THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM A Partner in Shaping History 1971–2020 “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffective, concerning all acts of initia- tive (and creation). There is one elementary truth the igno- rance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.” Goethe Index Foreword 08 1995 Overcoming Indifference 144 1996 A Mounting Backlash against Globalization 152 1971 The First Year 12 1997 Committed to Improving the State of the World 162 1972 The Triumph of an Idea 20 1998 New Home 172 1973 The Davos Manifesto 24 1999 The UN Global Compact 182 1974 In the Midst of Recession 28 2000 The 30th Anniversary 190 1975 Davos Goes Global 32 2001 A Missed Opportunity 202 1976 Bridging the Arab World and the West 36 2002 Davos in New York 210 1977 The Davos Club 38 2003 Global Tensions, Open Forum 218 1978 Tragedy and Security 40 2004 Forging Partnerships with Industry and Young Leaders 224 1979 Opening the Door to China 42 2005 Building the Centre for Global Industries 230 1980 Change, Celebration and Competitiveness 48 2006 The New Drivers of Growth 242 1981 In Search of Pioneering Enterprises 52 2007 Summer Davos 248 1982 The First IGWEL 58 2008 Global Brains Trust 258 1983 The Spirit of Davos 64 2009 The Year of Global Crisis 270 1984 Invitation to India 72 2010 Strengthening Cooperation is Everybody’s Business 278 1985 On the Industry Agenda 80 2011 Global Shapers 286 1986 Davos Diplomacy 84 2012 The Great Transformations: Reshaping the World 292 1987 Now, the World Economic Forum 90 2013 In search of Resilient Dynamism 300 1988 The Davos Declaration 98 2014 Reshaping the World through Inclusion 308 1989 Global Membership 102 2015 International Institution for Public-Private Cooperation 316 1990 German Reunification and the New Europe 108 2016 The Fourth Industrial Revolution 326 1991 Despite War and a Coup 116 2017 Responsive and Responsible Leadership 334 1992 Mandela in Davos 124 2018 Shared Future in a Fractured World 344 1993 Entrepreneurship in the Global Public Interest 132 2019 Partnership for Inclusive & Sustainable Globalization 358 1994 One Thousand Members 136 2020 The Mission Ahead 368 Guillaume Megevand Guillaume © Foreword The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020 marks the 50th year of the organization, which was founded in 1971 as the European Management Forum. In January that year, the first European Management Symposium was held in Davos, Switzerland. In 1987, the European Management Forum was renamed the World Economic Forum and the European Management Symposium be- came the Annual Meeting, reflecting the expansion of the Forum’s scope and focus. Through the years, numerous business, government and civil society leaders have made their way to the Swiss Alpine resort, the perfect venue for a gathering to consider the major global issues of the day and to brainstorm on solutions to address these challenges. The Annual Meeting has also been a critical platform for furthering peace and reconciliation in many parts of the world, promoting understanding between East and West, introducing emerging economies such as China and India to the international community, and bringing to the forefront the latest trends and developments in every field – from information technology to global se- curity, from architecture to philanthropy. Davos has been a place where incipient changes in the world are first discerned and where ideas for changes that have shaken the world have been conceived or refined. What has never changed since its beginning is the Forum’s dedication to collaboration among stake- holders, the steadfast adherence to high-level par- ticipation of leaders sharing the Forum’s commitment to improving the state of the world, and the Forum’s Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum trust in the power of dialogue and exchange based on THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM – A PARTNER IN SHAPING HISTORY 10 FOREWORD 11 mutual respect and civility to bridge divides and shape Forum’s development as it has worked to promote and actionable solutions to global challenges. While many support entrepreneurship in the global public interest. global institutions are notable for the breadth of na- tions or the powerful political leaders attending their The World Economic Forum’s significance as an impor- gatherings, the World Economic Forum Annual Meet- tant actor in global affairs has been highlighted in 2015 ing and indeed all the activities and initiatives of the by its recognition as the international Organisation for Forum around the world are distinguished by the active Public Private Cooperation. participation of government, business and civil soci- ety figures, both the most experienced and the most Today the World Economic Forum is shaping global, re- promising, all