The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

The Forum is "committed to improving the state of the world" and we go about achieving this through projects which address issues like HIV/AIDS treatment, water supply and fostering dialoque between Islam and the West.

The Forum’s headquarters are located on the outskirts of Geneva in a town called Cologny. The Forum also has an affiliate in New York, World Economic Forum USA, a representative office in Beijing and opened the Japan office in Tokyo in September 2009.
 

What We Do

The World Economic Forum brings together leaders in business, politics and society for reflection and connection to generate ideas and proposals, bridging countries and cultures to address the issues affecting our world. We also bring the very best minds and experts to provide the necessary insight to allow leaders to make decisions that can bring about change for the better.
Conferences like the Annual Meeting in Davos and regional summits are an occasion for leaders to outline major challenges and define strategies to address them.

 

Economic Research

Economic research at the Forum – led by the Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance – focuses on identifying the impediments to growth so that strategies to achieve sustainable economic progress can be developed – strategies that reduce poverty and increase prosperity. The Forum’s competitiveness reports range from global coverage, such as The Global Competitiveness Report, to regional and topical coverage, such as the Africa Competitiveness Report, The Lisbon Review and the Global Information Technology Report.

Issues

The World Economic Forum encourages businesses, governments and civil society to commit together to improving the state of the world. Our Strategic and Industry Partners are instrumental in helping stakeholders meet key challenges such as building sustained economic growth, mitigating global risks, promoting health for all, improving social welfare and fostering environmental sustainability.

Economic Growth - The world economy is navigating uncharted waters in the wake of the global financial crisis. With the goal of building and sustaining economic growth in mind, the Forum is spearheading efforts to rethink infrastructure development, reshape responsible capitalism and encourage the free movement of people and goods.

Environmental Sustainability - Food security and economic crises have highlighted both the urgent need and the potential for developing sustainable food supply. One in six people does not have access to adequate nutrition today. That makes about a billion people on planet earth today.

Health for All - Health for all is one of the World Economic Forum’s key issues due to health's immediate link to our mission of improving the state of the world. By engaging leaders, the Forum focuses on three key health-related activities: advocacy, dialogue and action through partnership.

Social Development - The World Economic Forum believes that economic progress without social development is not sustainable, while social development without economic progress is not feasible. Our motto is ‘entrepreneurship in the global public interest’.

Financial Systems - Strengthening the international monetary and financial system is a priority in the wake of the global financial crisis. Our work is focusing on alternative investments, the development of financial systems, long-term investing, financial governance, as well as mobile financial services readiness and sustainable lending.

 

World Economic Forum's Members and Partners

Our members represent the 1,000 leading companies and 200 smaller businesses - many from the developing world - that play a potent role in their industry or region. Our members are influential, talented and powerful people. Many are also innovative and inspiring individuals who challenge conventional thinking and are committed to making the world a better place. We also work closely with communities of leaders from academia, government, religion, the media, non-governmental organizations and the arts.

Partners are select member companies who strongly support, contribute to and benefit from the World Economic Forum’s commitment to improving the state of the world. They are actively involved in the organization's activities and contribute their expertise and resources.

 

Strategic Partners

The Strategic Partners community comprises a select group of 100 leading global companies representing diverse regions and industries selected for their alignment with the Forum's commitment to improving the state of the world. They believe in the power of multistakeholder interaction to drive positive change and work closely with the Forum to help shape the industry, regional and global agendas.

At the centre of the Forum's knowledge generation activities Strategic Partners benefit from and contribute to the global knowledge base through working closely with the Forum to set the intellectual agenda of Forum meetings, driving the insight agenda of its publications and steering the impact of its initiatives

Strategic Partners make a tangible impact on global issues and society by contributing to better policy-making, informing business decisions, sharing best practices and engaging stakeholders beyond commercial objectives.

 

Industry Partner Groups

Industry Partners are select Member companies of the World Economic Forum that are actively involved in the Forum's mission at the industry level. With privileged access to the Forum's multistakeholder networks and experts, partnership brings visibility and insight to strategic decision-making on the most important industry and cross-industry related issues. This access and insight allows Industry
Partners to contribute to leading positive change across these issues to engage in action to support corporate global citizenship.