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— WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM —

February 4, 2021

World Economic Forum appoints New Member to Board of Trustees

• Julie Sweet joins the World Economic Forum Board of Trustees.

• The Board of Trustees is the guardian of the World Economic Forum’s mission and values.

World Economic Forum

Geneva, Switzerland, 4 February 2021 - The Chief Executive Officer of Accenture, Julie Sweet, will join the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum. Sweet’s track record of success and commitment to enhancing gender diversity in business will significantly contribute to strengthening the Forum in its mission of improving the world’s state.

The Board of Trustees, the highest governing body of the World Economic Forum, is responsible for its strategy and advancing its values. As a reflection of its multistakeholder status, membership is divided equally between representatives of the business community and leaders from government, international organizations, and civil society.

“The World Economic Forum is delighted to welcome Julie Sweet to its Board of Trustees. We look forward to working with her to deliver on the Forum’s commitment to advancing stakeholder capitalism and contributing to more resilient and equitable societies,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

“Collaboration between the world’s governments, businesses, and cultural leaders has never been more critical,” said Julie Sweet, Chief Executive Officer, Accenture. “I am honored to join the board of the World Economic Forum and help advance its work to find shared and actionable solutions to our most pressing issues while shaping a more inclusive and sustainable future for all.”

Julie Sweet is CEO of Accenture and serves on the company’s board of directors. Before becoming CEO in 2019, she served as CEO of Accenture’s business in North America and as Accenture’s general counsel, secretary, and chief compliance officer for five years. Before joining Accenture in 2010, Sweet was a partner for ten years in Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.

Outside Accenture, Sweet is a leader in innovation, technology’s impact on business, and inclusion and diversity. She serves on the board of directors for the Business Roundtable, where she is Chair of its Technology Committee. She also serves on the board of directors for Catalyst.

As of 3 February 2021, the Members of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum are:

Klaus SCHWAB - Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Peter BRABECK-LETMATHE - Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum, Chairman Emeritus, Nestlé SA, Switzerland
H.M. Queen Rania AL ABDULLAH of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Mukesh AMBANI - Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, India
Marc R. BENIOFF - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce, USA
Thomas BUBERL - Chief Executive Officer, AXA, France
Mark CARNEY - Finance Adviser on the 26th Conference of the Parties to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Laurence FINK - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock, USA
Chrystia FREELAND - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada
Orit GADIESH - Chairman, Bain & Company, USA
Kristalina GEORGIEVA - Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC
Fabiola GIANOTTI - Director-General, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Al GORE - Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001); Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management LLP, USA
Herman GREF - Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Sberbank, Russia
Angel GURRÍA - Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
André S. HOFFMANN - Non-Executive Vice-Chairman, Roche Holding Ltd., Switzerland
Paula INGABIRE - Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation of Rwanda
Christine LAGARDE - President, European Central Bank
Jack MA - Alibaba Board of Directors, Alibaba Group, People’s Republic of China
Yo-Yo MA - Cellist
Peter MAURER - President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Switzerland
Luis Alberto MORENO - President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC (2005-2020)
Patrice MOTSEPE - Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa
L. Rafael REIF - President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
David M. RUBENSTEIN - Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman, Carlyle Group, USA
Mark SCHNEIDER - Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé, Switzerland
Tharman SHANMUGARATNAM - Senior Minister, Singapore
Jim Hagemann SNABE - Chairman, Supervisory Board, Siemens AG, Germany; Chairman, A.P. Møller-Maersk, Denmark
Julie SWEET - Chief Executive Officer, Accenture, Ireland
Feike SYBESMA - Honorary Chairman, Royal DSM, Netherlands
Heizo TAKENAKA - Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy of Japan (2002-2006)
Min ZHU - President, National Institute of Financial Research, People’s Republic of China

Source: World Economic Forum

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Edited & Posted by the Editor | 11:32 AM | View the original post

January 27, 2021

Global Business Leaders Support Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Convergence by Committing to Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics.

61 business leaders, including members of the World Economic Forum and its International Business Council (IBC), have committed to the core Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics released by the IBC.
Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics offer a set of universal, comparable disclosures focused on people, planet, prosperity, and governance that companies can report on, regardless of industry or region.
The move signals that private sector leaders view environmental, social, and governance factors as critical to the success and long-term viability of all businesses, and a unified voice is gathering pace on a global solution for non-financial reporting.

World Economic Forum

Geneva, Switzerland January 26, 2021 - A growing coalition of 61 top business leaders across industries announced today their commitment to the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, a set of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics and disclosures released by the World Economic Forum and its International Business Council (IBC) in September 2020, that measure the long-term enterprise value creation for all stakeholders.

The Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, drawn from existing voluntary standards, offer a core set of 21 universal, comparable disclosures focused on people, planet, prosperity, and principles of governance. They are considered most critical for business, society, and the earth, and that companies can report on regardless of industry or region. They strengthen companies and investors’ ability to benchmark progress on sustainability matters, thereby improving decision-making and enhancing transparency and accountability regarding the shared and sustainable value companies create, WEF elaborated.

These leaders and their organizations, including Dow, Unilever, Nestlé, PayPal, Reliance Industries, and Sony, have today committed to:

Reflect the core metrics in their reporting to investors and other stakeholders (e.g., annual report, sustainability report, proxy statements, or other materials) by reporting on the metrics most relevant to their business or briefly explaining why a different approach is more appropriate.
Publicly support this work and encourage their business partners to do so.
Promote the further convergence of existing ESG standards, frameworks, and principles to support progress towards a globally accepted solution for non-financial reporting on standard ESG metrics.

In making these commitments, business leaders signify that ESG factors are increasingly critical to all businesses’ success and long-term viability. It reflects leading global companies’ intent to integrate sustainability into their core strategy, operations, and corporate disclosures.

“Stakeholder capitalism becomes now really mainstream,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum. “The public commitments from companies to report not only on financial matters but also their ESG impacts are an important step towards a global economy that works for progress, people and the planet.”

“We have to deliver great returns for our shareholders and help drive progress on society’s most important priorities,” said Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO of Bank of America and Chairman of the International Business Council. “That is stakeholder capitalism in action. Common metrics will help all stakeholders measure the progress we are making and ensure that the resources capitalism can marshal - from companies, from investors, and others - are directed to where they can make the most difference.”

The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Bank of America, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC, curated the set of 21 core and 34 expanded metrics over the past two years with the support of over 140 stakeholders.

The metrics include non-financial disclosures centered around the four pillars: people, planet, prosperity, and governance principles. Intentionally built on existing standards, the posts include metrics such as greenhouse gas emissions, pay equality, and board diversity.

By adopting and reporting these metrics and disclosures, the business community will continue to catalyze greater cooperation and alignment among existing standards and encourage progress in developing a systemic, globally accepted set of common standards for reporting sustainability performance.

The full list of companies that have agreed to implement reporting on the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics includes:

Accenture
Adecco Group
African Rainbow Minerals
Allianz
Banco Santander
Bank of America
BBVA
Boston Consulting Group
bp
Clifford Chance
Credit Suisse
Dell Technologies
Deloitte
Deutsche Post DHL
Dow
Eni
Ecolab
Ecopetrol
Equinor
EY
Fidelity International
HEINEKEN
HP
HSBC Holdings
IBM
JLL
Kearney Inc.
KPMG
Mahindra Group
Majid Al Futtaim
Mastercard
McKinsey & Company
Medtronic
Mercuria Energy Group
Mitsubishi Corporation
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
Nestlé
Novo Nordisk A/S
Palo Alto Networks
PayPal
Publicis Groupe
PwC
Reliance Industries
Repsol
Royal DSM
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Philips
Salesforce
Schneider Electric
Siemens
Solvay
Sony
Sumitomo Corporation
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG)
Suntory Holdings
Takeda Pharmaceutical
Total
UBS
Unilever
Yara International
Zurich Insurance Group

“Runaway climate change, environmental degradation, and social inequality are some of the biggest problems that the world faces,” said Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever. “Companies’ annual reports and accounts might not be the first mechanism for change that would spring to mind, but standardized and mandatory non-financial reporting is critical to creating a new form of capitalism that tackles these problems. The Forum’s IBC work is an important step forward, and we are providing our wholehearted support.”

The Davos Agenda is a pioneering mobilization of global leaders to rebuild trust to shape the principles, policies, and partnerships needed in 2021. It features a full week of international programming dedicated to helping leaders choose innovative and bold solutions to stem the pandemic and drive a robust recovery over the next year. Heads of state, CEOs, civil society leaders, and global media will actively participate in almost 100 sessions across five themes.

Source: World Economic Forum

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Edited & Posted by the Editor | 3:54 AM | View the original post

January 18, 2021

World Economic Forum: World Leaders to Meet During Davos Agenda in a Crucial Year to Rebuild Trust.

The Davos Agenda 2021 will convene under the theme: A Crucial Year to Rebuild Trust.
The World Economic Forum will gather the world’s foremost leaders to address the economic, environmental, social, and technological challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 1,500 business, government, and civil society leaders from over 70 countries will set the agenda for a critical year ahead and discuss how to catalyze impact in the rapidly advancing Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The Davos Agenda week’s conclusions will feed into task forces working on global issues for the upcoming Special Annual Meeting in Singapore.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Impressions from the Annual Meeting 2017. The Conference Center from the outside. At the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 15, 2017. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell. [File Photo]

World Economic Forum

Photo: Actor Forest Whitaker and Popstar Shakira at the Media Welcome Reception at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 16, 2017. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Ciaran McCrickard. [File Photo]

World Economic Forum

Photo: Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States at the Annual Meeting 2017 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 17, 2017. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Ciaran McCrickard. [File Photo]

World Economic Forum

Geneva, Switzerland, January 18, 2021 - The World Economic Forum Davos Agenda, taking place virtually on 25-29 January, will bring together the world’s foremost leaders to address the new global situation. Heads of state and government, chief executives, and civil society leaders will convene under the theme: A Crucial Year to Rebuild Trust.

The meeting will create impact, rebuild Trust, and shape the policies and partnerships needed in 2021.

“In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to reset priorities and the urgency to reform systems have been growing stronger around the world,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. “Rebuilding trust and increasing global cooperation are crucial to fostering innovative and bold solutions to stem the pandemic and drive a robust recovery. This special meeting will be an opportunity for leaders to outline their vision and address the most important issues of our time, such as the need to accelerate job creation and to protect the environment.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that no institution or individual alone can address our complex, interdependent world’s economic, environmental, social, and technological challenges. The pandemic has accelerated systemic changes that were apparent before its inception. The fault lines that emerged in 2020 now appear as critical crossroads in 2021. The Davos Agenda will help leaders choose innovative and bold solutions to stem the pandemic and drive a robust recovery over the next year, the WEF announcement stated.

