Davos in Switzerland is the highest town in Europe. Yet ever since the World Economic Forum brought its Annual Meeting to the alpine venue, the name resonates with the flagship event.
The meeting brings together government, business and civil society leaders to set the year's agenda for how leaders can make the world a better place for all.
Its relevance as a global gathering sits within and beyond the official programme. The importance of dialogue — often happening in private conversations — reveals an ever-important mission to convene leaders when 'threats to world stability are multiplying'.
Established more than 50 years ago, the Annual Meeting tries to embody ‘the spirit of Davos’, which is an attitude of openness and cooperation that is core to the mission of the Forum. The 'Davos Manifesto', created in 1973 and renewed in 2020, lays out the principles of stakeholder capitalism — or a system of shared goals for businesses.
Here are seven things to know about Davos, past and present, answering some of your most frequently asked questions.
1. What's in the programme at Davos?
Over the years, the programme of the Annual Meeting has focused on the evolving challenges facing the world. Climate change has been a constant theme as has inclusion, diversity and how economies can be developed to meet the needs of everyone.
But the agenda changes every year to address the world's most pressing issues - from pandemic preparedness and reskilling, to the state of the global economy and the energy transition.
The World Economic Forum releases the Global Risks Report ahead of the Annual Meeting each January, to identify and analyse the upcoming near- and longer-term critical global risks that underpin discussions.
Today, the programme contains more than 300 sessions (200 of which are livestreamed to a global audience) that aim to accelerate progress and tackle global challenges. The Forum continues this work year round with a range of initiatives via its centres.
2. Is policy shaped at Davos?
Davos is a platform for decision-makers across the public and private sectors to gather and discuss the major issues of the day. The meetings can lead to business partnerships and political breakthroughs.
In 1988, for instance, Greece and Türkiye averted armed conflict with an agreement finalized at Davos. In the 1990s, Davos hosted a handshake that helped end apartheid in South Africa and served as a platform for the announcement of the UN Global Compact, an initiative that calls on companies to align their operations with human rights principles. More recently, in 2023, the United States used Davos to announce a new development fund programme and global CEOs at the meeting agreed to back a plan to support a free trade agreement in Africa.
While Davos provides a platform for progress to be made, the Forum itself does not influence decisions or remarks made by policymakers and does not dictate public policies.
3. Is Davos always held in Davos?
Davos had been the venue for the Annual Meeting every year until 2002 when, in a gesture of solidarity with the people of New York following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the Forum held the event in the US city.
When COVID-19 struck, first Davos 2021 and then Davos 2022 went entirely digital as the 'Davos Agenda'. The in-person Davos 2022 was rescheduled to May 2022 with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine high on the agenda.
January 2023 saw a return to the usual winter slot, and with careful health measures in place, the meeting marked the beginning of the end of three years of global pandemic.
4. Who attends Davos?
Davos is an invitation-only event that brings together heads of state and private-sector leaders as well as many of the leading voices from civil society and academia.
This includes politicians from across the political spectrum, change-makers in the private sector and the top minds from various areas of expertise. It also includes activists, artists, labour leaders, Indigenous community members and prominent youth voices.
The global public can watch and engage with the Annual Meeting through live-streamed sessions, social media and virtual connections to Forum hubs, centres and projects around the world.
Davos has nevertheless weathered criticism as a gathering of elites, but the stereotype of the so-called 'Davos Man' is less relevant today as 'issues of social inclusion and environmentalism' have taken precedence. In 2024, Davos attendees came from 125 countries, involving the following
Chief executives and chairs of the Forum of 1,000 Partner companies actively engaged in initiatives and communities such as the International Business Council, Community of Chairpersons and Industry Governors.
Public figures from across the world including G7 and G20 countries as well as heads of international organizations.
Leaders from the foremost civil society, labour and media organizations as well as top thinkers and academics.
Members of the Unicorn and Technology Pioneers communities, the Community of Global Shapers, the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
Aligning with the Forum's Global Gender Gap Report, launched in 2005, Davos strives to be a gender-equal platform. In recent years, women have made up a quarter of attendees, a higher proportion than among world or business leaders.
In 2018, there was an all-female line up of co-chairs for the meeting. Together, they also made up the first all-female panel of Davos co-chairs, sending a powerful message as the shockwaves of the #metoo movement spread.
In 2025, the goal is to achieve near parity for session moderation roles.
The Global Gender Gap Report has become one of the most closely analysed annual benchmarking exercises and the Forum runs an increasing number of taskforces in various countries to work with governments and businesses to speed up progress towards parity.
5. How did Davos begin?
Following its founding in 1971 by Professor Klaus Schwab, the European Management Symposium (EMS), as it was then known, held its first meeting in Davos.
Participants discussed Schwab’s 'stakeholder theory', his vision that businesses should serve all stakeholders, rather just shareholders, including employees, suppliers and the wider community. Today, stakeholder capitalism is a guiding principle of the Forum.
In 1973, the Annual Meeting endorsed the Davos Manifesto, a code of ethics for business leaders which was updated in 2020 to set out the purpose of business in the Fourth Industrial Revolution - itself a concept coined by Professor Schwab in his 2016 book.
Politicians were first invited to take part in Davos in 1974, and in 1987 the EMS became the World Economic Forum, with a broadened aim to provide a platform to address the pressing issues of the day via public-private cooperation.
