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The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2023 will convene under the theme, Cooperation in a Fragmented World, calling upon world leaders to address immediate economic, energy and food crises while laying the groundwork for a more sustainable, resilient world by the end of the decade.
The annual meeting, taking place from January 16 to 20 in Davos-Klosters, comes even as multiple crises deepen divisions and fragment the geopolitical landscape.
This year will bring about the highest ever business participation at Davos, with over 1,500 leaders registered across 700 organizations, including over 600 of the world’s top CEOs from the WEF’s Members and Partners, with top-level representation from sectors such as financial services, energy, materials and infrastructure, information and communication technologies, according to WEF organising team.
Their presence is significant as governments increasingly look to business to take big ideas and put them into action quickly and inclusively.
There will also be a strong representation of Global Innovators who are transforming industries, with more than 90 mission-driven leaders from the Forum’s Technology Pioneers and recently launched Unicorn communities, it stated.
"We see the manifold political, economic and social forces creating increased fragmentation on a global and national level. To address the root causes of this erosion of trust, we need to reinforce cooperation between the government and business sectors, creating the conditions for a strong and durable recovery," remarked Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF.
"At the same time there must be the recognition that economic development needs to be made more resilient, more sustainable and nobody should be left behind," observed Schwab.
The programme of the 53rd Annual Meeting focuses on solutions and public-private cooperation to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges.
It encourages world leaders to work together on the interconnected issues of energy, climate and nature; investment, trade and infrastructure; frontier technologies and industry resilience; jobs, skills, social mobility and health; and geopolitical cooperation in a multipolar world. Special emphasis is on gender and geographical diversity across all sessions.
