It’s no wonder WEF founder Klaus Schwab has a liking for Saint Bernard dogs, as they possess a unique skill to find and rescue avalanche victims. Will Schwab be able to rescue the world from the avalanche of crises it is currently facing?
No wonder snipers can be seen on the roofs of snowed-in luxury hotels, and that Swiss Army guards are blocking the roads. They’re on high alert as helicopters circle the mountains, flying in presidents, billionaires and tycoons to join the leaders of commerce.
Yes, it’s Davos-time again!
The upcoming meeting will convene more than 2,700 leaders from 130 countries, including 52 heads of state/government.
They include Olaf Scholz (Germany), Cyril M Ramaphosa (South Africa), Pedro Sánchez (Spain), Alain Berset (Switzerland), Ilham Aliyev (Azerbaijan) and Alexander De Croo (Belgium), along with a few former leaders.
And even more important are the heads of supranational organisations in attendance, including Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission), Antonio Guterres (United Nations), Kristalina Georgieva (International Monetary Fund), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (World Trade Organization), Jens Stoltenberg (NATO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (World Health Organization), Fatih Birol (International Energy Agency), Catherine Russell (UNICEF) and Mirjana Spoljaric Egger (Red Cross).
For more than half a century the Davos meeting in January has been helping the world to prepare for a new year, but this time around Schwab is hopeful it can be a new era. “We need a deep systemic transformation,” he urges.
Some compare the WEF to a big laundry salon. It has not been uncommon for opponents and enemies –such as Shimon Peres, while he was prime minister of Israel, and Yasser Arafat, the former leader of the Palestinian National Authority – to be locked up in a private room.
This melting pot of idealistic, determined delegates and world leaders – all bearing the same WEF badge on their lapels – ensures Davos can be a global powerhouse for good.