The Global Education Initiative (GEI), launched during the Annual Meeting in 2003, has brought together international IT companies and governments in Jordan, Egypt and India which has resulted in new PC hardware in the classrooms and more local teachers trained in e-learning. This is having a real impact on the lives of children. The GEI model which is scalable and sustainable is now being used as an educational blueprint in other countries including Rwanda.

The Competitiveness Team

The Forum also serves as a think tank and publishes a wide range of reports which focused on issues of concern and importance to Forum communities. In particular, the Forum's 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) measures competitiveness of countries and economies; The Global Information Technology Report (2001) assesses their competitiveness based on their IT readiness; the Global Gender Gap Report (2005) examines critical areas of inequality between men and women; the Global Risks Report (2006) assesses key global risks; the Global Travel and Tourism Report (2007) measures travel and tourism competitiveness and the Global Enabling Trade Report (2008) presents a cross-country analysis of the large number of measures facilitating trade between nations.

The Global Risk Network produces a yearly report assessing those risks which are deemed to be global in scope, 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 multistakeholder approach for mitigation

Social Entrepreneurs

Tyler Brûlé, Patrick Chappatte, Olafur Eliasson, Diego Frausto Rahul Gandhi, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Tariq Krim, Irshad Manji, Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Aditya Mittal, Gavin Newsom, Larry Page, Andrea Sanke, Anoushka Shankar, Peter Thiel, Karim Meïssa Wade, Jimmy Wales, Niklas Zennström et al. New members are selected on a yearly basis and the Forum of Young Global Leaders will count 1111 members.

Since 2000, the Forum has been promoting models developed by the world’s leading social entrepreneurs in close collaboration with the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. The Foundation highlights social entrepreneurship as a key element to advance societies and address social problems. Selected social entrepreneurs are invited to participate in the regional meetings and the Annual Meetings of the Forum where they have a chance to meet chief executives and senior government officials. At the Annual Meeting 2003, for example, Jeroo Bilimoria met Roberto Blois, deputy secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, an encounter that produced a key partnership for her organization Child Helpline International

The Forum also serves as a think tank and publishes a wide range of reports which focused on issues of concern and importance to Forum communities. In particular, the Forum's Strategic Insight Teams focus on producing reports of relevance in the fields of competitiveness, global risks and scenario thinking.

Young Global Leaders

Regional meetings

Every year some ten regional meetings take place, enabling close contact between 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, but China and India have hosted consistently over the past decade.

In 2005 the Forum has established the community of Young Global Leaders, successor to the Global Leaders of Tomorrow consisting of under 40 year old leaders from all around the world and a myriad of disciplines and sectors. The leaders engage in the ‘2030 Initiative’ - the creation of an action plan for how to reach the vision of what the world could be like in 2030. Among the Young Global Leaders are:[29] Among the Young Global Leaders are Shai Agassi, Anousheh Ansari, Maria Consuelo Araujo, Sergey Brin, Tyler Brûlé, Patrick Chappatte, Olafur Eliasson, Diego Frausto Rahul Gandhi, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Silvana Koch-Mehrin, Tariq Krim, Irshad Manji, Princess Mathilde of Belgium, Aditya Mittal, Gavin Newsom, Larry Page, Andrea Sanke, Anoushka Shankar, Peter Thiel, Karim Meïssa Wade, Jimmy Wales, Niklas Zennström et al. New members are selected on a yearly basis and the Forum of Young Global Leaders will count 1111 members

Annual Meeting of the New Champions

Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Bono, Paulo Coelho and Tony Blair are also regular Davos attendees. Past attendees include Angela Merkel, Dmitry Medvedev, Henry Kissinger, Nelson Mandela, Raymond Barre, and Yasser Arafat.

The participants at the Annual Meeting were described as “Davos Man” by Samuel Huntington, referring to a global elite whose members view themselves as completely international.

In 2007, the Forum established the “Annual Meeting of the New Champions” (also sometimes called "Summer Davos") held annually in China. This is a meeting for what the Forum calls the “Global Growth Companies”. These are business champions primarily from rapidly growing emerging countries, such as China, India, Russia and Brazil but also including fast movers from developed countries. The meeting also engages with the next generation of global leaders, fast-growing regions, competitive cities and technology pioneers from around the globe.