Davos – the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting
CISL’s Chief Executive Officer, Lindsay Hooper, will be attending Davos. What is Davos, who attends and and what is the focus this year?
What is Davos?
Davos, Switzerland, is where the World Economic Forum (WEF) holds its annual meeting. A highly curated group of delegates from global business, government, civil society, media, and academia converge on this Swiss town to reflect on the state of the world, address key global and regional challenges, and discuss priorities for the year ahead.
What is the focus of Davos 2025?
The 2025 annual meeting will focus on ‘Collaboration for the intelligent age’ with representatives from over 100 governments, all major international organisations and 1,000 of the most important global companies.
As reflected in WEF’s 2025 Global Risks report, it takes place against a backdrop of an increasingly fractured global landscape, where escalating geopolitical, environmental, societal and technological challenges threaten stability and progress.
The meeting will consider key global and regional challenges, including stimulating growth to improve living standards, responding to geopolitical shocks, and stewarding a just, inclusive energy transition.
The schedule of events is focused around these key points:
- Rebuilding Trust – finding new ways to work together on solutions across borders and within communities
- Reimagining Growth – finding sources of growth in a changing global economy
- Investing in People – the need for public and private sectors to invest in people and good jobs that help us achieve a “modern and resilient society”
- Safeguarding the Planet – accelerating action on energy, climate and nature through partnerships, increased financing and the new technology
- Industries in the Intelligent Age – how can business find a balance between short-term wins and long-term goals when transforming their industries?
Why is CISL at Davos?
Davos is often criticised for its exclusivity, but it also provides a unique opportunity to gather together parties from a wide range of organisations and sectors. The meeting can lead to positive outcomes and partnerships, such as agreements between political leaders.
CISL’s focus at Davos will be on:
- Accelerating mainstream business engagement and action to address climate and nature challenges, and to align approaches to growth, competitiveness and resilience with action on climate and nature. Find out more about CISL’s Business Leadership campaign
- Highlighting the role of universities in addressing global challenges, and what more could be achieved through partnerships: Read Lindsay’s reflections: How can universities solve the climate crisis?