WEF at Davos: Who's there, what do they discuss and what's the story?

There aren't many global get-togethers that can pull in almost 3,000 leaders – including 350 governmental leaders, of which 60 are heads of states and government – from over 130 countries. But then, there aren't many events like the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

Although the WEF hosts various events through the year – not least the Annual Meeting of the New Champions every summer in China – the winter gathering, this year held from Monday 20 to Friday 24 January, is the largest. 

Widely known by the eponym Davos, after the Swiss ski resort in which the conference is held, this is a hugely important meeting, where some of the world's most important people discuss the planet's most pressing issues.

Who's attending?

Among the luminaries lined up to participate are Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, EU President Ursula von der Leyen (determinedly overcoming her recent hospitalization with severe pneumonia) and incoming U.S. President Donald Trump (who will interact via live video link from Washington, where he is inaugurated on Monday). 

Other world leaders include Germany's Olaf Scholz, Argentina's Javier Milei, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, plus the presidents of DR Congo, Iraq, Peru, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and the prime ministers of Belgium, Egypt, Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and Vietnam. 

Davos is powerful enough to attract those who you may not expect to see at the same event – such as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, or Israeli president Isaac Herzog and Palestinian National Authority PM Mohammed Mustafa. 

Perhaps more likely to be breaking bread together are the leaders of international organizations like the UN's António Guterres, the World Trade Organization's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the International Monetary Fund's Kristalina Georgieva, the World Health Organization's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and the UN Development Programme's Achim Steiner. 

"By convening leaders from around the world and different walks of life, the Annual Meeting provides a platform to share views and knowledge at a time of profound change for people and communities," said WEF Managing Director Mirek Dušek. "A core goal of our proceedings is to enable broad-based agency and solutions in the context of the new economy that seems to be emerging."

What will they discuss?

The overarching theme of Davos 2025 is Collaboration for the Intelligent Age; underneath that are five subject areas which overlap to a greater or lesser extent. 

'Reimagining Growth' explores new opportunities for economic growth, such as innovative tech. 'Industries in the Intelligent Age' addresses how businesses can navigate these shifts in technology as they impact on industry dynamics, while 'Investing in People' examines the need for workforce development, reskilling and job creation in emerging sectors. 

'Safeguarding the Planet' looks at scaling climate and nature solutions and advancing decarbonization efforts, while 'Rebuilding Trust' seeks to foster global cooperation and resilience in a world that can seem increasingly fragmented.

Continuing a tradition started 22 years ago, there is also an Open Forum of panel discussions to which the public are invited; this year's theme is 'Justice for All: A World without Barriers'. It's worth noting that although other Davos meetings aren't public-access, more than 200 of them will be livestreamed. 

What's the WEF back-story?

The WEF was the brainchild of a German mechanical engineer called Klaus Schwab, who still serves as its chairman. Having studied in Zurich and then at Harvard, where he was befriended by Henry Kissinger, in 1971 he invited 450 executives to Davos for what was then called the European Management Symposium. 

Politicians followed as the remit grew from management into macroeconomics, and in 1987 the name changed to WEF as the vision expanded further to providing a platform for resolving international conflicts.

If that sounds ambitious, there have been successes at Davos. In 1988 Greece and Türkiye turned away from impending war by signing the Davos Declaration; in 1992, South African President FW De Klerk met Nelson Mandela for the first time on foreign soil; and in 1994, Israel's Shimon Peres and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat reached a draft agreement on Gaza and Jericho. 

As Schwab said ahead of the 2025 meeting, "Davos is unique in bringing together close to 3,000 decision makers from governments, business, and civil society at the beginning of the year to address the challenges of a world in deep transformation. 

"Despite divergent positions and great uncertainties, the Annual Meeting 2025 will foster a spirit of cooperation and constructive optimism with the objective of shaping the forthcoming Intelligent Age in a more sustainable and inclusive way."