Govind Tekale
It is said that money makes the mare go. Man is a servant of money, said Bheeshma, the patron of Mahabharata, an epic of India. So every year as soon as the new year begins, there is speculation & gossip about the Davos Conference or summit. All the global investors converge in Switzerland. Many world leaders, finance ministers, economists, investing companies & capitalists queue up at Davos. Davos is a small town with a population of about 11,000. When the guests from all over the world gather here for the annual jamboree, there is hustle & bustle in this township. This Summit is organized by WEF (World Economic Forum). It is held every year between 15 to 19 January.
The WEF was founded by a German Professor Klaus Schwab. This professor was an engineer. Later he graduated in public administration from Harvard University. Prof Schwab was a don of industrial policy in Geneva University from 1972 to 2003. He founded the WEF in 1971. At that time it was called the European Management Forum. Schwab introduced the idea of ‘capitalism of beneficiaries’ for the first time. According to Professor Schwab, the companies not only think about their shareholders’ profit but also consider the interests of society at large. This thinking resulted in the idea of holding a conference at Davos. Thus, the WEF was born.
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In earlier years, he stressed the need for reforming European companies on the pattern of the USA. But the conflict of Arab-Israel gave a new turn to the policies of the Forum. Within 2 years about a thousand World companies became members of the WEF. In 1979 Chinese companies became partners of this Forum. So the economic leadership evolved around this Forum. Now there are more than 3 thousand representatives (both invitees as well as subscribers) have joined this platform.
The Davos gathering includes main world leaders, investors, company owners, celebrities & journalists. World economic challenges & related topics are discussed during around 500 sessions in the Davos conference of 5 days. The world has come closer in the last few years owing to economic liberalization. Naturally, the whole world thinks about this Forum as there is no other wider world financial platform than the WEF. The economic trends & policies are broadly debated in the annual summit at Davos. Usually, many leaders, who do not see common thinking, meet here in an atmosphere of friendship and cordiality. Both the South and North Koreas met here at ministerial level for the first time. The then East and West German leaders exchanged views about their unification. In fact, the birth of ‘G-20’ (Group of 20) was the result of discussions at Davos.
The present summit concludes Friday, the 19 January 2024. We will come to know about their decisions about new economic trends. Meanwhile, agreements of billions of dollars are signed between the parties representing several countries & states for their economic development. In short, WEF represents the economic thinking of the world. The Davos Summit, the brain-child of Professor Schwab, is a beacon of hope to solve the problem of poverty amidst affluence in the world.