The five program themes are:

Designing cohesive, sustainable, resilient economic systems (January 25).
Driving responsible industry transformation and growth (January 26).
Enhancing the stewardship of the global commons (January 27).
Harnessing the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (January 28).
Advancing global and regional cooperation (January 29).

Addresses from G20 heads of state and government and international organizations will provide crucial insights into a range of essential issues in the year ahead. Participants will hear first-hand how these public figures will demonstrate leadership and drive action in areas such as the environment, jobs, and advances in innovation brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Heads of state and government include:

Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China;
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India;
Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister of Japan;
Emmanuel Macron, President of France;
Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany;
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission;
Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy;
Moon Jae-in, President of the Republic of Korea;
Alberto Fernández, President of Argentina;
Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa;
Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain;
Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation and Federal Councillor for Economic Affairs, Education and Research;
Ivan Duque, President of Colombia;
Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica;
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana;
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece;
Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel;
Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan;
Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda;
Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore.

Many other world leaders may confirm later.

Leaders from international organizations, government agencies, and central banks include:

António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations (UN);
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO);
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF);
Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations (UN);
Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP);
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Undersecretary-General, and Executive Director, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN);
Dongyu Qu, Director-General, Food, and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO);
Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP);
Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF);
David Beasley, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP);
Fang Liu, Secretary-General, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO);
Anthony Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, USA;
Angel Gurría, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD);
Mauricio Claver-Carone, President, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB);
Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO);
Jürgen Stock, Secretary-General, International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL);
Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA);
Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, Executive Director, APEC Secretariat (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).
Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank;
François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Central Bank of France;
Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England.

More than 1,000 leaders from the Forum’s member and partner organizations will represent the private sector. Seven of the top ten companies by market capitalization are engaged year-round with the Forum, and many will participate in The Davos Agenda week. As a working meeting to advance ongoing project work, more than 500 chief executives and chairpersons will participate in sessions throughout the week.

Leaders from civil society are a critical voice in shaping the agenda. Those taking part in the meeting include:

Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance;
Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director, Oxfam International;
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC);
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT);
Marco Lambertini, Director-General, WWF International;
Laura Liswood, Secretary-General, Council of Women World Leaders;
Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair, Transparency International;
Peter Sands, Executive Director, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria . Drawn from over 10,000 civic-minded young leaders, members of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers, Young Global Leaders, Technology Pioneers, and Social Entrepreneurs communities will bring unique perspectives to The Davos Agenda.

• Flagship reports, initiatives, and the latest book on Stakeholder Capitalism

On January 25, Professor Schwab will release his latest book, titled “Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy that Works for Progress, People and Planet.”
The World Economic Forum will release its Global Risks Report 2021 on January 19. The flagship report is an important marker for prioritizing public and private sectors in the year ahead.
The Davos Agenda will also mark the launch of several World Economic Forum initiatives to accelerate the race to net-zero emissions, champion new standards for racial justice, develop artificial intelligence ethically in the global public interest, and close the digital divide.
The official program of The Davos Agenda will begin on January 25.

Source: World Economic Forum

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Edited & Posted by the Editor | 2:33 PM | View the original post

December 10, 2020

"Agile Nations" Sign First Agreement to Unlock Potential of Emerging Tech

Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Singapore, UAE, and UK sign world’s first “Agile Nations” agreement at a panel co-organized by the World Economic Forum.
The agreement paves the way for the seven nations to help innovators navigate their rules, test new ideas with regulators, and scale them across their markets.
Collaboration builds on the World Economic Forum and OECD efforts to support more effective technological innovation regulation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Olivia Chang, Anchor, CNNMoney Switzerland, Switzerland, speaking in Investing in the Next Digital Frontier session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 24 January. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Valeriano Di Domenico.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands in the “The Return of Arab Unrest” session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum/Faruk Pinjo.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Participants speaking in the Ending Modern Slavery session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020, Open Forum, in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum/ Patrick Somelet.

Geneva, Switzerland, 9 December 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic has wrought economic and social disruption worldwide. As people and businesses focus on recovery, governments must ensure that outdated regulations do not hold back innovation that will power economic growth and solve the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.

World Economic Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) organized a panel for Agile Nations. The ministers from Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom announced their plan to lead the world in fostering responsible innovation and entrepreneurship. The Agile Nations Charter sets out each country’s commitment to creating a regulatory environment in which new ideas can thrive.

In a world-first, the agreement paves the way for the nations to cooperate in helping innovators navigate each country’s rules, test new ideas with regulators, and scale them across the seven markets. Priority areas for cooperation include the green economy, mobility, data, financial and professional services, and medical diagnosis and treatment.

The collaboration results from the World Economic Forum’s project on Agile Regulation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The World Economic Forum today published its guide to better regulation of emerging technologies, developed in partnership with the Global Future Council on Agile Governance.
The OECD launched the development of principles on effective and innovation-friendly rulemaking in the Fourth Industrial Revolution for its 37 member states, to be adopted in 2021.

“Too often, rules and laws are designed with the past in mind,” said Murat Sönmez, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “Our Centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution help governments, businesses, and citizens co-design for the future - enabling the innovation that will be needed to create jobs, maintain competitiveness, and ensure resilience to shocks. We’re excited to work with the new Agile Nations network.”

“Against a backdrop of a once-in-a-century global health and economic crisis, governments need to undertake a paradigm shift in their rulemaking activities,” said Jeffrey Schlagenhauf, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD. “To help governments navigate the challenges and develop more agile approaches to the regulatory governance of innovation, the OECD is developing principles on effective and innovation-friendly rulemaking in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Agile Nations network is an extremely timely initiative to truly foster international regulatory cooperation for better, innovation-friendly, and up-to-date regulations worldwide.”

“The UK has a proud history of entrepreneurship and discovery, but it is only by working together internationally that we can truly unleash the incredible potential of new technology,” said Martin Callanan, Business Minister, United Kingdom. “The Agile Nations will boost collaboration to remove regulatory barriers, ensuring innovators and entrepreneurs can market and scale their innovations across all seven nations involved, and I urge other countries to join this important initiative.”

“Canada’s endorsement of the Agile Nations agreement demonstrates our commitment to creating a regulatory environment where innovation can flourish. And our respective businesses can be more efficient and competitive globally,” said Jean-Yves Duclos, President of the Treasury Board of Canada. “Canada is ready to play its part in sharing ideas and best practices on agile regulation.”

“As an international company, Siemens has always supported cross-border collaboration,” said Torsten Ende, Head of Government Affairs, Siemens. “Cross-border collaboration of regulators is the best way to avoid unnecessary divergence that could hamper innovation and to ensure future-oriented cooperation and technology with purpose. The proposed Agile Nations network, which fosters cooperation on rulemaking, is a great step in the right direction.”

“Regulatory agility, strong business-government partnerships, and constructive international regulatory cooperation are key in enabling innovation and helping businesses to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Low Yen Ling, Minister of Trade and Industry, Singapore. “Singapore looks forward to working closely with the Agile Nations network to strengthen collaboration in agile regulation to enable businesses and emerging innovations to rapidly scale up, offer new solutions, and drive greater growth.”

“We fully support this Agile Nations network as an initiative to promote international cooperation regarding the concept of ‘governance innovation’ agreed at the 2019 G20 Ministerial Meeting held in Japan. We are happy to share our experiences and knowledge about innovative governance, including projects of the Digital Architecture Design Centre established this year,” said Kouichi Munekiyo, Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan.

“IBM is pleased to support the Agile Nations initiative,” said Christopher Padilla, Vice-President, Government, and Regulatory Affairs, IBM. “Even as breakthroughs in technology are creating immense opportunities and improving economic and social well-being, these innovations are challenging traditional models of regulation. Promoting agile governance is a key mechanism for ensuring we reap technology’s benefits while mitigating risks. The Agile Nations Charter is an important step in fostering the international cooperation necessary to deliver on the promises of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

“Sperimentazione Italia (Italy Experimentation) allows companies, universities, and research institutions to experiment with frontier innovations, so that disruptive innovations’ opportunities are not missed. The time is ready to extend and apply the testing of ‘agile regulation’ within the international cooperation among countries,” said Paola Pisano, Minister of Technological Innovation, Italy.

“The UAE government is proud to endorse the Agile Nations network. It would help adopt agile governance and innovation to build strong, capable, and resilient governments. It would enable them to tackle future challenges with proactive solutions,” said Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development the Future, United Arab Emirates.

“New technologies can accelerate the transition to a more green and sustainable society,” said Katrine Winding, Director-General, Danish Business Authority. “However, regulatory and other barriers currently prevent start-ups and innovative SMEs in particular from bringing their ideas to market. Through innovation-friendly regulation, we will support the testing and developing of new solutions, ensuring equal competition, and protecting our citizens and the environment. It is no simple task. Denmark looks forward to addressing key challenges through the Agile Nations network.”

Source: World Economic Forum

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November 25, 2020

World Economic Forum: Global leaders to shape the Davos Agenda ahead of ‘the crucial year to rebuild trust.’

The world has experienced unimaginable hardship since the global pandemic outbreak, reversing gains in the fight against unemployment, climate change, and poverty.
Rebuilding trust and increasing global cooperation are crucial to implementing the bold and innovative solutions needed to drive a robust recovery.
To mobilize government, business, and civil society on these solutions, the World Economic Forum will hold a virtual meeting on 25-29 January 2021 on the Davos Agenda.
Heads of state and government will address the state of the world in 2021 to audiences in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, and Latin America.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Participants in the Digital Safety for Youth session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020, Open Forum, in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 24 January. Swiss Alpine High School Auditorium. Image provided by @ copyright World Economic Forum/ Marc Forzi.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Jonathan Haskel, Professor of Economics, Imperial College London, United Kingdom, speaking during the session Accounting for Human Capital at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 24 January. Congress Centre - in Salon. Image provided by @ copyright World Economic Forum/Jakob Polacsek.

Geneva, Switzerland, 23 November 2020 - The Davos Agenda is a pioneering mobilization of global leaders to rebuild trust to shape the principles, policies, and partnerships needed in 2021. The virtual meeting will build momentum ahead of the Special Annual Meeting in the spring. The Davos Agenda will feature a full week of global programming on 25-29 January 2021 with the participating heads of state, CEOs, civil society leaders, international media, and youth leaders from Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, and Latin America.

“2021 is a crucial year to rebuild trust,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. “The world is at a crossroads. The pandemic has reversed essential gains in the global fight against unemployment, climate change, and poverty. Leaders must come together for decisive and inclusive action.

