Selected Meetings

Annual Meeting 2025

Under the theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age”, nearly 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries – including around 60 heads of state and government – came together to generate insights and advance solutions on the economy, technological and geopolitical transformations and sustainability imperatives.

Notable participants included António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Ding Xuexiang, Vice-Premier of the People’s Republic of China; Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and Chair of the G20; Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain; Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany; Javier Milei, President of Argentina; Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine; Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia and Chair of ASEAN; and Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, who joined virtually.

The state of the world’s economy was a central theme. Leaders acknowledged geoeconomic uncertainties while also highlighting signs of resilience over the past three years. They stressed that international unity and cooperation are vital to greater resilience. Many leaders also emphasized the importance of multilateralism and urged the development of new models of trade to ensure widespread prosperity, while cautioning that isolationism would undermine stability.

The focus on Intelligent Age technologies underscored innovation’s important role. Participants noted that advances in AI, quantum computing and biotech could boost productivity and improve public services and called for strong governance frameworks – including public-private collaboration – to harness these tools responsibly.

The Forum released key flagship reports, such as the Global Cooperation Barometer, the Global Risks Report, the Chief Economists Outlook, and the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2024 in the run-up to the meeting, which informed the deliberations in Davos. Building on the Forum’s ongoing work, close to 50 multistakeholder initiatives were launched or advanced. These included the Industries in the Intelligent Age series, which provides a comprehensive roadmap for businesses and governments to adopt and scale artificial intelligence (AI); the Global Data Partnership for Forced Labour, which accelerates data and accountability into action against forced labour; the Frontier MINDS, aimed at spotlighting and scaling high-impact AI solutions; the Women’s Health Impact Tracking Platform; and the Future of Clean Fuels initiative.

Several regionally focused initiatives were also launched during the Annual Meeting, such as the Humanitarian Resilience Initiative Roadmap for Africa, the Mongolia Strategic Intelligence Hub, and the Saudi Arabia Markets of Tomorrow Accelerator’s Action Plan, while progress continued through the work of established communities, such as the Forum Friends of the African Continental Free Trade Area coalition or Leaders for Sustainable Middle East and North Africa.

Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2025

More than 1,700 leaders from business, government, civil society, international organizations and academia, as well as top innovators, gathered in June 2025 for the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China. Under the theme “Entrepreneurship for a New Era”, the meeting explored how to craft new pathways for growth through entrepreneurship and innovation.

Despite taking place against a complex geoeconomic backdrop, the meeting was marked by a renewed spirit of collaboration and partnership to drive positive and lasting change. As entrepreneurs play a key role in fully realizing the potential of emerging technologies for the benefit of economies and societies, the meeting gathered over 200 top innovators from across the world to help leaders navigate this transformation.

The meeting was attended by Premier Li Qiang, who provided insights on China’s economic priorities. Also in attendance were Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of Singapore; Pham Minh Chính, Prime Minister of Viet Nam; Ousmane Sonko, Prime Minister of Senegal; Adylbek Kasymaliev, President of the Council of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan; and Daniel Noboa Azín, President of Ecuador.

Together, they all emphasized the importance of sustained and innovative collaboration to unlock prosperity for all. Discussions also revolved around China’s economic outlook and its shift towards technology-driven growth, while underscoring optimism around the role of the wider Asia region as a key driver for the world’s economy.

In addition to the many dialogues, the meeting also saw the release of the Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report and the announcement of the 2025 Technology Pioneers cohort, comprising 100 start-ups advancing solutions ranging from smart robotics to quantum. The inaugural cohort of MINDS came together to showcase how AI is transforming industries, and the second edition of The Future of Global Fintech report offered new insights to guide industry and policy leaders. In addition, the Global Lighthouse Network launched its first edition in China, and the First Movers Coalition was formally introduced to China’s industrial ecosystem, further expanding the reach of sustainability and innovation efforts in the region. Finally, the meeting saw the launch of a three-year Youth and Social Innovation Initiative to help promote cross-regional collaboration, and the white paper Redefining Value: From Outcome-Based Funding to Tradeable Impact highlighted the overall concept of impact currency and impact exchange.

Sustainable Development Impact Meetings 2024

In September 2024, the Forum convened its communities of purpose for the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings (SDIM24) in New York City. The meetings brought together more than 1,200 global leaders, including approximately 50 senior government leaders, to advance the Forum’s multi-year initiatives to maintain momentum towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Highlighting the critical need for collaboration to address shared challenges, the deliberations focused on three areas: 1) the potential of AI and other frontier technologies, 2) the need to maintain momentum on climate action and accelerate the energy transition, and 3) the new tools necessary to sustain growth and build more resilient economies. During the meetings, the Forum also hosted a series of dialogues with senior religious leaders, underscoring the importance of interfaith cooperation. Additionally, the Forum and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders organized a diplomacy dialogue on Myanmar to strengthen international awareness and humanitarian support towards the crisis in the country.

The meetings’ outcomes included the launch of the Quantum Application Hub; the release of the Rise Ahead Pledge from the Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship, which focuses on mobilizing the private sector to support social innovation and create partnerships; and the introduction of the Inclusive AI Initiative for Growth and Development and the Equitable Transition Initiative.

The Global Alliance for Women’s Health Community of Champions and the First Movers Coalition’s report, High-Emitting Sectors: Challenges and Opportunities for Low-Carbon Suppliers, was also launched.

Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils 2024

The 15th Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils (AMGFC) in 2024 set the scene for the Annual Meeting, bringing together members of this high-level interdisciplinary knowledge network to discuss overarching challenges such as the climate emergency, geopolitical tensions and economic inequality, as well as the more specific effects of disinformation, cyberthreats and rapidly advancing technologies like AI.

A total of 500 experts from 80 countries participated in the meeting, representing 30 future councils. In terms of sectoral spread, 25% came from business, 35% from academia and the remainder from public figures or civil society. For the first time, more than 50 business leaders – including chief economists, chief risk officers, chief health officers, chief people officers and chief learning officers – explored new ways to improve workers’ well-being and learning opportunities and to improve risk preparedness and economic forecasting.

Industry Strategy Meeting 2025

The Industry Strategy Meeting brought together more than 300 strategy officers to develop the lessons and takeaways from the Annual Meeting. Participants had the opportunity to collaborate, engage in peer-to-peer exchanges, explore and anticipate the future of industries, and advance the Forum’s action and impact agenda.

The meeting, an annual milestone for the strategy officers engaged in the Forum’s 22 global industry communities, defined four priorities for the year: 1) powering new business models and industry transformation, 2) augmenting capabilities for people-centric, resilient organizations, 3) accelerating the energy transition and decarbonization, and 4) driving innovation for sustainable and inclusive growth.

The meeting’s outcomes were designed to inform the scope and direction of the Forum’s industry communities and to scale up and magnify the impact of the existing initiatives of the Forum’s centres.