Last week, during May 22nd-26th, the World Economic Forum (WEF) held its Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the first in-person WEF meeting since worldwide shutdowns in early 2020. The meeting had been postponed from its original January date due to COVID-19 outbreak.
The World Economic Forum is an international non-governmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, reaching its fiftieth anniversary in 2021. According to its mission statement, the WEF is “independent, impartial, and not tied to any special interests”, with “moral and intellectual integrity . . . at the heart of” its advocacy for ethics in the government and corporate world. The WEF seeks to “forge common understanding, purpose . . . and action” by “bringing together the world’s foremost CEOs, heads of state, ministers and policy-makers, experts and academics, international organizations, youth, technology innovators and representatives of civil society”.
According to the WEF website, a significant portion of discussions at Davos 2022 were dedicated to the conflict in Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials present calling for more aid and support. A former International Monetary Fund economist at the conference designated this conflict a ‘major setback’ to progress following COVID-19, and others declared current global food and energy crises results of its impact. Energy transformation, the environment, and climate change were also on the agenda, as were the future of in-person jobs post-pandemic, technology, and the metaverse. Delegates attended sessions such as “Freedom of the Press”, “Preparing for the Next Pandemic”, “A Conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran”, and “The Four Day Week: Necessity or Luxury?” Attendees, according to a list from the WEF website, included almost 600 Americans, 220 from Switzerland, and a little over 300 from India and the UK combined. Notable delegates included Gates Foundation Co-Chair Bill Gates and U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry, who together launched the First Movers Coalition, aiming to commercialize zero carbon technology. Also present were top executives at Pfizer, PayPal, Bank of America, and Dow Jones; professors and experts from MIT, Columbia, and the University of California, as well as businessman George Soros and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
“We actively invite perspectives from all interested parties,” the forum’s mission reads. " We believe that the world’s challenges can only be solved through engagement with all members of global society”. While the 2022 Annual Meeting acknowledged the world’s struggle with food and energy security, photos show Davos attendees enjoying a massive barbecue at a beautiful mountain venue. In 2016, this organization of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful published an article, 8 predictions for the world in 2030. It featured an ominous prediction: “You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy.” Is the World Economic Forum truly a meeting space where world leaders can discuss working for the greater good? Or is it a gathering of elites seeking to manipulate the global community?
With record-high inflation levels, high gas prices, supply shortages, and parts of the world in COVID-19 lockdowns, this meeting of the world’s top economic and corporate experts comes at a critical time: the world has yet to see the impact of the forum’s actions this year and beyond.
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