Building a better future for work, accelerating stakeholder capitalism, and harnessing the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be essential topics on the Davos Agenda.

The five program themes are:

Designing cohesive, sustainable, resilient economic systems (25 January).
Driving responsible industry transformation and growth (26 January).
Enhancing the stewardship of our global commons (27 January).
Harnessing the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (28 January).
Advancing global and regional cooperation (29 January).

Heads of state and government and international organizations will give addresses on the state of the world and engage in dialogue with business leaders. Industry leaders and public figures will discuss how to advance and accelerate public-private collaboration on critical issues such as COVID-19 vaccination, job creation, and climate change, among others. The Forum’s core communities, including its International Business Council, will share their insight and recommendations from global, regional, and industry initiatives in impact sessions.

The World Economic Forum further announced that the high-level agenda-setting dialogues that characterize the Forum’s January meeting will occur throughout the week and will be live-streamed - providing more opportunities for the public to engage. Sessions will occur across Beijing, Geneva, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo time zones to ensure global participation, the Forum stated.

Source: World Economic Forum

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November 18, 2020

In the Face of Extraordinary Challenges, 36 Pioneer Cities Chart a Course Towards a More Ethical and Responsible Future.

World Economic Forum has selected 36 cities across 22 countries and six continents to pioneer a new global policy roadmap for smart cities developed by the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance, hosted at the Forum.
The selected 36 Pioneer Cities include 4 from India — Bengaluru, Faridabad, Hyderabad, and Indore.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Toronto, Canada. Image credit: Nicolas Vigier.

Photo: Melbourne, Australia. Image credit: Eugene Kaspersky.

Geneva, Switzerland, 17 November 2020 - The World Economic Forum announced today that 36 cities across 22 countries and six continents have agreed to pioneer a new roadmap for safely adopting new technology as part of the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance.

Cities face urgent challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and other major disruptions, which may culminate in a budget crisis that could reach $1 trillion in the United States alone. They need data and innovation to become more resilient, responsive, and efficient. Yet, there is no global framework for how cities should use these technologies, or the data they collect, in a way that protects the public interest.

It would change with the launch of a new global policy roadmap by the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance, designed to give cities the procedures, laws, and regulations they need to use new technology responsibly. The World Economic Forum hosts the secretariat of the alliance.

“This roadmap is not about theoretical ideas and pipe dreams. It is built on practical, real-world policies from leading cities around the globe,” said Jeff Merritt, Head of the Internet of Things and Urban Transformation, World Economic Forum. “City governments are on the frontline of a global crisis and need to be able to act quickly and decisively to curtail this pandemic and set course for their economic recovery. Technology is an essential tool in this fight, but governments cannot risk falling into the usual traps related to privacy, security, and vendor lock-in. That’s where the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance can help.”

To kickstart the roadmap adoption, the alliance has recruited a group of 36 “pioneer cities” that will collaborate with global experts to enhance their city policies in areas ranging from privacy protection and cybersecurity to better services for disabled people and better broadband coverage.

The pioneer cities are launching their activities today at a global event broadcast by Smart City Expo World Congress, the world’s premier smart cities event.

List of pioneer cities (in alphabetical order):

Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Barcelona, Spain
Belfast, United Kingdom
Bengaluru, India
Bilbao, Spain
Bogotá, Colombia
Brasilia, Brazil
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Chattanooga, United States
Cordoba, Argentina
Daegu, South Korea
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
eThekwini (Durban), South Africa
Faridabad, India
Gaziantep, Turkey
Hamamatsu, Japan
Hyderabad, India
Indore, India
Istanbul, Turkey
Kaga, Japan
Kakogawa, Japan
Kampala, Uganda
Karlsruhe, Germany
Leeds, United Kingdom
Lisbon, Portugal
London, United Kingdom
Maebashi, Japan
Manila, Philippines
Medellín, Colombia
Melbourne, Australia
Mexico City, Mexico
Milan, Italy
Moscow, Russia
Newcastle, Australia
San José, United States
Toronto, Canada

“This initiative originated in Japan last year from our Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a fact I’m very proud of,” said Koichi Akaishi, Vice Minister for Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan. “I hope to see more cities participating in the Alliance following the model set by these first pioneer cities.”

Leaders of organizations participating in the program:

Miguel Eiras Antunes, Global Smart Cities Leader, Deloitte Global, said, “The transformation from a traditional city to a ‘smart city’ does not just happen overnight. Success depends on the quality of the decisions. Deloitte is committed to working closely together with the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance to co-design policy frameworks that will empower governments to accelerate smart cities initiatives for sustainable developments.”

London’s Chief Digital Officer, Theo Blackwell, said, “We need to work together to realize the potential of data to solve city challenges by putting it in the hands of those who can make a difference. But we also need to do it in a way that is safe, ethical, and responsible. London is proud to join this global initiative as a pioneer city to promote the adoption of ethical, smart city policies.”

“Technology and knowledge are two strategic assets to build inclusive, data-driven, and sustainable smart cities capable of tackling new and emerging challenges,” said Roberta Cocco, Deputy Mayor for Digital Transformation and Services to Citizens, Milan. “That is why Milan is joining the G20 Global Smart City Alliance, as this initiative will allow us to share best practices with innovative cities around the world. Today more than ever, in fact, we need to collaborate to identify the most effective tools to face global threats like COVID-19. It is only by joining our forces that we can beat this common enemy that is threatening the health, the economy, and the future of our citizens.”

Dr. Julia Glidden, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector, Microsoft Corporation, said, “Accessibility and privacy policies are critical to making cities more inclusive and transparent. Microsoft congratulates the Forum and G20 for creating model policies that aid cities in serving all citizens.”

“We will adopt a transparent and participatory philosophy of local governance in the city of Istanbul,” said Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul. “We aim to empathize with all segments of society, and value the participation of everyone, ensuring that the majority of the people are represented - not the few.”

Gilvan Maximo, Secretary of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Brazil, said, “The G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance will provide us with a global partnership to accelerate the adoption of technologies responsibly and for the benefit of the citizen, debating complex issues and seeking joint solutions. Therefore, Brasilia is eager to participate in this joint work.”

“This opportunity to collaborate as a G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance pioneer city on a new roadmap for safely adopting new technology is very welcome indeed,” said Alderman Frank McCoubrey, Lord Mayor of Belfast. “We’ll be exploiting new technologies and data to tackle city challenges in areas such as health and mobility to improve our citizens’ quality of life - and we must ensure this is done ethically and in a way that prioritizes transparency, privacy, equity, and inclusion. Being part of the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance means that each of the partner cities will benefit from expert, tailored insights and policy tools. This collaborative approach will allow us all to make progress in how we govern technology more swiftly and effectively, for the benefit of all our citizens.”

“Transforming our cities into smart cities is a great tool to improve people’s life quality,” said Horacio Rodriguez Larreta, Mayor of Buenos Aires. “That is why we are committed to continuing incorporating technology, developing innovative public policies, and working together with the G20 cities to build a modern and efficient state that makes life easier for everyone who lives, works, studies, or visits us in Buenos Aires.”

The World Economic Forum’s inaugural Pioneers of Change Summit takes place online on 16-20 November. The summit brings together more than 750 leaders from government, business, and civil society from more than 90 countries. The meeting takes place when there is a rare but narrow window of opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset the world. Key topics discussed include digital business, sustainable production, infrastructure, health, new work models, financial innovation, and frontier technologies.

Source: World Economic Forum

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November 6, 2020

Green Horizon Summit to Accelerate the Race to Zero, Highlight Innovative Solutions.

Summit on how to close the financing gap between net zero ambitions and reality to be hosted by the City of London Corporation, Green Finance Institute, and the World Economic Forum.
All sessions would be live-streamed on the Forum’s website from 9-11 November.
HRH, the Prince of Wales, and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon join leaders from business, civil society, and key international organizations, including the ECB, IMF, and UN, to discuss critical topics like ESG metrics, funding green investments, and accelerating investment in green innovation.

World Economic Forum Green Summit

Geneva, Switzerland, November 6, 2020 - The City of London Corporation, in collaboration with the Green Finance Institute and supported by the World Economic Forum, is hosting a virtual summit 9-11 November that will focus on green finance in the recovery from COVID-19.

The Green Horizon Summit will bring together leaders from government, business, and civil society to close the financing gap between net zero ambitions and reality. Each session will help drive forward the role of green finance in the recovery from COVID-19.

The Summit will cover five major themes:

Reporting, Risk Management, and Return
Financing the Energy Transition
Infrastructure and Green Growth
Financing Resilience and Adaptation
Nature and Net Zero

All sessions will be live-streamed and captioned.

Featured speakers include:

Michael R. Bloomberg
Founder, Bloomberg LP & Bloomberg Philanthropies
Christiana Figueres
Founder, Global Optimism
Larry Fink
Founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock, Inc
Kristalina Georgieva
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Antonio Guterres
The Secretary-General of the United Nations
Christine Lagarde
President of the European Central Bank

The Forum will host day three (November 11) of the Summit. This ‘practitioners’ day’ will focus on putting the frameworks into place and funnel finance into a net-zero economy. It will feature a range of practitioners covering a new generation of asset managers, banking, big data, professional services to hear how we can make the transition a reality.

Key topics covered on this day include building common Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) metrics, shaping the future of work and skills, and accelerating and finance innovation that will facilitate the race to zero.

Source: World Economic Forum

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September 29, 2020

World Economic Forum: Leaders Rally for a 'Great Reset' to Achieve Global Goals

The global pandemic shows that the world urgently needs a new model for international cooperation.
Public-private collaboration is required more than ever to ensure this reboot is sustainable and inclusive.
The mobilization of 1,200 organizations through the COVID Action Platform shows what we can do to improve lives and livelihoods on a global scale.

World Economic Forum

Photos: Impressions from the Farewell Lunch at the Schatzalp session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. 24 January 2020. Images provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Mattias Nutt.

Geneva, Switzerland, 24 September 2020 - In the closing session of the World Economic Forum’s fourth Sustainable Development Impact Summit, leaders called for governments, businesses, and civil society to create new kinds of cooperation to tackle COVID-19 and the climate crisis.

To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), diplomats urged leaders to seize the opportunity for a Great Reset; the idea championed by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

The concept of globalization needs to be redefined, said Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s Minister of External Affairs. “If you do an honest stocktaking of this last six or seven months, I don’t think it would be a good report card on most countries in most regions of the world,” he said, adding that the previous focus on trade, investment, and capital flows has to be broadened.

