History, mandate, principal purposes and recent developments: Founded in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation with headquarters in Geneva, the WEF is independent, impartial and not tied to any particular interest. It is a special international Organization, (its status of NGO with an “international body” was designed by the Swiss Federal Government in 2015) that promotes public-private cooperation. It brings together in an impartial space the world leading figures – Head of States, head of Governments, Ministers and political leaders, international organizations, CEO, foremost businessmen, technology innovators, experts and academics, representatives of new generations and civil societies – with the aim of driving positive and global change through programs that follow three strategic axes: 4th Industrial Revolution, managing of problems related to common goods; global security. The current activities of the WEF are articulated in System Initiatives.
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting brings together in Davos Kloster, in January, the most important world leaders, providing a unique platform for public-private discussion of the most pressing issues in global governance.
Italian Participation: Italy supports the research and analysis activities of the WEF (with special attention to the Global Competitiveness Report on the main world economies) and traditionally ensures a high level involvement to the Annual Forum in Davos.
President: Professor Klaus Schwab is the Founder and the Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. Borge Brende, former Norvegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is the President of the Forum
Website: https://www.weforum.org/
Working at the WEF: For information on career opportunities at the WEF, please visit the web page Home > Forum Careers | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)