Context

Davos Summit 2024: The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) was held in Davos, Switzerland.

About Davos Summit 2024: Theme, Actions, and Agenda

• Participation: During this event, delegates from global business, government, civil society, media, and academia converge to discuss the most pressing issues of the day.

• The theme for Davos Summit 2024: The 2024 edition of the annual meeting will be centred on rebuilding trust in an environment of rapid transformation. 
  • The world is undergoing rapid changes due to the climate crisis, and rapid advancement of technologies such as artificial intelligence.
• Actions: In this regard, delegates at the meet will explore themes such as reforming multilateral approaches, leveraging AI for the benefit of all members of society, upholding the momentum from COP28, and maintaining an open trade system. 
• The 2024 Agenda: The agenda for WEF this year will be focused on building resilience for the next generation, reimagining globalization, rewiring for AI, navigating the green transition, and addressing the empowerment gap and economic inclusion.
• India’s Participating Contingent: The Indian contingent will be led by Smriti Irani, Minister of Women & Child Development along with Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Housing & Urban Affairs, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics & IT and RK Singh, Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

• Awards Given During the Davos Summit 2024

  • Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre Elba were honoured with the 2023 Crystal Award for their leadership in addressing food security, climate change, and environmental conservation.
  • Renée Fleming was given the 2023 Crystal Award for championing the power of music and its relation to health, community, and culture. 
  • Maya Lin was honoured with the 2023 Crystal Award for her extraordinary creative talent in combining science, art, and architecture and her exemplary leadership in the promotion of nature and environment.

• Major Reports Released During the Davos Summit 2024

  • Global Risk Report 2024
  • The Future of Growth Report 2024
  • Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2024
  • Global Gender Gap Report 2024
  • Global Travel and Tourism Report 2024
  • World Energy Outlook 2024

• Key Take-Aways of Davos Summit 2024

• • US recession: Experts have opined that a recession in the US looks unlikely in 2024 due to economic measures taken by the US Fed.
  • Absence of Talks about Global Clashes: There have been no talks about the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza as it may create a political divide. There has also been an absence of conversations about the rise of global antisemitism.
  • Opinion on AI: Industry stakeholders are increasingly optimistic about the role AI will play in the future. However, they do not believe that AI will threaten the existence of humans.
  • Tackle Climate Change: There has been an overwhelming view that Swift and decisive leadership, as well as urgent action, is needed to combat the climate crisis and ensure energy security.

About the World Economic Forum

• Founded in 1971, the World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on promoting cooperation between the public and private sectors.
  • Headquartered in Cologny-Geneva, the WEF was founded by German economist Klaus Schwab.
• Mandate: The main goal of the forum is to foster a spirit of collaborative entrepreneurship to address global issues and shape governmental, industry, and social agendas.
• WEF Meet: Every January, WEF brings together some of its paying members and selected participants such as investors, business leaders, economists, political leaders, celebrities, and journalists to discuss global issues across 500 sessions.
• Origin
  • Founded in 1971 as European Management Forum, the organisation changed its name to the World Economic Forum in the year 1987.
  • The initial meeting under its aegis was held by the European Commission and European industrial associations to introduce European firms to American management practices.
  • After the collapse of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate mechanism and the Arab-Israeli War in 1973, the world witnessed the Annual Meeting of WEF expand its focus from management to economic and social issues.
  • In 1975, the WEF introduced a system of membership for the 1,000 leading companies of the world.
  • Since 2015, the World Economic Forum has been formally recognised as an international organization.
• Structure: The WEF headquarters is located in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland, and also has its offices in New York, Beijing and Tokyo.
  • The Swiss Federal government, under the Swiss Host-State Act, designated WEF as an NGO with ‘other international body’ status.
• Funding: The WEF is funded by member companies that are global enterprises having more than five billion dollars in turnover. 
• Major Reports of WEF: The Global Competitiveness Report, the Global Gender Gap Report, the Global Risk Report, the Energy Transition Index, Global Travel and Tourism Report are some of the famous reports.
• Famous Achievements of WEF
  • The G20: The concept of G20 emerged after the WEF emphasized the need to involve major developing countries in global decision-making.
  • South African Political Transition: In 1992, South African President de Klerk, political leader Nelson Mandela, and Zulu prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi met for the first time outside South Africa, signalling a political transition.
  • Korean Normalisation: The first step towards normalisation of ties between North and South Korea occurred during the first ministerial-level meetings in Davos.
  • Reunification of Germany: Germany, which was divided into east and west, began reunification talks when the East German Prime Minister and German Chancellor met at WEF.

Significance of the World Economic Forum

• Vaccine Initiatives: The WEF has worked towards securing vaccine supplies for global emergencies and pandemics, and to research about new vaccines for tropical diseases.
• Fight against Pandemic: The WEF launched the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in 2017, which is a global initiative to fight epidemics.
• Water Management: The WEF will bring together diverse stakeholders to develop public-private partnerships on water management in vulnerable countries.
• Environmental Protection: The WEF has launched the ‘Environment and Natural Resource Security Initiative’ to achieve inclusive economic growth and sustainable practices for global industries.  
• Biodiversity Studies: The WEF has launched the Earth BioGenome Project in 2018, with the aim of sequencing the genomes of every organism on Earth.
• Global Pollution: The World Economic Forum is working towards addressing the issue of pollution, especially to eliminate plastic pollution.
• Climate Change: The WEF has initiated the Trillion Tree Campaign to grow, restore, and conserve 1 trillion trees over the next 10 years around the world in order to restore biodiversity and help fight climate change.
• Renewable Energy: The WEF has been making efforts to expand renewable energy, energy efficiency and change the patterns of consumption for removing carbon from the atmosphere.

Criticism of World Economic Forum

• Interference in Governance: The WEF has been criticised for enabling corporate capture of global and democratic institutions.
• Environment Footprint: The detractors of WEF state that the environmental footprint of its annual meetings is very high.
• Whitewashing: The WEF has been globally criticised for its institutional whitewashing initiatives, to present harmful industries in a positive way.
• Cost of Security: The summit brings together some of the world’s most celebrities, which will raise the public cost of security.
• Tax-exemption Status: The WEF enjoys a tax-free status despite having economic interests as well as profits through its memberships.
• Lack of Transparency: It is being alleged that WEF does not employ financial transparency in its operations.
• Inequality in Wealth: Global critics argue that WEF has not done enough to address growing inequalities and wealth gaps.
• Promote Neologism: The WEF has helped in the emergence of a section of people known as neologists, who have little need for national loyalty, view national boundaries as obstacles, and see national governments as being for facilitating the elite’s global operations.
• Gender Underrepresentation: There has been a series of allegations that WEF has low representation for women delegates and speakers.
• Invitation Criteria: There is unclear criteria for invitations to the annual meeting and programmes of the World Economic Forum.

Conclusion 

The WEF may not be a legitimate global organisation but nevertheless, it has the potential to create consensus between global stakeholders and ensure they work together for a better world.