“Corona anywhere is corona everywhere,” he said. Along with issues such as terrorism and climate change, the pandemic forces us to “revise our sense of what is globalization,” he said.

Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation of Egypt, echoed these themes, saying of the COVID-19 pandemic: “Everybody has to be part of a collective solution. No country has a silver bullet. All of us had a chance to learn from each other. Despite shortcomings and pitfalls in handling certain things in the pandemic, there have also been a few successes. These successes have given us confidence,” she said.

One of the critical areas where more public-private dialogue and cooperation could be useful is between the United States, Europe, and China. Susana Malcorra, Dean, IE School of Global and Public Affairs, IE University, Spain, said that competition between the United States and China is not the only rivalry of concern. “There are tensions around the world,” she said. “So, what I would suggest is that we need to think about what I would call the best possible scenario, which is a competitive multilateralism,” she said. “We will not have in the foreseeable future a multilateral system based on one member state being in the driver’s seat and essentially having the rest lining up, like it or not.”

Pekka Haavisto, Foreign Minister of Finland, said that while European countries value transatlantic cooperation and share many values - Europe needs to “work with China on the big global issues, to find a global solution.”

The World Economic Forum designed the summit around the five pillars of the Great Reset: Better Business, Catalysing Cooperation, Harnessing Technology, Liveable Planet, and Shared Prosperity.

• Better Business

To help companies “walk the talk” on stakeholder capitalism and demonstrate how businesses generate long-term value.
The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Bank of America, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC, released a set of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics and disclosures.

• Catalyzing Cooperation

The COVID-19 Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs launched the Action Agenda with 60 organizations to support over 50,000 social entrepreneurs worldwide.
The World Economic Forum partnered with the International Renewable Energy Agency to help accelerate the industry transition to clean energy.

• Harnessing Technology

UpLink, launched at last year’s summit, now has 4,000 innovators and entrepreneurs on its platform, who have created over 500 solutions to help achieve the SDGs.
Through the UpLink Trillion Trees challenge and 1t.org, for example, 20 innovative and scalable solutions will be fast-tracked to conserve, restore, and grow 1 trillion trees by 2030.

• Liveable Planet

In one year, the Mission Possible Platform grew to over 200 companies covering seven of the most energy-intense and heavy transport sectors. These leaders reaffirmed their commitments at #SDI20 and called for all to reach net-zero by 2050 or sooner.
With the support of Forum’s Tropical Forest Alliance, the Consumer Goods Forum and 17 global corporations officially launched the Forest Positive Coalition of Action to tackle deforestation resulting from palm oil, soy, and paper, pulp, and fiber-based packaging.

• Shared Prosperity

Pooling vaccine procurement will accelerate the distribution of a COVID vaccine around the world. COVAX, which is co-led by GAVI and CEPI, is designed to do this. One hundred fifty-six economies, representing nearly two-thirds of the global population, are now committed to this. The Forum’s Manufacturing Alliance is an emerging initiative to help scale this production.
The World Economic Forum launched the Champions for Technology and Social Justice Community to help companies collaborate more closely with civil society on technology and social justice issues.

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the world’s state, is an International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, and other society leaders to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.

The World Economic Forum convened the fourth Sustainable Development Impact Summit under the theme “Realizing a Great Reset for Sustainable Development.” This virtual summit brought together more than 4,500 leaders from government, business, and civil society from more than 141 countries.

Source: World Economic Forum

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The Great Reset

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August 26, 2020

World Economic Forum Appoints New Members to Board of Trustees.

• The Board of Trustees is the guardian of the World Economic Forum’s mission and values.

World Economic Forum,

Geneva, Switzerland, 26 August 2020 - The World Economic Forum appointed two new members to its Board of Trustees today. Rwanda’s Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation Paula Ingabire and Chief Executive Officer of AXA Thomas Buberl join the group serving as guardians of the Forum’s mission and values. The Board oversees the Forum’s work in promoting faithful global citizenship.

The Board of Trustees comprises outstanding leaders from business, politics, academia, and civil society. Its membership is divided equally between representatives of the business community and leaders from international organizations and civil society.

Paula Ingabire has served as the Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation of Rwanda since October 2018. Before her appointment, she was Head of ICT at the Rwanda Development Board and the Head of the Kigali Innovation City initiative. She led the implementation of National ICT programs and coordinated the creation of SMART Africa. She is part of Girls in ICT Rwanda and has worked to propel Rwanda forward in its rapid adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution tools. In March 2020, she joined the Forum’s Young Global Leaders community.

Thomas Buberl has served as Chief Executive Officer of AXA since September 2016. He has been a member of the AXA executive committee since 2012 and held the role of Chief Executive Officer of AXA Konzern AG (Germany). Prior roles include the Chief Executive Officer for Switzerland for Zurich Financial Services and Member of the Management Board of Winterthur in Switzerland, first as Chief Operating Officer and then as Chief Marketing and Distribution Officer. In 2008, he was nominated as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

As of 26 August 2020, the Members of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum are:

Klaus SCHWAB Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Peter BRABECK-LETMATHE, Vice-Chairman, Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum, Chairman Emeritus, Nestlé SA, Switzerland
H.M. Queen Rania AL ABDULLAH of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Mukesh AMBANI, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, India
Marc BENIOFF, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce, USA
Thomas BUBERL, Chief Executive Officer, AXA, France
Mark CARNEY, Finance Adviser on the 26th Conference of the Parties to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Laurence FINK, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock, USA
Chrystia FREELAND, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs of Canada
Orit GADIESH, Chairman, Bain & Company, USA
Kristalina GEORGIEVA, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC
Fabiola GIANOTTI, Director-General, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva
Al Gore, Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001); Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management LLP, USA
Herman GREF, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Sberbank, Russian Federation
Angel GURRÍA, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
André S. HOFFMANN,* Non-Executive Vice-Chairman, Roche Holding Ltd., Switzerland
Paula INGABIRE, Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation of Rwanda
Christine LAGARDE, President, European Central Bank (ECB)
Jack MA, Alibaba Board of Directors, Alibaba Group, People’s Republic of China
Yo-Yo MA, Cellist
Peter MAURER, President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Switzerland
Luis MORENO, President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC
Patrice Motsepe, Founder and Executive Chairman, African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa
L. Rafael Reif, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
David M. RUBENSTEIN, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman, Carlyle Group, USA
Mark SCHNEIDER, Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé, Switzerland
Tharman SHANMUGARATNAM, Senior Minister of Singapore
Jim Hagemann SNABE, Chairman, Supervisory Board, Siemens AG, Germany; Chairman, A.P. Møller-Maersk, Denmark
Feike SYBESMA, Honorary Chairman, Royal DSM, Netherlands
Heizo TAKENAKA, Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy of Japan (2002-2006)
Min ZHU, President, National Institute of Financial Research, People’s Republic of China

Source: World Economic Forum

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July 15, 2020

Four Hundred Million New Jobs by 2030 if Businesses Prioritize Nature, Says World Economic Forum.

The report finds putting nature first is good for business and economic resilience.
Nature-positive solutions will create $10.1 trillion in business opportunities and millions of new jobs.
COVID-19’s impact is a stark reminder of our imbalance with the natural world, but the report shows businesses and governments’ opportunities to build back better.
Policy companion outlines how finance ministers can kick-start a nature-positive economy.

World Economic Forum,

Geneva, Switzerland, 15 July 2020 - The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented job losses and economic uncertainty. As governments and businesses look to stimulate growth, a new study from the World Economic Forum found that ‘nature-positive’ solutions can create 395 million jobs by 2030.

The Future of Nature and Business Report provides blueprints for businesses to tap into a $10.1 trillion business opportunity, focusing on nature-positive industry actions, meaning that they add value to nature.

The report reflects real-world examples where nature-positive results have improved business outcomes:

In Indonesia, smart farming utilizing sensors and satellite imagery improved crop yields on average by 60%.
In China, Suzhou Industrial Park’s green development has seen its GDP increase 260-fold partially through green growth.
In Viet Nam, people living in coastal communities saw their incomes more than double following the restoration of critical mangroves.

“We can address the looming biodiversity crisis and reset the economy in a way that creates and protects millions of jobs,” said Akanksha Khatri, Head of the Nature Action Agenda, World Economic Forum. “Public calls are getting louder for businesses and government to do better. We can protect our food supplies, make better use of our infrastructure, and tap into new energy sources by transitioning to nature-positive solutions.”

• Food, land, and ocean use: What we eat and grow makes up around $10 trillion of global GDP and employs up to 40% of the worldwide workforce. Nature-positive solutions can create 191 million new jobs and $3.6 trillion of additional revenue or cost savings by 2030. Here are some examples:

Diversifying the diet: Some 75% of the world’s food comes from 12 plants and five animal species. Animal products provide 18% of calories but take up 80% of farmland. A more diversified diet of vegetables and fruits can create $310 billion in business opportunities annually by 2030.
Technology in large-scale farms: Over 4.3 million jobs and $195 billion in business opportunities can come from precision-agriculture technologies by 2030. With 40% improvements in yields expected, investments could yield returns of over 10%.
Retail: Every second, the world landfills or burns the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles. It means that $500 billion is lost every year due to discarded clothing. Using more renewable inputs and reusing, refurbishing, and recycling clothes could lead to $130 billion in savings and prevent 148 million tonnes of textile waste by 2030.
Fishing: It takes five times the effort to catch the same amount of fish now as it did in 1950. If the ‘business as usual’ approach continues, wild fish stocks will decline by 15%. It will cost the industry $83 billion, as boats will have to travel further and fish deeper. Sustainable ecosystem management is one way to tap into a $40 billion opportunity for the maritime industry worldwide.

• Infrastructure and the built-environment: About 40% of global GDP comes from the environment we build - office buildings, homes, and transport. Nature-positive solutions can create 117 million new jobs and $3 trillion in additional revenue or cost savings by 2030. Here are some examples:

Smart buildings: Retrofitting systems and installing more efficient technology in new builds can save $825 billion by 2030. Switching to LEDs and substituting natural light alone could save over $650 billion by 2030. Green roofs can save on energy costs, mitigate flood risk, reduce air pollution, and even produce food. The market for these could grow 12% annually, reaching $15 billion by 2030.
Smart sensors: Reducing municipal water leakage could save $115 billion by 2030. Return on investments in water efficiency can be above 20%.
Waste management: With $305 billion in additional revenue opportunities, the global waste management market could double in 10 years with the right investments in South Asia, East Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.

