World Economic Forum
Why in news? The 2026 edition of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos is being held from 19 to 23 January 2026, with over 60 heads of state gathering at Davos 2026
• WEF was founded by Professor Klaus Schwab in 1971
• Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland
• The World Economic Forum is an International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
• WEF engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
• The Forum’s work on systemic global challenges is advanced through 11 Centres.
1. Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains - Enabling more resilient, sustainable and inclusive manufacturing ecosystems and supply chains.
2. Centre for AI Excellence: Driving innovation through the power of AI, data, and intelligence to improve industries, economies, and societies.
3. Centre for Cybersecurity: Prioritising cybersecurity and fostering global public-private action to tackle systemic challenges.
4. Centre for Energy and Materials: Driving initiatives and coalitions to ensure that the energy transition is sustainable, secure, and equitable.
5. Centre for Financial and Monetary systems : Creating a financial system that allocates capital to support planet, people, and communities.
6. Centre for Frontier technologies and Innovation : Empowering leaders to unlock the potential of frontier technologies and accelerate their inclusive and sustainable adoption.
7. Centre for Health and Healthcare : Identifying and scaling up solutions for more resilient, efficient, and equitable healthcare systems.
8. Centre for Nature and Climate : Accelerating net-zero climate action, regenerating food, water and ocean systems, and promoting circular economies.
9. Centre for Regions, Trade and Geopolitics: Helping stakeholders navigate global and regional priorities in a complex geopolitical and geo-economic landscape.
10. Centre for the New Economy and Society: Providing a platform for leaders to shape inclusive, equitable economies and societies for all.
11. Centre for Urban Transformation: Advancing public-private collaboration in cities for resilient, future-ready communities and economies.
• Annual Meeting in Davos- World leaders from government, business, civil society and academia will convene to engage in forward-looking discussions to address global issues and set priorities.
• Governing body : models a world-class corporate governance structure with a Chairperson guided by a Board of Trustees.
• Executive body : The Managing Board, chaired by the Forum's President.
• Flagship reports : Global Gender Gap, Future of Jobs, Global Risks, Global Cybersecurity Outlook, the Global Cooperation Barometer report.
Important Contributions by Klaus Schwab
• Stakeholder capitalism is a form of capitalism in which companies seek long-term value creation by taking into account the needs of all their stakeholders, and society at large.
• Fourth Industrial Revolution – It is characterized by artificial intelligence and machine learning among other technological advances of the era.
• Corporate global citizenship – It means that companies must not only be engaged with stakeholders but be stakeholders themselves alongside governments and civil society.
• Social Entrepreneurship – It seeks to create value or generate a positive impact on society by offering services or products that answer unmet needs or by offering different solutions to social challenges.