The World Economic Forum – WEF had to postpone its 2022 annual meeting in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos to 22 – 26 May 2022. Due to difficulties of holding such an in-person conference amid the spread of Coronavirus, the WEF had announced already in December the postponement of the event.

Instead, a week-long virtual event was held via the WEF website and social media channels between 17 and 21 January 2022. It featured heads of state and government, CEOs and other leaders, and they discussed the critical challenges facing the world today and presented their ideas on how to address them effectively.

The event also marked the launch of several Forum initiatives including efforts to accelerate the struggle to achieve net-zero emissions, ensure the economic opportunity of nature-positive solutions, create cyber resilience, strengthen global value chains, build economies in fragile markets through humanitarian investing, bridge the vaccine manufacturing gap, and use data solutions to prepare for the next pandemic.

“Everyone hopes that in 2022 the Covid-19 pandemic, will finally begin to recede," said Klaus Schwab, the WEF Founder and Executive Chairman. But major global challenges await us, from climate change to rebuilding trust and social cohesion. To address them, leaders will need to adopt new models, look long-term, renew cooperation, and act much more systemically. The Davos Agenda 2022 is the starting point for the dialogue needed for global cooperation in 2022 and beyond.

The problem remains that so many of these needed reforms and efforts continue to be debated, while real changes don’t follow, at least not in the scope required, neither with the speed urged by the alarming issues threatening our very existence.

Here are some key Davos Agenda 2022 numbers: 25 sessions including 10 special addresses by heads of state; 45,000 global media mentions; 7 million total views to the Forum's website; 3 million views to live-streamed sessions on the website and social media; 18 million views to social media videos covering the event; and 200 articles by or about world leaders featured on Agenda.

Undoubtedly, the figures are indicating that the WEF has built such a global prominence, that – even when exercising an online gathering, and being exposed to heavier competition for public attention than when having a live meeting in Davos – it attracts unparalleled interest and manages to send strong messages how to improve global management.

Pandemic response

Many of the special addresses and panel discussions during the event confronted the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, presenting lessons and offering ideas for a continued pandemic response. The key message that emerged was the importance of vaccination and vaccine equity to end the pandemic. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, reminded viewers that the international community has already fought a "tenacious battle" against Covid-19 and that countries needed to continue working together to close the global immunization gap. Experts in a panel on the future of Covid-19 were cautious that an end to the pandemic is in sight, with Annelies Wilder-Smith, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, stressing that Omicron will not be the last variant. Yet, the experienced panelists also outlined a way forward.

Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, which co-leads Covax, alongside Gavi and the World Health Organization, announced the milestone of Covax delivering 1 billion vaccines doses and made the case for addressing the "last mile" of helping countries distribute Covid-19 vaccines and booster doses at speed. Stéphane Bancel, Moderna CEO, stated he hopes to offer soon a single-dose booster for the flu and Covid-19. And Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Adviser to the US President, stressed that with continued collaboration, Covid-19 could become endemic, meaning it's not totally eliminated, but it no longer disrupts society. A session on meeting the challenges of vaccine equity echoed these assessments. Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said that while we may never completely eliminate the virus, we can end the public health emergency - but to do that, we need an equitable distribution of vaccines. Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director, Oxfam International, argued that inequality must be addressed to save lives and ensure pandemic recovery. And Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of Nigeria, warned that with just 10% of Africa's people fully vaccinated, economic recovery on the continent is contingent on containing the pandemic through widespread vaccination.

Economic recovery

The economy was also front and centre during discussions at Davos Agenda 2022, with world leaders commenting on the impact of the pandemic on economies and the ongoing efforts toward recovery. The pandemic has reversed gains in poverty reduction, lowered incomes, caused a global drop in GDP, and disrupted development. Several world leaders emphasized the need to focus on strong economic recovery.

The good news is: the recovery has been "stronger than expected," said Christine Lagarde, the President of the ECB. Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF Managing Director, added: “The response to the pandemic crisis has been anything but orthodox - in a highly coordinated manner both central banks and finance authorities have prevented the world falling into yet another great depression.”

But the danger is that the recovery risks are uneven, warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres. "We need to reform the global financial system in a way that it can work for all countries without being biased." Sharon Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation, echoed that sentiment during a session on renewing the social contract: "We need a new social contract, and it needs to be inclusive." Janet Yellen, Secretary of the US Treasury, also made the case for an economic recovery that will be "inclusive and green."

Climate action

Building on the momentum from COP26, speakers argued for the need for climate action in no uncertain terms. Climate risks top the WEFs Global Risks Report 2022, which analyzes global perceptions among risk experts and world leaders in business, government, and civil society. John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, was clear on the need for action. "Nobody is moving fast enough," he said in a session on accelerating and scaling climate innovation. Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the IEA, speaking in a session on the energy transition, warned it would take a 'Herculean effort' to go from 80% of energy coming from fossil fuels to net-zero by 2050.