• Energy and extractives: The energy we produce and what we extract accounts for almost a quarter of global GDP and 16% of global employment. With energy demand growing, there is an opportunity to create 87 million jobs and $3.5 trillion in business opportunities by 2030. Here are some examples:

Mining and resource extraction: Improving resource recovery in mining can save $225 billion and reduce water usage by 75% in the next decade. New technologies and more mechanization could enhance material recovery rates by up to 50%.
Circular models in the automotive sector: Refurbishing and reusing automotive parts, such as transmissions, retains more value and uses less energy than recycling. The world can save some $870 billion by recovering manufacturing costs by 2030.
Renewables: By 2030, Renewable energy sources can provide opportunities of $650 billion, and investment returns more significant than 10%. Stimulus packages for solar and other commercialized renewables can generate millions of new jobs. Solar energy without subsidies matched fossil fuel costs in over 30 countries. By 2021, it could be cheaper than coal in China and India.
Doubling down on revenue streams: The land for renewable energy projects is three to 12 times the size of coal-powered ones. Some companies are developing high-rise photovoltaic power stations that combine animal husbandry and ecotourism, providing additional revenue streams on the same land plot.

• Guide for Finance Ministers

A policy companion outlines how governments can complement and enable businesses to act. Finance ministers can combine six cross-cutting policy measures to put the right incentives in place as part of stimulus packages and create jobs without destroying nature. They include better measurement of economic performance beyond GDP, incentives for innovation, improved spatial planning and management of marine and terrestrial assets, the removal of subsidies that endanger long-term job stability, investment in reskilling, and increased financial support for natural solutions.

• Quotes from World Economic Forum Partners

“We must use the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to reset humanity’s relationship with nature. Investing in biodiversity and the environment offers the chance of building better economies and our resilience as a species,” said Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of Costa Rica. “Costa Rica has shown that the transition to a carbon-neutral, nature-positive economy brings greater prosperity, jobs, and new developments. It’s time to mainstream this model.”
“We are entering into a historic decade of action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and address climate change. The business has a critical role to play in environmental stewardship of our planet,” said Inger Andersen, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme. “They have the technology, innovation, and financing to make the shifts we need towards increased investment in nature’s infrastructure and nature-based solutions.”
“While there is still uncertainty in how COVID-19 will unfold, we must recognize this as an opportunity to accelerate efforts to put nature at the center of all decision-making,” said Alan Jope, Chief Executive Officer of Unilever. “There will be no jobs or prosperity on a dead planet!”

Source: World Economic Forum

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June 4, 2020

World Economic Forum to Convene a Unique Twin Summit "The Great Reset" in January 2021.

The twin summit will be both in-person and virtual, connecting key global governmental and business leaders in Davos with a global multistakeholder network in 400 cities around the world for a forward-oriented dialogue driven by the younger generation.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Impressions from the Opening Concert: An International Call for Unity and Joy, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Christian Clavadetscher. [File Photo]

Geneva, Switzerland, 3 June 2020 - “The Great Reset” will be the theme of a unique twin summit to be convened by the World Economic Forum in January 2021. The 51st World Economic Forum Annual Meeting will bring together global leaders from government, business, and civil society, and stakeholders from around the world in a unique configuration that includes both in-person and virtual dialogues.

“We only have one planet, and we know that climate change could be the next global disaster with even more dramatic consequences for humankind. We have to decarbonize the economy in the short window remaining and bring our thinking and behavior once more into harmony with nature,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

“To secure our future and to prosper, we need to evolve our economic model and put people and planet at the heart of global value creation. If there is one critical lesson to learn from this crisis, we need to put nature at the heart of how we operate. We can’t waste more time,” said HRH, The Prince of Wales.

“The Great Reset is a welcome recognition that this human tragedy must be a wake-up call. We must build equal, inclusive, and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate change, and the many other global changes we face,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations, New York.

“A Great Reset is necessary to build a new social contract that honors the dignity of every human being,” added Schwab. “The global health crisis has laid bare the unsustainability of our old system. We lack social cohesion, equal opportunities, and inclusiveness. Nor can we turn our backs on the evils of racism and discrimination.”

“COVID-19 has accelerated our transition into the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We have to make sure that the new technologies in the digital, biological, and physical world remain human-centered and serve society as a whole, providing everyone with fair access,” he said.

“This global pandemic has also demonstrated again how interconnected we are. We have to restore a functioning system of smart global cooperation structured to address the challenges of the next 50 years. The Great Reset will require us to integrate all global society stakeholders into a community of common interest, purpose, and action,” said Schwab. “We need a change of mindset, moving from short-term to long-term thinking, moving from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder responsibility. Environmental, social and good governance have to be a regular part of corporate and governmental accountability,” he added.

According to the World Economic Forum, this innovative summit will be a very different Annual Meeting. It would reflect the spirit of the Great Reset. It will provide a unique opportunity at the beginning of 2021 to bring together the critical global government and business leaders in Davos. It would be a worldwide multistakeholder summit driven by the younger generation to ensure that the Great Reset dialogue pushes beyond traditional thinking and is genuinely forward-oriented.

To do so, the World Economic Forum will draw on thousands of young people in more than 400 cities around the world (the Global Shapers Community), interconnected with a robust virtual hub network to interact with the leaders in Davos. Each of those hubs will have an open house policy to integrate all interested citizens into this dialogue, making the Annual Meeting open to everyone. Also, global media and social media networks will mobilize millions of people, enabling them to share their input while also providing them with access to the Annual Meeting discussions in Davos.

HRH, The Prince of Wales, and Professor Schwab announced the Great Reset during a virtual meeting. Statements by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva followed the announcement.

All stakeholder groups of global society supported the above statements. The Great Reset supporters include:

Victoria Alonsoperez, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Chipsafer, Uruguay, and a Young Global Leader
Caroline Anstey, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Pact, USA
Ajay S. Banga, Chief Executive Officer, Mastercard, USA
Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Brussels
Ma Jun, Chairman, Green Finance Committee, China Society for Finance and Banking, and a Member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People’s Bank of China
Bernard Looney, Chief Executive Officer, bp, United Kingdom
Juliana Rotich, Venture Partner, Atlantica Ventures, Kenya
Bradford L. Smith, President, Microsoft, USA
Nick Stern, Chair, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, United Kingdom.

In the run-up to the Annual Meeting, the Forum will host a virtual series, The Great Reset Dialogues. These dialogues are a joint initiative of the World Economic Forum and HRH The Prince of Wales.

Source: World Economic Forum

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January 25, 2020

The World faces Four Main Challenges: Climate Change, Mistrust of Leaders, Increased Geopolitical Tension, and the Dark Side of the Technological Revolution, Says UN Secretary-General.

World Economic Forum

Photo: António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations, New York, and the Global Shapers at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 24 January. Congress Centre. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Ivanka Trump, Advisor to the President White House, United States of America, during World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Valeriano Di Domenico.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Sara Eisen, Co-Anchor, Squawk on the Street and Closing Bell, CNBC, USA, speaking in the “After Brexit: Renewing Europe’s Growth” session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January. Congress Center - Aspen. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/Faruk Pinjo.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Karen Karniol-Tambour, Bridgewater Associates LP, speaking in the “Issue briefing: Black Swan and Grey Rhinos in Financial Markets” session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January. Congress Centre - Issue Briefing Room. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Greg Beadle.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Elena Cherney, Editor, News Features and Special Projects, Wall Street Journal, USA, speaking in the “The Future of Mobility” session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January. Congress Centre - Situation Room. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/Sandra Blaser.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Penny Abeywardena, Commissioner for International Affairs, Mayor’s Office, City of New York, USA; Young Global Leader speaking in the “Striking a Green New Deal” session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January. Congress Centre - Aspen. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/Manuel Lopez.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Robert J. Shiller, Sterling Professor of Economics, Yale University, USA, speaking in the “Power of Narratives” session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January. Congress Center - Aspen. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/Faruk Pinjo.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Somini Sengupta, International Correspondent, Climate Change, New York Times, India, speaking in the Charging the “True Price of Carbon” session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January. Congress Centre - Hub B Room. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Greg Beadle.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Sarah Kelly, Anchor-at-Large, Deutsche Welle, USA, speaking during the session “A Decade to Deliver the Global Goals” at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January. Congress Centre. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/Jakob Polacsek.

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 24 January 2020 - “I would use two words to describe the state of the world today: uncertainty and instability,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. Guterres made his statement during a plenary session of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020.

Using a Christian Biblical reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Guterres described what he called four “enormous challenges” to the world today: climate change, mistrust of leaders, increased geopolitical tension, and the dark side of the technological revolution.

“Climate change is the defining issue of our time,” he said. It represents an “existential threat” to humankind. “The planet will not be destroyed. We will destroy our capacity to live on the planet.”

We need to hold the Carbon emissions below those projected by the Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature within the range targeted by scientists. Countries that he called the “big emitters” will need to make more significant strides; 80% of emissions come from the member nations of the G20 group.

He called for a three-step program to tackle this: carbon pricing, a shift from taxation on income to one on carbon, and the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies. “As a taxpayer, I can’t accept the idea that the Government uses my taxes to melt glaciers,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

As a measure of mistrust, Guterres noted that 66 countries experienced major demonstrations last year. “In each country, the pretext is different, but there is an underlying factor: mistrust,” he said. “The lack of trust in local establishments.” People believe that the world does not equitably distribute the fruits of globalization. “Seven in 10 people in the world live in countries where inequality is growing.”

His recipe for improvement would start with governments giving a “voice to the people,” particularly to young people, and with particular attention to gender equality. All stakeholders (including civil society, governments, and businesspeople) should work together, notably in the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, he said.

Weaknesses in institutions further exacerbate increased geopolitical tensions. For example, the UN Security Council’s “inability to take decisions” or to enforce the ones they do take, such as the arms embargo for Libya. “We need a global economy,” he said. “And we need multilateral institutions to be in charge.”

