Is Davos any use any more?
Jan. 28th, 2020 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nairiporterIn 1971 Claus Schwab, a Swiss guy of German origin who had 5 PhDs in engineering and economics, hosted a conference at the small Swiss resort of Davos. The event aimed to make the European businesses think about the added value they were creating as a whole, not just about the bottom-line, the shareholders' profit. The event became annual and was renamed to The World Economic Forum, becoming one of the most important events in the global political and business circles. Nowadays, these summits attract more than 3000 politicians, businesspeople, people of art and intellectuals, who present their vision of the world's development, and numerous important subjects of the day are on the agenda, like the risks of globalisation, the Fourth industrial revolution, as well as innovation and technologies that could transform business.
The WEF has established itself as something of a platform for public and private discourse and cooperation throughout the years. A number of global initiatives have been started at this forum, among them the Global Alliance of Vaccines and Imunisation, and the foundations of what later became the Paris climate accords was set up there.
But now that the jubilee 50th edition of the forum has ended, its main subject being a more sustainable and united world, some questions are popping up, mostly about the efficiency of the event. There has been criticism about its format for years, and because of the fact that no real results can be observed from the event. The distrust in Davos is aggravated by the myriad of franchise events carrying the Davos brand all over the world.
Claus Schwab, the founder and CEO of the WEF, says the event aims to improve the situation in the world. But he is often criticised that this commitment is mostly aimed at the global elites, contributing to inquality. The chairman of the World Business Council For Sustainable Development, and former CEO of the logistics company TNT describes WEF not as a place where big ideas are born, but where the already existing ones are integrated and expanded.
The WEF of course insists that it stimulates growth and helps society adapt to the challenges of the future. But its critics say Davos is practically useless at this point. The WEF has largely become a discussion platform without any real consequences for the world's well-being. In most cases, the panels don't see anything new being said - it's mostly things that people have been hearing over and over for a while. It is surprising that the WEF has critics even among its guests. Some have murmured that Schwab, despite claiming he is focused on the world's prosperity, is mostly interested in staying relevant, and close to the big money and power circles, i.e. he is serving his own personal agenda.
Furthermore, there are other ambitious plans for global forums, now threatening to steal the aura of the original event. Of course this doesn't mean Davos would soon become irrelevant, far from it. But it is no longer the number one to-go place for such gatherings.
Theoretically, the WEF's purpose is to unite the "intereseted parties" from both the public and private sector. But this comes at a price: the entrance fee varies between 60K and 600K Swiss francs, depending on the "level of involvement". The public sector representatives, like government leaders, and the artists come free of charge.
The financial picture at the WEF looks very nice. It's a non-profit organisation, and 42% of its revenue (now exceeding 356 million dollars) goes to a total of 800 employees. This includes those who are based at the WEF campus by the Geneva lake. It enjoys a special status, similar to that of the Red Cross, which means the Swiss government covers part of the security expenses, which are significant as you might have guessed.
The rest of the funding comes from other activities, including the organisation of the forum itself. In the meantime, the WEF possesses strategic assets worth 300 million Swiss francs. In the early years of the forum, the organisation used to own 50% of an event-organising company that was dealing with the Davos organisation. Then it sold that share off. But this is causing suspicions about the borderline between potential profit and the stated charity status of the organisation. An official audit made by Switzerland has not discovered any inconsistencies. Schwab himself claims he never received any financial benefits related to the forum, save for his salary.
But none of this removes the fact that the Davos summit is a gathering of the elites who do some talks, smile for the cameras, and then go on to do business as usual.
The WEF has established itself as something of a platform for public and private discourse and cooperation throughout the years. A number of global initiatives have been started at this forum, among them the Global Alliance of Vaccines and Imunisation, and the foundations of what later became the Paris climate accords was set up there.
But now that the jubilee 50th edition of the forum has ended, its main subject being a more sustainable and united world, some questions are popping up, mostly about the efficiency of the event. There has been criticism about its format for years, and because of the fact that no real results can be observed from the event. The distrust in Davos is aggravated by the myriad of franchise events carrying the Davos brand all over the world.
Claus Schwab, the founder and CEO of the WEF, says the event aims to improve the situation in the world. But he is often criticised that this commitment is mostly aimed at the global elites, contributing to inquality. The chairman of the World Business Council For Sustainable Development, and former CEO of the logistics company TNT describes WEF not as a place where big ideas are born, but where the already existing ones are integrated and expanded.
The WEF of course insists that it stimulates growth and helps society adapt to the challenges of the future. But its critics say Davos is practically useless at this point. The WEF has largely become a discussion platform without any real consequences for the world's well-being. In most cases, the panels don't see anything new being said - it's mostly things that people have been hearing over and over for a while. It is surprising that the WEF has critics even among its guests. Some have murmured that Schwab, despite claiming he is focused on the world's prosperity, is mostly interested in staying relevant, and close to the big money and power circles, i.e. he is serving his own personal agenda.
Furthermore, there are other ambitious plans for global forums, now threatening to steal the aura of the original event. Of course this doesn't mean Davos would soon become irrelevant, far from it. But it is no longer the number one to-go place for such gatherings.
Theoretically, the WEF's purpose is to unite the "intereseted parties" from both the public and private sector. But this comes at a price: the entrance fee varies between 60K and 600K Swiss francs, depending on the "level of involvement". The public sector representatives, like government leaders, and the artists come free of charge.
The financial picture at the WEF looks very nice. It's a non-profit organisation, and 42% of its revenue (now exceeding 356 million dollars) goes to a total of 800 employees. This includes those who are based at the WEF campus by the Geneva lake. It enjoys a special status, similar to that of the Red Cross, which means the Swiss government covers part of the security expenses, which are significant as you might have guessed.
The rest of the funding comes from other activities, including the organisation of the forum itself. In the meantime, the WEF possesses strategic assets worth 300 million Swiss francs. In the early years of the forum, the organisation used to own 50% of an event-organising company that was dealing with the Davos organisation. Then it sold that share off. But this is causing suspicions about the borderline between potential profit and the stated charity status of the organisation. An official audit made by Switzerland has not discovered any inconsistencies. Schwab himself claims he never received any financial benefits related to the forum, save for his salary.
But none of this removes the fact that the Davos summit is a gathering of the elites who do some talks, smile for the cameras, and then go on to do business as usual.
