The world is at a tipping point. The COVID crisis and the war in Ukraine have combined to shake up the global economic and social system and increase uncertainty, bringing lower growth and triggering higher inflation. The magnitude of the challenge calls for bold collective action, as stated in the theme of the 53rd forum. In the current unprecedented context, the event seeks to reaffirm the value of public-private dialogue and cooperation to navigate today’s crisis and to drive change for the future.

For over 50 years, the Davos Forum has served as a platform where business, government, academia, civil society and other stakeholders can come together to address and discuss critical global issues. This mission has never been more important than now.

The hosts of the meeting stress that recent events around the world urge the public and private sectors alike to address major systemic risks so as to avert a decade of uncertainty and fragility. This year's program will have a dual focus: first, to find levers to face current challenges; secondly, to place those challenges in the context of the increasingly swift transformation of the world in which we live.

Against this backdrop, this year's Davos Forum meetings will focus on five topical themes:

1) energy and food crises in the context of a new system for energy, climate and nature.
2) high inflation, low growth and high debt economics in the context of a new system for investment, trade and infrastructure.
3) industry headwinds in the context of a new system to harness technologies for innovation and private sector resilience.
4) social vulnerabilities in the context of a new system for work, skills and care.
5) geopolitical risks in the context of a new system for dialogue and cooperation in a multipolar world.

In addition, a special line of work will be dedicated to leadership, with a particular focus on resilience at both the individual and organizational levels. The meeting will also enable the forum's Global Collaboration Village, a pioneering effort to further scale up public-private cooperation on the world's key challenges through use of digital environments within the metaverse.

The four-day forum will cover a broad spectrum of formats for interaction and learning to provide leaders with the tools they need to address the complexities of today and build for the future. The agenda will revolve around the following goals:

• Engage in dialogue to forge understanding and alignment and exchange views among all participants.
• Hold purpose-focused meetings to drive tangible action on key global issues.
• Create opportunities to scale innovations that are critical to society.

The forum will feature speeches by heads of state and key government officials, and a range of geoeconomic and geopolitical discussions, such as Country Strategy Dialogues, Diplomacy Dialogues and Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL) meetings. It will also bring together the main business communities of the forum.

The agenda includes the participation of approximately 2,500 people such as heads of state and governments, company CEOs, civil society leaders, global media outlets, and youth leaders from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and North America. Spain will be represented by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, the First Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Economic Affairs, Nadia Calviño, and the Third Vice-President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera. Leading figures of Spain’s business world will also be in attendance. BBVA will be represented by the Chair, Carlos Torres Vila, and the CEO, Onur Genç.

What is the Davos Forum?

The Forum is traditionally held in Davos, the highest town in Europe (1,560 meters). Surrounded by mountains, it houses the largest ski station in Switzerland. However, Davos is not famous for its snow but for hosting the World Economic Forum (WEF). This annual meeting is attended by political, business, cultural and media leaders who wish to take part in the international agenda.

Davos was established in 1971 in Geneva (Switzerland) as an "independent, impartial and not tied to special interests” non-profit organization. Its founder is Klaus M. Schwab, a professor at the University of Geneva, who initially invited 444 executives from European companies to a meeting on corporate governance in the convention center of Davos.

His idea was to introduce the American business management approach to European firms. He never imagined that that meeting would lead to the unparalleled international summit that it is today.

Thousands of ideas come out of the Davos Forum. Not all of them materialize, but some have come far: the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed between Canada, Mexico, and the United States, was first proposed at an informal meeting in Davos.

A summit inspired by a sustainable manifesto

2020 saw the launch of a new 'Davos Manifesto' with the single objective of building a more sustainable, inclusive world.

The forum held three years ago was the most sustainable annual summit held to date. It received IS0 20121 certification for sustainable events and will be totally carbon neutral. This accomplishment was possible thanks to policies aimed at using locally-sourced food suppliers, introducing alternative sources of protein to reduce meat consumption, sourcing 100% renewable electricity, reducing or eliminating the use of materials that cannot be recycled or easily re-used, and increasing the availability of electric vehicles.

How can you follow the World Economic Forum in Davos?

Many sessions will be publicly streamed live on the Forum's website and social media, as well as on the TopLink app, providing an opportunity for the Forum's digital membership community and the public to participate in the debate.

The conversations can be followed on Twitter at (@wef and @davos), under hashtag #WEF23, and on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Also follow at LinkedIn and Youtube