To combat “chaos in cyberspace and ensure that artificial intelligence becomes a force for good, we need to boost international cooperation,” he said. To that end, multilateral organizations should change their modus operandi to become more agile, working in networks. “Inclusive multilateralism” would extend beyond national governments to include more participation from local authorities, civil society, business leaders, and others.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 took place from 21 to 24 January 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The meeting brought together more than 3,000 global leaders from politics, government, civil society, academia, the arts, and culture as well as the media. Convening under the theme, Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World, participants focused on defining new models for building sustainable and inclusive societies in a plurilateral world.

|GlobalGiants.Com|

Edited & Posted by the Editor | 2:14 PM | View the original post

January 22, 2020

The World Economic Forum launches Reskilling Revolution, an initiative to provide one billion people with better education, skills, and jobs by 2030.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Impressions during the Creating a Sustainable Business Culture session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 21 January. Ameron Swiss Mountain Hotel, Symondpark. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/Faruk Pinjo.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Pierre Hubbard, General Secretary, Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD, France, speaking in the Humans behind Machines at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January. Congress Centre - Sanada. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Manuel Lopez.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Ivanka Trump, Assistant, and Adviser to the President of the United States speaking in the Press Conference: Reskilling Revolution: Better Skills for a Billion People by 2030 at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January. Media Village - Press Conference Room. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/Sikarin Fon Thanachaiary.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, Google, USA, speaking in the An Insight, An Idea with Sundar Pichai session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 22 January. Congress Centre - Aspen 1 Room. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/ Greg Beadle.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Deepika Padukone, Founder, Live Love Laugh Foundation, India; Cultural Leader, speaking in the “An Insight, An Idea with Deepika Padukone” session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 21 January 2020. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Boris Baldinger.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, speaking in the High-Level Panel on Africa session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 21 January. Congress Centre - Congress Hall. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/Mattias Nutt.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Paul Collier, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, United Kingdom, speaking in “The Future of the Corporation” at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 21 January. Congress Centre - in Spotlight Room. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/Jakob Polacsek.

World Economic Forum

Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, 22 January 2020 - The World Economic Forum today launched Reskilling Revolution, a multistakeholder initiative aiming to provide better education, new skills, and better work to a billion people around the world by 2030.

The Reskilling Revolution platform would prepare the global workforce with the skills needed to future-proof their careers against the expected displacement of millions of jobs as a result of technological change. It would also provide businesses and economies with the skilled labor needed to fulfill the millions of new roles that will be created by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, shifts in the global economy, and industrial transitions towards sustainability.

“The best way to foster a more cohesive and inclusive society is to provide everybody with a decent job and income. Here in Davos, we are creating a public-private platform to give one billion people the skills they need in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The scale and urgency of this transformation calls for nothing short of a reskilling revolution,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder, and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum.

• National and industry transformation

To effect such systems-wide change, Reskilling Revolution will serve as a platform for connecting and coordinating individual initiatives within specific countries, industries, organizations, and schools. At the country-level, the governments of India, Oman, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the United Arab Emirates Denmark, and Singapore would support the Reskilling Revolution.

In the private sector, several companies are already taking coordinated action on workforce transformations through cross-industry collaborations involving business, trade unions, and the training sector. These industry accelerators include Advanced Manufacturing; Aerospace; Aviation, Travel and Tourism; Consumer; Financial Services; Media, Entertainment and Information; Mining and Metals; Oil and Gas; and Health and Healthcare.

• Founding partners, initiatives and coalitions to reach 250 million people

Together, founding partners’ initiatives and coalitions already signed up to the Reskilling Revolution have the capability of reaching 250 million people worldwide. The Reskilling Revolution Platform will enable these coalitions and future business-led initiatives to create system-level change or to be scaled up through replication by other organizations.

Founding business pledges include:

• The Adecco Group aims to support 5 million workers through upskilling and reskilling globally by 2030. The Group’s General Assembly business will play a vital role as a founding member of the Skills Consortium of online training and learning providers, as part of the Reskilling Revolution initiative. The Adecco Group Foundation will contribute as a founding partner to the HR Valley initiative - a hub of human capital management learning.

• Coursera Inc. will be a data partner and a founding member of the Skills Consortium of online training and learning providers hosted by the Reskilling Revolution. It has committed to upskilling 10 million global workers by 2030 in high-demand domains of Data Science, Technology, Business, and Soft skills.

• Infosys is expanding computer science and maker education to K-12 students and teachers across the US, especially among under-represented communities, and will become a founding member of a Skills Consortium of online training and learning providers hosted by Reskilling Revolution.

• LinkedIn will be a data partner for the Reskilling Revolution initiative. Manpower Group’s MyPath is enabling hundreds of thousands of people to access high-growth roles by providing accelerated upskilling, on-the-job training, and certification.

• PwC and its New World. New Skills. The program will deploy skills to support public-private collaborations through the Reskilling Revolution. It will also help clients prepare their workforces for the digital world, upskill each of its 276,000 people and scale up its community programs, particularly in areas where there is an acute need.

• Salesforce has committed to help train 1 million people with relevant skills and reach 10 million active users on Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform, within the next five years. Through workforce development initiatives, including Trailhead Military, FutureForce, and the Pathfinder Program, all powered by Trailhead, anyone can skill-up to learn in-demand skills and earn credentials to land a top job in tech.

“The United States is a leading example of when the public and private sector comes together to prioritize workers. The Trump Administration would change one billion lives by 2030 through this Reskilling Revolution through its Pledge to America’s Workers,” said Ivanka Trump, Assistant, and Adviser to the President of the United States.

“We are excited to partner with the World Economic Forum through the Reskilling Revolution initiative. As the availability of digital talent continues to be one of the greatest barriers for enterprises to transform, organizations need to nurture a culture that enables talent - across disciplines and skills - to benefit from a continuum of lifelong learning that prepares them for the future of work. We are keen to help drive the transformation”, said Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Director, Infosys.

The World Economic Forum’s Reskilling Revolution Platform for Shaping the Future of the New Economy and Society provides the opportunity to advance prosperous, inclusive, and equitable economies and societies. It focuses on co-creating a new vision in three interconnected areas: growth and competitiveness; education, skills and work; and equality and inclusion. Working together, stakeholders deepen their understanding of complex issues, shape new models and standards and drive scalable, collaborative action for systemic change.

Over 100 of the world’s leading companies and 100 international, civil society and academic organizations currently work through the Platform. They promote new approaches to competitiveness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

|GlobalGiants.Com|

Edited & Posted by the Editor | 1:58 PM | View the original post

January 20, 2020

World Economic Forum Presents 2020 Crystal Awards

World Economic Forum

Photo: Hilde Schwab, Chairperson, and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Cultural Leader and Jin Xing, Choreographer and Founder, Jin Xing Dance Theatre Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; Cultural Leader speaking in The 26th Annual Crystal Award Ceremony session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 20 January. Conference Center - Congress Hall. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/ Valeriano Di Domenico.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Hilde Schwab, Chairperson, and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Cultural Leader and Deepika Padukone, Founder, Live Love Laugh Foundation, India; Cultural Leader speaking in The 26th Annual Crystal Award Ceremony session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 20 January. Conference Center - Congress Hall. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/ Valeriano Di Domenico.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Hilde Schwab, Chairperson, and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Cultural Leader and Theaster Gates, Founder, and Director, Rebuild Foundation, Cultural Leader speaking in The 26th Annual Crystal Award Ceremony session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 20 January. Conference Center - Congress Hall. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/ Valeriano Di Domenico.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Deepika Padukone, Founder, Live Love Laugh Foundation, India; Cultural Leader speaking in The 26th Annual Crystal Award Ceremony session at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 20 January. Conference Center - Congress Hall. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum/ Faruk Pinjo.

Geneva, Switzerland, 20 January 2020 - Artist Theaster Gates, choreographer, and media personality Jin Xing, actor Deepika Padukone and artist Lynette Wallworth are the recipients of the World Economic Forum 26th Annual Crystal Award. The award celebrates the achievements of artists and cultural figures whose leadership inspires inclusive and sustainable change. The winners were honored in the opening session of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, on Monday 20 January.

“These wonderful cultural leaders are bridge-builders. They connect us. They help us reflect on the human condition, and they provide visions of the world that can cut through the limitations of short-term or linear thinking,” said Hilde Schwab, Chairwoman, and Co-Founder of the World Arts Forum, which hosts the awards.

Award recipients

• Theaster Gates, for his leadership in creating sustainable communities

Theaster Gates is an artist who lives and works in Chicago. Drawing on his interest and training in urban planning and preservation, Gates creates works that focus on space theory, land development, sculpture, and performance. In 2010, Gates established the Rebuild Foundation to galvanize communities through neighborhood regeneration and the development of educational and arts programming. Many of the foundation’s initiatives are centered on the revitalization of Chicago’s South Side, creating hubs and archives for the black culture that serve as catalysts for discussions on race, equality, space, and history. Gates is a professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Visual Arts and the Harris School of Public Policy and is Distinguished Visiting Artist and Director of Artist Initiatives at the Lunder Institute for American Art at Colby College.

“Special thanks to the World Economic Forum for this most prized Crystal Award. The impact of the arts and artists is incomparable when we think about the transformation of cities and towns. I am honored to work as a believer in beauty and creativity and hope the work and the ideals that I lead within Chicago have resonance throughout the world,” said Gates.

• Jin Xing, for her leadership in shaping inclusive cultural norms

Jin Xing is a choreographer, media personality, and China’s most popular TV host. She is the founder of the award-winning Jin Xing Dance Theatre, the country’s first independent dance company. Her television shows, which include Venus Hits Mars, The Jin Xing Show, and Chinese Dating, draw more than 100 million viewers a week and create a space for discussion on contemporary life in China. She is a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France and received an honorary Doctorate of Dance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

“In today’s complex and fractured world, I pursue my mission to be true to the society, to be a true voice for the public, as an artist, a public figure and as a human being. I’m grateful and honored to receive this year’s Crystal Award. This honor encourages me to continue my mission and be crystal clear towards life,” said Jin.

• Deepika Padukone, for her leadership in raising mental health awareness

Deepika Padukone is an internationally acclaimed actor, fashion icon, and mental health ambassador from India. She has acted in close to 30 feature films across genres and won several awards for her performances. Many of her films also rank among the highest-grossing movies of all time. Padukone was diagnosed with clinical depression in 2014 and sought professional help to aid her recovery. In June 2015, she founded The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF) to give hope to every person experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression (SAD). The foundation’s programs and initiatives include nationwide public awareness and destigmatization campaigns, adolescent mental health programs, funding support for treatment in rural communities, general training physicians in common mental health disorders, research, and an annual lecture series featuring the world’s foremost thinkers and achievers.

“With more than 300 million people suffering from the illness, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability in the world today and a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. I am humbled and deeply honored to be chosen for this year’s Crystal Award and dedicate the award to the millions around the world who experience stress, anxiety and depression, and other forms of mental illness,” Padukone said.

• Lynette Wallworth, for her leadership in creating inclusive narratives

Lynette Wallworth is an Australian artist whose immersive video installations, virtual reality, and film works reflect the connections between people and the natural world. She won an Emmy Award for her virtual reality film Collisions, which the World Economic Forum commissioned, premiered, and executive-produced. Wallworth was named one of the “100 Leading Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy magazine for immersing audiences in the destructive power of nuclear weapons. Her 2018 mixed-reality film Awavena, the story of the first woman Shaman from the Yawanawa tribe in Brazil, as well as her most recent works, have been made at the invitation of indigenous communities. She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Virtual and Augmented Reality and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sundance Institute.