Olaf Scholz, Germany’s new Federal Chancellor, set the stage for an ambitious new approach to climate policy, saying: "We will no longer wait for the slowest and least ambitious. We'll turn climate from a cost factor to competitive advantage." This is the attitude to be adopted if responsibility prevails.

Technological innovation

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated many of the digital transformations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution across industries, a trend that will continue in the years ahead. At Davos Agenda 2022, many of the speakers underlined the key role of technology and were optimistic about the potential for new technologies to help address global problems.

Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia, explained how the pandemic increased the use of technology and the digital economy, with the country jumping "five years ahead in digital adoption in almost the blink of an eye." Meanwhile, Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister of Israel, explained how gleaning insights from data helped his country respond to the pandemic. Making headlines around the world, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new European Chips Act in her special address at the event, explaining: "The European need for chips will double in the next decade. This is why we need to radically raise Europe's game on the development, production and use of this key technology." Speakers including John Kerry, and Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, were also optimistic about the potential of green technologies - and made the case for ensuring the necessary funding to support innovation.

Astronaut Maurer and the other speakers at the session on space and the next frontier for knowledge discussed the role of satellite data and how experiments from the International Space Station could help solve problems on Earth. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme, summed up many of the speakers' sentiments when he said that digital was the "single biggest transformative variable" in rethinking pathways in the years ahead. Digital inclusion was also high on the Davos Agenda 2022 throughout the week. In a session on technology cooperation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Paula Ingabire, Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Information Communication Technology and Innovation of Rwanda, explained that many parts of the world, including her own country, are grappling with challenges of coverage and affordability. This must be addressed to reap the benefits of technology, argued Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Enterprises. Hans Vestberg, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Verizon Communications, took it a step further, calling connectivity a human right.

Global collaboration

Underpinning all the conversations at the Davos Agenda 2022 was the power of global collaboration. This cuts across all sectors - from pandemic resilience to climate action to restoring trust in global trade and supply chains - and involves stakeholders from the public, private and civil society spheres. For example, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the WTO, outlined how the global community must come together to strengthen the trading system and be fit for the future of trade, one that is less prohibitive and more inclusive, she said.

The global public-private effort toward Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics offers a promising example of the potential of such global collaboration. More than 140 businesses have shown support for the Forum's Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics initiative, with more than 50 already including the metrics in their reporting. Standardized, transparent, collaborative efforts backed by businesses, public-sector leaders and investors can move the needle on progress, said Brian Moynihan, Chairman and CEO, Bank of America.

But to enable that progress, businesses must move from shareholder to stakeholder capitalism, said Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO, Yara International ASA. As Børge Brende President of WEF, summarized, global issues will be unmanageable unless we come together. "Now more than ever the world needs to come together and collaboratively deliver global responses."

Closing thoughts

No doubt, the WEF leadership should be congratulated for organizing in present circumstances an online gathering, and at the same time fix the new date for the traditional high-level gathering for June, when hopefully it will be possible to bring people together without big security risk. This has sent an important message that the world cannot waste even another half-year without making progress in effectively addressing several of the burning global issues – starting from environment pollution and affecting climate change, revitalizing the economies and achieving healthy growth, and last but not least, reversing social polarization and eliminating poverty.

While this is understandable to every normal person on the street, why does it take so long for the governments to take the necessary action? The answer is very simple: because the rich and powerful wouldn’t allow it, being convinced that any change from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder capitalism would reduce their unlimited power and influence on government. How tenable is this position on the longer run? Not really! It seems that they have forgotten that in democracy power is meant to come from representing people, not their money and wealth. Unfortunately, in most countries around the globe this fundamental principle is actually denied, and consequently, people feel helpless and abandoned in an undemocratic environment. This includes the political parties, which are in most cases dominated by narrow leadership groups, whose political power depends much more on the approval and support of the rich, than on approval and popular support by the electorate (who actually vote in small percentages – often under 50% -- which is understandable given the described circumstances).

Capitalism – as practiced in most countries around the globe – is old-fashioned and inadequate for the 21st century. The WEF deserves credit for saying this, but, what should be done, if the political leaders, and the big capital remain stubborn in refusing any systemic changes – which they rightfully fear will reduce their unacceptable power over society. In this sense, history tends to repeat itself, and the only solution remaining is (as the most successful former Finnish Prime Minister Esko Aho stated) “the pressure from below”.

Hopefully, this pressure does not have to become life-threatening and physical, but should remain intellectual, verbal and political. And the condition for this pressure to be built strong enough is that civil society actors become more determined, active and connected. They have to present clearly the legitimate and understandable arguments for needed changes, and propose regulatory measures which will open the process of transformation of present-day often too wild capitalism (characterized by unacceptable social differentiation), into more civilized stakeholders’ capitalism.

There are many interesting successful models to learn from, and certain cultural traditions have to be taken into account in order to allow organic acceptance of the changes in line with participatory democracy and reduce the limitless power of the super-rich. These changes will not only eliminate poverty but at the same time enhance the responsibility of all working people and the electorate for creating a happy and highly productive society.