By Shiraz Rimer, Year 11
Davos: the pinnacle of conferences where the crème-de-la-crème meet to “shmooze” and discuss global economics and environmental issues. Last week in the small alpine town of Davos, the most powerful people gathered for the annual World Economic Forum. For the 2018 edition, speeches, panels, seminars and discussions were all on the menu.
Attendees included British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron and, how could we forget- the president of the United States Donald Trump, as well as around 3’000 of the world’s elites from the worlds of finance, politics and business. Each year, members of the public sector are also invited: journalists, N.G,O’s, charities, etc…
But what exactly is the World Economic Forum?
In 1971, Klaus Schwab, a professor at the University of Geneva arranged the “European Management Forum” which is the original name of the World Economic Forum. It was a conference where business leaders could discuss global management practices in order to help European companies. It’s official mission is “improving the state of the world”. In 1974, political leaders were invited for the first time.
Since its humble beginnings, the forum has become increasingly popular and attending is the ultimate status confirmation. In 2014, it was revealed that businesses and companies have to pay around 40’000 US dollars to send a single delegate to the event.
The arrival of Trump grabbed the attention of many as it is not usual for US presidents to attend the conference. In Lausanne, Geneva, Fribourg and Bellinzona, anti-capitalist protesters took to the streets to demonstrate against the participation of Trump in the annual meeting. He was the keynote speaker on Friday where he gave a speech on trade deals, North Korea and immigration. In his “America First” address, he also mentioned that the market would be down 50% under Hillary Clinton. Oh Trump!