“I have sought to use my skills as an artist to bring unheard voices, including indigenous voices. These voices ring out with resilience, persistence, power, and grace. In supporting my work, the creation and the presentation of it, the World Economic Forum has helped me place it in front of those I most wished to impact, those whose decisions help shape our shared future. I am immensely grateful that these works, these voices, have been heard and are being honored by a Crystal Award,” said Lynette Wallworth.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting brings together leaders from government, international organizations, business, civil society, the arts and culture and media, foremost experts, and the young generation from all over the world, at the highest level and in representative ways. It engages some 50 heads of state and government, more than 300 ministerial-level government participants, and business representation at the chief executive officer and chair level.

|GlobalGiants.Com|

Edited & Posted by the Editor | 3:07 PM | View the original post

January 18, 2020

Piyush Goyal to lead Indian Delegation to World Economic Forum 2020

Photo: Impressions from the Conference Center. At the Annual Meeting 2018 of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell. [File Photo]

New Delhi, 17 January 2020 — Union Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways, Piyush Goyal, will lead the Indian delegation to the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos from 20 January to 24th 2020. The Commerce and Industry Minister will participate in the WEF along with Union Minister of State for Shipping and Chemical & Fertilizers, Mansukh L. Mandaviya, and Chief Ministers of the States of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, the Finance Minister of Punjab, and the IT Minister of Telangana. Secretary Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Invest India are also part of the delegation.

Commerce and Industry Minister will hold bilateral meetings with Ministers of Australia, South Africa, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Korea, and Singapore. He will also meet the Director-General of the World Trade Organization and Secretary-General of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Apart from this, Commerce and Industry Minister will hold bilateral meetings with CEOs of companies, attend WEF sessions and round tables on Accelerating Investments in Indian Railways and attracting Global Institutional Investments in India.

Commerce and Industry Minister will also participate in an informal WTO Ministerial gathering in Davos.

The WEF annual meeting in Davos engages the world’s top leaders to shape global, regional, and industry agendas at the beginning of the year. The theme of the 2020 meeting is “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.”

|GlobalGiants.Com|

Edited & Posted by the Editor | 6:24 AM | View the original post

January 14, 2020

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 will convene under the theme, Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Bhairavi Jani, Executive Director, SCA Group of Companies, India; Young Global Leader, speaking during the Session “Future Frontiers of Global Value Chains” in “Situation Room” at the Annual Meeting 2019 of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Greg Beadle. [File Photo]

World Economic Forum

Photo: A Participants during the Session “What Should Globalization 4.0 Look Like?” in “Ideas Lab” at the Annual Meeting 2019 of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Greg Beadle. [File Photo]

World Economic Forum

Photo: Sarah Kelly, Anchor-at-Large, Deutsche Welle, USA, captured during the Session “A ‘Fourth Social Revolution’?” at the Annual Meeting 2019 of the World Economic Forum in Davos Congress Centre. Image provided by & Copyright © World Economic Forum / Sikarin Fon Thanachaiary. [File Photo]

Geneva, Switzerland, 14 January 2020 - The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020, taking place on 21-24 January in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, will focus on establishing stakeholder capitalism as a way of addressing the world’s most significant challenges. These challenges include societal divisions created by income inequality and political polarization to the climate crisis we face today.

Underpinning the meeting will be the Davos Manifesto 2020. This document builds on the original Davos Manifesto of 1973, which set out for the first time the stakeholder concept that businesses should serve the interests of all society rather than merely their shareholders. The Davos Manifesto 2020 provides a vision for stakeholder capitalism that touches on a range of essential issues of our time, including fair taxation, zero tolerance for corruption, executive pay, and respect for human rights.

“Business has now to fully embrace stakeholder capitalism, which means not only maximizing profits but use their capabilities and resources in cooperation with governments and civil society to address the critical issues of this decade. They have to contribute to a more cohesive and sustainable world actively,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

Building on the Manifesto 2020, this year’s program focuses on achieving maximum impact on the Forum’s platform for public-private cooperation across six core areas of activity: Ecology, Economy, Society, Industry, Technology, and Geopolitics. More than 160 individual initiatives, each capable of delivering system-wide transformation, are active on the Forum platform. Significant advances in a number of these, especially in the fields of responsible business, the environment, and social mobility, are expected to be confirmed during the meeting.

Among the initiatives to be launched at the Annual Meeting is one that aims to plant 1 trillion trees over the next decade and to equip 1 billion people with the necessary skills in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Nearly 3,000 leaders will participate in this year’s Annual Meeting. Top political leaders taking part include:

Donald Trump, President of the United States of America;
Han Zheng, Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China;
Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany;
Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy;
H.R.H. The Prince of Wales;
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission;
Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain;
Simonetta Sommaruga, President of the Swiss Confederation;
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan;
Sebastian Kurz, Federal Chancellor of Austria;
Ivan Duque, President of Colombia;
Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo;
Lenin Moreno Garcés, President of Ecuador;
Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland;
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana;
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece;
Barham Salih, President of Iraq;
Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach of Ireland;
Omar Al Razzaz, Prime Minister of Jordan;
Khaltmaagiin Battulga, President of Mongolia;
Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands;
Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway;
Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan;
Mohammad Ibrahim Shtayyeh, Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority;
Andrzej Duda, President of Poland;
Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation;
Macky Sall, President of Senegal;
Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore;
Kais Saied, President of Tunisia;
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.

Leaders from international organizations include:

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations;
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund;
Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO);
Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary-General, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC);
David Beasley, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP);
Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;
Liu Fang, Secretary-General, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO;
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO);
Angel Gurría, Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD);
Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank;
Peter Maurer, President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);
Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank;
Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization (ILO);
Jürgen Stock, Secretary-General, International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL);
Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

More than 1,680 leaders from the private sector will participate in the Annual Meeting this year, including Members and Partners of the World Economic Forum.

Leaders from civil society taking part in the meeting include:

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC);
Luca Visentini, General Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC);
Micah White, Co-Creator, Occupy Wall Street;
Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch;
Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director, Greenpeace International;
David Miliband, President, International Rescue Committee;
Seth F. Berkley, Chief Executive Officer, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance;
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT);
His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.

Adding a new dimension this year is the Arts and Culture Festival. Running alongside the Annual Meeting, the Festival will feature several sessions and immersive art installations, including those featuring the participation of the winners of the 26th Annual Crystal Awards and WEF Cultural Leaders.

|GlobalGiants.Com|

The world appreciates World Economic Forum’s unique heroic profession of improving the state of the world and commends its 2020 Annual Meeting’s theme “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.”

The world trusts that all companies would read and acknowledge the “Davos Manifesto 2020”, which sets forth “The Universal Purpose of a Company in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

The world expects that the World Economic Forum 2020 Annual Meeting would set the ball rolling by extensively publicizing forceful recommendations that are balanced, universally acceptable, strategic, holistic, achievable, operational, and friendly.

Edited & Posted by the Editor | 7:08 PM | View the original post

November 18, 2019

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in January 2020 in Davos, Switzerland to focus on 'Defining Stakeholder Capitalism'

World Economic Forum

Geneva, Switzerland, 18 November 2019 - The World Economic Forum recently announced the theme and details for its 50th Annual Meeting, to be held 21-24 January 2020, in Davos, Switzerland.

The Meeting’s theme will be ‘Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.’ It will bring together 3,000 participants from around the world, and aim to give concrete meaning to “stakeholder capitalism,” assist governments and international institutions in tracking progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, and facilitate discussions on technology and trade governance.

“People are revolting against the economic ‘elites’ they believe have betrayed them. And our efforts to keep global warming limited to 1.5°C are falling dangerously short,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman at the World Economic Forum. “With the world at such critical crossroads, this year we must develop a ‘Davos Manifesto 2020’ to reimagine the purpose and scorecards for companies and governments. It is what for which we founded the World Economic Forum 50 years ago, and it is what we want to contribute to for the next 50 years.”

The Programme for the Annual Meeting will prioritize six key areas:

• Ecology: How to mobilize businesses to respond to the risks of climate change and ensure that measures to protect biodiversity reach forest floors and ocean beds.

• Economy: How to remove the long-term debt burden. And how to keep the economy working at a pace that allows higher inclusion.

• Technology: How to create a global consensus on deployment of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and avoid a ‘technology war.’

• Society: How to reskill and upskill, a billion people in the next decade.

• Geopolitics: How the ‘spirit of Davos’ can create bridges to resolve conflicts in global hotspots. Informal meetings to set kickstart conciliation.

• Industry: How to help businesses create the models necessary to drive enterprise in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And how to navigate an enterprise in a world influenced by politics, driven by exponential technological changes, and increasing expectations from all stakeholders.

The Forum’s first Meeting in 1971 was established to further the idea put forward by Professor Klaus Schwab that business should serve all stakeholders - customers, employees, communities, as well as shareholders.

According to WEF, the 2020 Annual Meeting will be among the “most sustainable international summits ever held.”

“Awarded the IS0 20121 standard for sustainable events in 2018, the Annual Meeting is fully carbon neutral through reducing, calculating and offsetting event-related emissions”, WEF stated.

Meanwhile, Muriel Pénicaud, Minister of Labour of France, and Mark Schneider, Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé, Switzerland, will join the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum.

“The World Economic Forum, as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, is delighted to welcome Muriel Pénicaud and Mark Schneider to its Board of Trustees. We look forward to working together to deliver positive, transformative solutions to our most critical global, regional and industry challenges,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

As of 15 November 2019, the Members of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum are:

Klaus SCHWAB Chairman of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Peter BRUBECK-LETMATHE Vice-Chairman, Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
Mukesh AMBANI Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, India
Marc BENIOFF Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce, USA
Mark CARNEY Governor of the Bank of England
Laurence D. FINK Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock, Inc.
Chrystia FREELAND Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
Orit GADIESH Chairman, Bain & Company, USA
Fabiola GIANOTTI Director-General, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva
Al GORE Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001); Chairman and Co-Founder, Generation Investment Management, USA
Herman GREF Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Sberbank, Russian Federation
Angel GURRÍA Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Paris
André HOFFMANN Non-Executive Vice-Chairman, Roche Holding Ltd., Switzerland
Christine LAGARDE President, European Central Bank (ECB), Frankfurt
Jack MA Alibaba Board of Directors, Alibaba Group, People’s Republic of China
Yo-Yo MA Cellist
Peter MAURER President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Switzerland
Luis MORENO President, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC
Muriel PÉNICAUD Minister of Labour of France
H.M. Queen Rania AL ABDULLAH of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
L. Rafael REIF President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
David M. RUBENSTEIN Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman, Carlyle Group, USA
Mark SCHNEIDER Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé SA, Switzerland
Tharman SHANMUGARATNAM Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies of Singapore
Jim Hagemann SNABE Chairman, Supervisory Board, Siemens AG, Germany; Chairman, A.P. Møller-Maersk, Denmark
Feike SYBESMA Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board, Royal DSM, Netherlands
Heizo TAKENAKA Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy of Japan (2002-2006)
Min ZHU President, National Institute of Financial Research, People’s Republic of China; Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC (2011-2016)

|GlobalGiants.Com|

Edited & Posted by the Editor | 4:24 AM | View the original post

October 13, 2019

"G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance" Launched to Counter Growing Tensions

Global Smart City Alliance

Photos: The G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance launch event in Yokohama, Japan. 11 October 2019.

