Guide to Davos 2012

The World Economic Forum probably needs no introduction. Some of the World's most important people from all walks of life like business, politics, intellectuals as well as journalists unite every year to discuss important and pressing issues related from sectors like health as well as the environment

We at IBEF have put together a guide to the World Economic forum that gives you a quick break down of the 4 W's of the World Economic forum namely

What does the WEF stand for - How the WEF got its name and origins.
Who- Profile of WEF visitors and Famous people who have attended the WEF
Which issues are discussed at the WEF?
Where - Regional meetings of the World Economic forum
If you had heard about the Would Economic Forum but never knew much about it, this is your chance to get informed.

W.E.F full form, origins & how did it start?

The seeds of the W.E.F were sown in 1971 when Klaus Schwab a business professor started the European Management Forum. The name WEF was coined a lot later in 1987 when it became the World Economic Forum.

Initially created with an aim of introducing European companies to American business practices, the scope of the W.E.F widened to focus on more Global issues as well as a place to resolve international conflicts. Notable events at the W.E.F include the signing of the Davos Declaration that saved Greece and Turkey from going to war as well as Bill Gates speaking on creative capitalism.

Who Attends the WEF?

Since the scope of the World Economic Forum has increased to encompass a wide range of issues and topics, the visitor profile at the WEF is fairly diverse with a majority being business leaders. Detailed stats on the profile of visitors to the World Economic Forum are as follows.

64% are Business Leaders
11% Media Leaders
12% are Public figures
8% Academia Leaders
2% Heads of NGOs
Famous People at the World Economic Forum

With the World Economic Forum occupying a mercurial position from a global perspective, it has seen its fair share of Famous people gracing this influential platform. Key people who have Spoken at a the WEF are as follows

Bill Gates - in 2008, William H Gates Chairman, Microsoft Corporation, USA (popularly known as Bill Gates) gave his keynote on creative capitalism. With his theory, as opposed to pure capitalism, he advocated an approach where governments, businesses, and nonprofits work together to stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or gain recognition, doing work that eases the world's inequities. His theory has found a lot of followers and is being looked upon as viable model of capitalism. Catch the video here.

Bono - Lead singer of the famous Irish rock band U2, Bono attended on quite a few occasions. In 2011, Bono was part of a panel which was called Raising Healthy Children. He talks extensively about his solution RED and they were able to save 6000 lives daily though their initiatives since 2004. Bono also speaks on how it's important for a stronger resolve from governments to make a bigger difference.

Nelson Mandela - Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela addressed the World Economic Forum discussing South Africa's challenges in Global society. He touched upon the areas of progress as well as the challenges South Africa had in front of them and how important it is to include Africa in the world economy.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar - A well known spiritual leader from India, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has spoken at the World Economic Forum on multiple occasions. In 2011, he spoke on issues focusing on emphasizing human values and unity among people.

Other Famous personalities at the World Economic Forum include

Al Gore
Tony Blair
Queen Raina
Michael Wolf
Bill Clinton
Which issues are discussed at the World Economic Forum (WEF)?

With a myriad of issues being discussed at the WEF, it's pretty hard to put those issues into straight jacketed categories. However, the issues being discussed broadly pertain to the following

Economic growth - with the global economy in an unknown and unfamiliar territory due to the financial crisis, the World Economic Forum will be focusing towards the goal of building as well as sustainment of Economic growth. Also important, the WEF wants to spawn innovative thinking and rethink infrastructure development along with encouraging movement of people and trade.
Financial Growth- keeping the international financial crisis in perspective, the WEF will be looking at options for strengthening global financial systems on a priority. The scope of options and solutions include focus on alternative investments, financial systems development, better financial governance as well as sustainable lending.
Health for All- with one of the primary issues of the World Economic Forum being health, it focuses improving health via activities like dialogue, advocacy as well as action and by leveraging strong partnerships.
Environmental Sustainability - with one in six people not having access to food and nutrition, this issue is important to the World Economic Forum, the WEF is looking at solutions which can help in this context.
Social Development - the WEF believes that only looking at economic progress and ignoring social development is not an option that is feasible. Keeping in mind this concept and the motto of "entrepreneurship in the global public interest", the World Economic Forum discusses issues related to social development and looks at solution, opportunities and possibilities related to this segment
Where and when do the Regional meetings of WEF take place?

Though it started in Davos, the World Economic Forum has expanded to ten regional meetings which take place that enable the local government leaders, prominent business personalities as well as NGOs interact with each other. The mix of the countries hosting the regional meetings does vary on an annual basis but India and China have featured regularly from the last decade.

A date wise breakdown of the Regional WEF events are given as follows

Upcoming Events in the World Economic Forum 2012

22nd - 29th January 2012 Switzerland
16th - 18th April 2012 Mexico
27th - 29th April 2012 Brazil
9th - 11th May 2012 Ethiopia
30th May - 1st June 2012 Thailand
4th - 6th June 2012 Turkey
11th -13th June 2012 China
Previous Events

27th - 29th April 2011 Brazil
27th - 29th April 2011 South Africa
12th - 13th June 2011 Indonesia
10th - 11th October 2011 UAE
21st -23rd October 2011 Jordan
12th - 14th November 2011 India
Conclusion

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