World Economic Forum postpones Davos meeting, but will host a digital summit

THE World Economic Forum (WEF) has postponed its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland from January until early next summer because of safety concerns about the spread of Covid-19. However, this month, from September 21-24, the WEF will host a Sustainable Development Impact Summit digitally. Since February, almost 1 800 organisations from business, government and civil society have joined the WEF’s Covid Action Platform following the outbreak of the pandemic. This month’s digital summit will bring the core principles of the “Great Reset” of the global economy after Covid-19 into focus, “asking all of us how we can contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive future,” the WEF said on its website. Meanwhile the annual meeting in Davos, traditionally held in January and regarded as one of the globe’s largest annual gatherings of world leaders and corporate executives, was postponed on the advice of health experts, said WEF Public Engagement managing director Adrian Monck. This year’s gathering over four days from January 21 featured commentary from President Donald Trump, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and climate activist Greta Thunberg. “The decision was not taken easily, since the need for global leaders to come together to design a common recovery path and shape the ‘Great Reset’ in the postCovid-19 era is so urgent,” Monck said at the end of last month in a statement. The WEF said it would instead host a “high-level” digital forum called “Davos Dialogues” during the week of January 25 next year, which would feature global leaders who would present ideas on the state of the world in 2021. | Edward West