Yokohama, Japan, 11 October 2019 - Fifteen of the world’s leading city networks and technology governance organizations announced today a new partnership. The “G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance” will create global norms and policy standards for the use of connected devices in public spaces. It is the most significant and most ambitious undertaking to advance the responsible and ethical use of smart city technologies on a global level.

Smart city technologies can help decrease traffic congestion, combat crime, improve resilience during natural disasters, and reduce greenhouse emissions. Without proper governance, these technologies pose a significant risk, notably to privacy and security. The Global Smart Cities Alliance will develop, pilot, and collectively implement new global policy standards. It would ensure the safe and ethical use of data collected in public places.

“Our cities stand at a crossroads. Rapid urbanization threatens to paralyze local economies and undermine the quality of life,” said Jeff Merritt, Head of IoT, Robotics, and Smart Cities at the World Economic Forum. “Smart city technologies offer huge promise, but they can be a Pandora’s box. Today’s announcement is a critical first step to accelerate global best practices, mitigate risks, and foster greater openness and public trust regarding the collection of data in public spaces.”

Established in June 2019 in conjunction with the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, the Alliance comprises fifteen of the world’s leading city networks and technology governance organizations. The partners represent more than 200,000 cities and local governments, leading companies, start-ups, research institutions, and civil society organizations. The World Economic Forum serves as the secretariat.

“The advancement of smart cities and communities is critical to realizing Japan’s vision for Society 5.0. It is also essential to addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. These challenges include climate change and inclusive economic growth,” said Koichi Akaishi, Vice Minister for Science, Technology, and Innovation for the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan. “The Government of Japan is proud to have championed this initiative as part of our G20 presidency. We hope that cities will pledge support for the Alliance and participate in its activities to cooperate and form shared global principles in the future.”

Working together with municipal, regional, and national governments, private-sector partners, and city residents, the Global Smart Cities Alliance, has committed to co-design and roll out a first-of-its-kind global policy framework on smart city technologies in advance of the 2020 G20 Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The first policy design workshops with city leaders will take place in conjunction with the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in November.

• The Global Smart Cities Alliance’s founding set of institutional partners include:

The presidents and host nations of the Group of 20 (G20) in 2019 and 2020;
Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
The Smart City Mission of India;
Cities for All;
Cities Today Institute;
Commonwealth Local Government Forum;
Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network;
Connected Places Catapult;
Digital Future Society;
ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability;
International Telecommunication Union;
Open and Agile Smart Cities;
Smart City Expo World Congress;
United Cities and Local Governments;
What Works Cities;
World Economic Forum; and
World Enabled.

|GlobalGiants.Com|

Edited & Posted by the Editor | 4:16 PM | View the original post

October 9, 2019

World Economic Forum publishes Global Competitiveness Report 2019

World Economic Forum

Geneva, Switzerland, 9 October 2019 - Ten years on from the global financial crisis, the global economy remains locked in a cycle of low or flat productivity growth despite the injection of more than $10 trillion by central banks. While these unprecedented measures were successful in averting a deeper recession, they are not enough to catalyze the allocation of resources towards productivity-enhancing investments in the private and public sectors. The Global Competitiveness Report 2019, published today, points to the path forward.

The Report, launched in 1979, provides an annual assessment of the drivers of productivity and long-term economic growth. The World Economic Forum prepares the Report on the bases of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which maps the competitiveness landscape of 141 economies through 103 indicators organized into 12 pillars. These pillars are Institutions; Infrastructure; ICT adoption; Macroeconomic stability; Health; Skills; Product market; Labour market; Financial system; Market size; Business dynamism; and Innovation capability. For each indicator, the index uses a scale from 0 to 100, and the final score shows how close an economy is to the ideal state or “frontier” of competitiveness.

With a score of 84.8 (+1.3), Singapore is the world’s most competitive economy in 2019. The United States remains the most competitive large economy in the world, coming in at a second place. Hong Kong SAR (3rd), Netherlands (4th), and Switzerland (5th) round up the top five. The average across the 141 economies covered is 61 points, almost 40 points to the frontier. This global competitiveness gap is of even more concern as the global economy faces the prospect of a downturn. The changing geopolitical context and rising trade tensions are fuelling uncertainty and could precipitate a slowdown. However, some of this year’s better performers in the GCI appear to be benefiting from the trade feud through trade diversion, including Singapore (1st) and Viet Nam (67th), the most improved country in this year’s index.

The report documents emerging areas of promising policies, reforms, and incentives to build more sustainable and inclusive economies. The Report recommends a transition to a greener economy and suggests four critical areas of action: engage in openness and international collaboration, update carbon taxes and subsidies, create incentives for R&D, and implement green public procurement.

The Report also recommends: increase equality of opportunity, encourage fair competition, update tax systems, modernize social protection measures, and foster competitiveness-enhancing investments.

The United States (2nd overall) is the leader in Europe and North America. The United States remains an innovation powerhouse, ranking 1st on the Business dynamism pillar and 2nd on Innovation capability. The Netherlands (4th), Switzerland (5th), Germany (7th), Sweden (8th), the United Kingdom (9th), and Denmark (10th) follow the USA. Among other large economies in the region, Canada is 14th, France 15th, Spain 23rd, and Italy 30th. The most improved country is Croatia (63rd).

In South Asia, India, in 68th position, loses ground in the rankings despite a relatively stable score, mostly due to faster improvements of several countries previously ranked lower. Sri Lanka (84th), Bangladesh (105th), Nepal (108th), and Pakistan (110th) follow India.

|GlobalGiants.Com|

Edited & Posted by the Editor | 1:05 PM | View the original post

October 3, 2019

US-India Trade "Surging" Amid Torrid Times, Global Leaders Tell World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit 2019

World Economic Forum

Photo: Sania Mirza, Sportsperson and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia, India; Cultural Leader, speaking during the Session “Opening Plenary” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 03 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development, and Textiles, India, speaking during the Session “Inspiring LeadHers, Aspiring Outcomes” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 03 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Sarah Zhang Jiachen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Guangzhishu, speaking during the Session “India’s Tech Leap” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 03 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Devina Gupta, Anchor, BBC World News, India, speaking during the Session “India’s Tech Leap” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 03 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Pritika Mehta, Global Shaper, Chandigarh Hub, India, speaking during the Session “India’s Tech Leap” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 03 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Hindol Sengupta, Editor-at-Large, Fortune India; Young Global Leader, speaking during the Session “Depopularizing Populism” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 03 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Editor, and Deputy Resident Editor, The Hindu, India, speaking during the Session “The Infrastructure Enigma” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 03 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Vani Kola, Founder, and Managing Director, Kalaari Capital, India, speaking during the Session “Bigger, Faster, Better?” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 03 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Amishi Parasrampuria, Global Shaper, Mumbai Hub, India, speaking during the Session “Maxing Out Consumption” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 04 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Suvir Saran, Chef, and Author, India; Cultural Leader, speaking during the Session “Connecting Cultures” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 04 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

World Economic Forum

Photo: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, speaking during the Session “An Insight, An Idea with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar” at the India Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi, India. 04 October 2019. Image provided by & copyright © World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell.

New Delhi, India, 03 October 2019 - Leaders from the world’s two largest and oldest democracies played down talk of “torrid times” over trade at the opening day of the 2019 India Economic Summit in Delhi. Instead, they noted that relations between the two nations are robust and on the up.

“The torrid times in our relations could also be a torrid love affair,” declared Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of Railways of India, at the summit. “Relations between the Indian government and the US government, at our level and the people-to-people level, are better than ever before.”

Goyal noted that trade between India and the US is robust and growing. It is happening amid rising trade tensions between China and the United States and the ripple effect of that on the global economy.

Goyal said, in the last year, imports from the US to India have grown 30%, while exports from India to the US have increased by 20%.

Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce of the United States, responded to the criticism that no trade deal resulted from a meeting in September between India and the US. Ross said he saw no reason why we could not reach one soon.

“Neither government said there would a trade deal in five minutes,” he noted. “I think that was just speculation. We do think there is no fundamental reason why there can’t be one pretty quickly.” “Now that the election is over, and Prime Minister Modi has a strong position in the parliament, it should be a lot easier to take decisive action,” he said.

The relationship between India and the US has the potential to be one of the greatest of the 21st century, but global leaders speaking at the summit acknowledged there would be challenges ahead. India has an important role to play in the geopolitics of the region, and that positioning will inevitably lead to a sensitive question as to how to develop its relationship with China.

“India will have to decide for themselves their relationship with China in a larger context. India and China are trading partners, they are neighbors, and they have a huge population,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal. Mittal is Chairman of Bharti Enterprises. “India will take this advice carefully, but a decision will have to be taken critically by India,” he said. “My view is they should be in play.”

With US companies being encouraged to shift manufacturing outside China, there is an opportunity for a fundamental recasting of global supply chains. Indian industry is ready to take on the challenge to increase its competitiveness, said Vikram Kirloskar. Kirloskar is President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Vice-Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

“Over the last 20 years, we have become part of the global supply chain. To a large extent, a lot of the automotive components we are exporting are fairly competitive now,” said Kirloskar. “I think we are ready to increase capacity more, and we need the domestic market to increase as well as exports. For us, regional cooperation is also crucial.”

The World Economic Forum’s 33rd India Economic Summit is taking place in New Delhi from 3-4 October under the theme “Innovating for India: Strengthening South Asia, Impacting the World.” The two-day meeting will convene more than 800 leaders from the government, the private sector, academia, and civil society. The aim is to accelerate the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies throughout South Asia and make the most of the region’s distinctive demographic dividends.

|GlobalGiants.Com|

Edited & Posted by the Editor | 12:25 PM | View the original post