World Economic Forum Davos 2023 | WEF's mission, milestones in its 50-year history

Davos agenda changes every year to address the world's most pressing issues. (Image: World Economic Forum)

The World Economic Forum 2023 Annual Meeting in Swiss ski resort town Davos from January 16-20 will be held under the theme of "Cooperation in a Fragmented World".

Davos 2023 takes place against an unprecedented backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic triggers, the war in Ukraine, stalled economic growth in the world's largest economies, headwinds from rising food and energy prices, and a climate crisis.

Let's take a look at the WEF's mission, and important milestones in its 50 year history of Annual Meetings.

World Economic Forum – Its Mission

Founded in 1971, The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a global multi-stakeholder international non-profit foundation. It is neutral, independent, and unaffiliated to any government. The WEF is dedicated to making the world a better place, moving ahead with the goal of fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors. It brings together decision-makers from all sectors of society to cooperate on important initiatives, according to the Forum's website.

Government, industry, and civil society leaders strive to bring about constructive change by coming together.

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Through collaboration between stakeholders, the Forum aims to deliver concrete and sustainable results and make a positive impact at all levels of society.

Its ‘stakeholder theory’, which holds that an organisation is accountable to all segments of society, is its distinctive institutional culture. The forum believes that progress is made by bringing together individuals from all walks of life who are motivated and influential enough to bring about positive change.

Some important milestones in WEF’s history

In the initial years after its foundation, WEF drew business leaders only from Europe to Davos for an annual meeting each January. Founder-Professor Klaus Schwab later focused and promoted the ‘stakeholder’ management approach.

Here’s everything you need to know about a few important milestones in the history of its Annual Meetings:

1971 – Founded in 1971 by Swiss-German economist Professor Klaus Schwab. First meeting was held. It was known as European Management Symposium (EMS) then.

1973 - The 'Davos Manifesto' was created in 1973. It was endorsed in the year's annual meeting. It is a code of ethics for business leaders, laying out the principles of stakeholder capitalism - or a system of shared goals for businesses.

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1974 - Politicians were first invited to take part in Davos in 1974.

1987 - In 1987, the EMS became World Economic Forum (WEF). WEF sought to broaden its vision to include providing a platform for dialogue. It broadened its aim to provide a platform to address the pressing issues of the day through public-private cooperation.

1988 - The idea of setting up a new global institution comprising both developed and emerging economies was born in Davos in 1998. The group, which met for the first time in June of that year, became known as the G20.

1988 - The 1988 Davos Declaration, brokered by the World Economic Forum, averted armed conflict between Greece and Turkey over underwater research in the Aegean Sea.

1989 - North and South Korea held their first ministerial-level meetings in Davos. At the same Meeting, East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl met to discuss German reunification.

1992 - In 1992, South African President de Klerk met Nelson Mandela and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the Annual Meeting, their first joint appearance outside South Africa and a milestone in the country’s political transition.

2000 - The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) was launched, and has since been improving access to new and under-used vaccines for millions of the most vulnerable children globally.

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2015 - The WEF was formally recognised as an international organization.

2016 – WEF formed multi-million dollar research programme Global Solution Networks (GSN), a group of independent parties who have been brought together by a world problem. It is not controlled by nation states.

2020 - The 'Davos Manifesto' was updated in 2020 to set out the purpose of business in the Fourth Industrial Revolution - a concept coined by Professor Schwab in his 2016 book.