working together in the collaborative and gional and industry agendas, engaging it’s 1000 partner collegial Spirit of Davos. companies in initiatives, in collaboration with gover- ments, international organisations, civil society and This book provides a year-by-year summary of the high- academia. It has concluded with the United Nations a lights of the five decades of the World Economic Forum. strategic cooperation framework agreement, making For the most part, it tells the Forum’s story through the it a privilaged partner in addresssing the Sustainable eyes of its members, the participants in its activities, Development Goals. and its leadership, as well as through media reports. What is clear from this compilation of impressions, in- The history of the past 50 years should serve as an in- sights and memories is that the Forum has evolved from spiration to our partners and to our 800 collaborators to a modest yet groundbreaking attempt to bring European continue this work in the years ahead – ever committed corporate managers and their stakeholders together to to improving the state of the world. discuss business strategies into an organization that today is widely regarded as the world’s foremost multi- Klaus Schwab stakeholder platform for addressing the most pressing issues on the global agenda. Since 1971, the World Economic Forum has undertak- en a host of activities, organizing over 1,000 meetings, launching numerous initiatives, publishing various re- ports annually and convening thousands of task forces and working groups. The Forum gave special focus to all the most important issues on the global agenda over the years. This book, however, does not render an account of everything that the Forum did or all the issues with which it has been concerned. Rather this history lays out the motivation, strategies and spirit that have driven the 1971 The First Year The European Management Forum Visitors to the headquarters of the World Economic Forum in Colog- ny, a mainly residential part of Geneva, may not realize that, from the beginning, the organization was rooted in Graubünden (the Grisons), the mountainous canton on the other side of Switzerland, where the city of Davos is located. The European Management Forum was initially established as a foundation nominally based in Chur, the cantonal capital, under the supervision of the Swiss Confederation on 8 February 1971 by an official document dated just 10 days earlier.1 Its initial endowment: 25,000 Swiss francs. From the start, what was to become known and cherished as the Davos Spirit – the concept of multistakeholder participation, col- 1971 1971 laboration and congenial exchange – was the foundation of the Forum. In this same year, Klaus Schwab outlined the idea in his book Moderne Unternehmensführung im Maschinenbau (Modern Enterprise Management in Mechanical Engineering), which was pub- lished in Frankfurt. He argued that the management of a modern enterprise must serve all stakeholders (die Interessenten), acting as their trustee charged with achieving the long-term sustained growth and prosperity of the company. Who are these stakeholders? They include the enterprise’s owners and shareholders, customers, suppliers, collaborators of any kind, as well as the government and society, including the communities in which the company operates or which may in any way be affect- ed by it. Indeed, a broad range of actors in the national economy may in some way or another be counted among the stakeholders of any commercial organization. The inaugural European Management Symposium, which was held in Davos from 24 January to 7 February, was intended to allow top managers of corporations to interact with all their stakehold- ers. It was also conceived as an opportunity for senior European managers to learn about the latest management techniques and The first European Management Symposium in Davos drew a full house concepts from the most engaging thought leaders in business, THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM – A PARTNER IN SHAPING HISTORY 14 THE FIRST YEAR THE EUROPEAN MANAGEMENT FORUM 15 Shareholders (Owners) EIDGENÖSSISCHES DEPARTEMENT DES INNERN • DÉPARTEMENT FÉDÉRAL DE L’INTÉRIEUR • DIPARTIMENTO FEDERALE DELL’INTERNO National Creditors 3003 Bern, 3 March 1971 Economy Decree by the Federal Department of the Interior concerning the supervision of the Foundation “EUROPEAN MANAGEMENT FORUM” COMPANY According to the official Document dated 29 January 1971 and the entry into the Trade Register of the Canton Graubünden of 8 February 1971 (published in the Government Customers Swiss Trade Bulletin N° 42 of 20 February 1971, p. 410), a Foundation by the name and Society of “EUROPEAN MANAGEMENT FORUM”, headquartered in Chur, exists in the sense of Articles 80-89 in the Code of Civil Law.