This special bookazine edition by Diplomatic Courier looks at key takeaways from five themes as covered at the most recent World Economic Forum meetings in Davos: 1) designing sustainable and resilient economic systems, 2) driving responsible industry transformation and growth, 3) enhancing stewardship of our global commons, 4) harnessing the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, and 5) advancing global and regional cooperation.
1. Designing Sustainable and Resilient Economic Systems
After an unprecedented year of major global challenges in health, economic hardships, and social inequality being unearthed and brought to the forefront by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda 2021 aims to help create innovative solutions and promote strong recovery over the next year. Day one of the virtual summit, under the theme of “designing cohesive, sustainable and resilient economic systems,” saw panels and speakers from across the globe highlight the importance of restoring economic growth—a challenge that will undoubtedly be difficult to confront until trust in vaccines, trust in the global economy, and trust in each other and our societies can be restored. Read more.
2. Driving Responsible Industry Transformation and Growth
While day one of the Davos Agenda highlighted the need for global cooperation and trust in order to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, restore the global economy, and address issues with inequality, day two of the forum saw world leaders emphasizing the critical importance of continued multilateralism beyond COVID-19 in order to address our world’s next biggest challenge: climate change. Read more.
3. Enhancing Stewardship of Our Global Commons
Under the theme of “enhancing stewardship of our global commons,” day three of the 2021 Davos Agenda saw business and political leaders come together to further discuss the unique plans each country has to recover economically and socially from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as how both the public and private sector can work towards potential solutions to climate change. Read more.
4. Harnessing the Technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Day four of the 2021 Davos Agenda, under the theme of “focusing on how we can harness the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution for good,” saw several panels throughout the day discuss the future of technology, in addition to several special addresses by world leaders addressing their plans for COVID-19 vaccinations. Read more.
5. Advancing Global and Regional Cooperation
The final day of the 2021 Davos Agenda, centered around the topic of “advancing global and regional cooperation,” saw heads of state and industry leaders come together to both highlight the successes of global cooperation in handling the COVID-19 pandemic as well as warn against vaccine nationalism and other potential disunity that may increase post-pandemic. Read more.