WEF 2023: What the World Economic Forum in Davos is really about – Economy

There has been a lot of work going on in Davos for days. The shops on the Promenade, the main street of the town with 12,000 inhabitants in the mountains of Graubünden, are being renovated. Companies and organizations set up temporary quarters here in order to put themselves in the limelight. The conference center in the middle of the town is already extensively secured and prepared. The big hotels are gearing up.

The World Economic Forum begins this Monday evening here, at 1,560 meters above sea level. For the 53rd time, representatives from politics, business and science, but also from non-governmental and international organizations, are coming together to “improve the state of the world”, according to the not modest motto of forum founder Klaus Schwab.

The last big meeting in Davos took place in January 2020, very shortly before the outbreak of the corona pandemic. After that there were only virtual meetings and a smaller event in Davos last May. The organizers of the World Economic Forum (WEF for short) are expecting around 2,700 participants this time to discuss the topic of “Cooperation in a fragmented world”, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz (as the only head of a G7 country), EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. A total of 50 heads of state and government are expected, and Ukrainian President Selensky will be connected via video. Representatives from Russia are not invited, only a small delegation from China, led by Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Liu He. The Swiss police are responsible for security, especially for state guests. Thousands of emergency services and members of the army secure Davos during this time.

There have never been so many crises at the same time, says WEF founder Schwab in advance. Just last week, a risk report commissioned by the World Economic Forum painted a bleak picture. The gap between rich and poor countries could grow, it is to be feared “the first step backwards in human development for decades”. There are warnings of economic wars, rampant inflation, social unrest, geoeconomic confrontations and the danger of nuclear war. Above all, the brutal and ongoing war in Ukraine will probably dominate the meeting. The 99-year-old former American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger will speak about this in the middle of the week, he wants to be connected digitally.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at a performance in Davos in 2013: he will be 100 years old this May.

(Photo: Pascal Lauener/Reuters)

The meeting in the Swiss mountains is not undisputed. There is always a lot of criticism: elitist and aloof, too exclusive and all too close to business, an event where the top people keep to themselves. At the same time, Schwab has been trying for a long time to open up the meeting and to bring in critics and other organizations. In fact, social issues are always discussed. Greenpeace has just criticized the climate-damaging private flights of many participants to Davos as “ignorant and inconsiderate”. Oxfam draws attention to the inequality in the world.

The critics have set out on a protest hike

As a kind of alternative to this, a few hundred WEF critics made their way to the controversial conference on foot on Saturday. Their protest hike, which took place for the third time this year, started in Küblis and ended in Davos on Sunday afternoon; it was directed “against capitalism, against the climate crisis and against the increasing injustice in the world”. According to the Strike WEF collective, around 300 people hiked this year. In 2020, inspired by the global climate protests, 600 hikers came to Graubünden.

Gian Wacker, a spokesman for the activists, says people are fighting for the abolition of the exclusive meeting, but not without replacement: “We need a new forum that is open and accessible to everyone.” The protest hikers also show solidarity with the squatters in Lützerath. They denounce the energy company RWE, which is a partner of the World Economic Forum. “RWE presents itself here in Davos as a group that wants to drive the energy transition forward, but is in the process of digging away a village for lignite mining,” says Wacker. “The WEF is a great cover for the greenwashing of such corporations.”

WEF: security forces in Davos

Security forces are already on the move in Davos, they are supposed to protect the heads of government.

(Photo: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

The World Economic Forum is financed by around 1,000 companies that act as sponsors of the organization. There are 120 strategic partners, including German corporations, the annual minimum contribution starts at around 600,000 francs. Normal sponsors pay about half, and there are ordinary members who pay significantly less. In return, the sponsors receive access to the meetings, in some cases also places in the discussion forums and information. Despite the high prices, there was always a waiting list. Everything is controlled from the WEF headquarters high above Lake Geneva. Several hundred people are employed. Events and forums are held worldwide throughout the year. The forum is recognized as a charitable foundation in Switzerland and thus enjoys tax advantages. Apparently, not inconsiderable profits are generated, which are reinvested.

So the World Economic Forum is also big business. The hotels in Davos and the surrounding area are fully booked in this otherwise rather meager week of January – and they charge pretty hefty prices. Small adjoining rooms for meetings are rented out at high prices, holiday apartments sometimes cost several thousand euros. “The price gouging is a burden,” Schwab criticized a long time ago. However, hardly anything happened. In addition to the official discussion forums and events, there is a whole range of private meetings, events and parties to cultivate networks. Some even set up their own pavilions for the WEF week.

Has the attraction of the event waned? That will be shown now – after the forced break. In previous years, the then US President Donald Trump and China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping had taken part. Like many other great leaders, Joe Biden is not there this time. Tesla founder and Twitter owner Elon Musk will not be in Switzerland either. His justification, which he announced on Twitter: “Because it sounded boring” – everything is absolutely boring.

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