Be it conflicts in Gaza or Ukraine, climate change threats in Antarctica or Amazon, AI-generated fake news and deepfakes and their threat to elections, or debt crisis in emerging markets, problems are aplenty and all have reached Davos, a small ski resort town on the Alps.
Once known for health tourism, which is frequented by skiing enthusiasts, Davos is also home to the annual week-long World Economic Forum, where members of the global elite gather to discuss the problems plaguing or facing the world. The city has hosted the Forum's annual meeting every January for the past five decades, beginning 1971.
The Davos Congress Center where the World Economic Forum will take place is covered in snow in Davos, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP
For now, it teems with huge billboards atop buildings and even on buses, promoting governments and companies from across the world, while the narrow roads made even narrower by heavy snowfall. Roads were closed in several places on Jan. 14, and snow showers are expected to continue throughout the week. There are warnings that the snow-laden town in the Swiss Alps can see temperatures dipping to as low as -30C at higher altitudes this season.
The 54th annual meeting of the Geneva-based WEF will begin on Jan. 15, where more than 2,800 leaders from across the world will participate in the discussions for five days. More than 500 journalists are in the city to cover the event. Thousands of army, police and other security personnel were brought to the city from across Switzerland and some neighbouring countries to secure the summit. Nearly 60 heads of States and Governments are expected to attend the event.
This year, the event is bigger as the city also hosted for the first time a meeting of 90 national security advisors from across the world on January 14, presumably to discuss a peace plan for Ukraine. The main event would begin Jan. 15 and will continue till Jan. 19.
