Davos 2019 will see CEOs of multinational corporations, world leaders and A-list celebrities discuss the global economy and current world issues. The World Economic Forum Meeting will take place in the Swiss town of Davos. The event was first held in 1971 and was called the European Management Forum before being renamed in 1987.
What is Davos?
The Davos 2019 World Economic Forum (WEF) is an annual meeting “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.”
The meeting is always held in Davos, a town in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland.
Around 2,500 people attend, including economists, celebrities, journalists and world leaders.
The main purpose of the forum is to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world.
The WEF was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a German-born business professor at the University of Geneva, where it was named the European Management Forum.
However, the name changed to the World Economic Forum in 1987 in a bid to broaden its vision to include worldwide conflicts and issues.
The meeting is impartial and is not tied to any political, partisan or national interests.
The event welcomes attendees from more than 100 countries and has over 400 sessions.
Last year saw more than 3,000 participants, including 70 head of state, 230 media representatives and close to 40 cultures leaders.
The WEF is invitation-only and is funded by approximately 1,000 member companies, typically global enterprises with more than five billion dollars in turnover.
Memberships are issued by level of engagement with forum activities and membership fees increases as participation in meetings, projects, and initiatives rises.
Businesses have to pay around $40,000 (£31,000) to send one representative while journalists, politicians and economists are invited for free.
What date is Davos this year?
The World Economic Forum Meeting in Davos will begin on January 22.
The event will last for four days and end on January 25.
The theme of Davos 2019 will be “Globalization 4.0: Shaping a New Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”.