Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

When global leaders meet: WEF’s biggest moments

How did a remote Swiss mountain resort, and the highest town in Europe, become the site for the most important leaders from around the world to meet and debate pressing global challenges? (SRF, swissinfo.ch, cp)

Born in Germany, Klaus Schwab became a business professor at the University of Geneva. He laid the foundations for the World Economic Forum, when in 1971, he set up the European Management Forum to bring together European business leaders to talk about global management practices.

The idea was to bring together the key players in the worlds of business, academia, arts and politics to meet in an isolated setting to discuss the top issues of the day.
Over the years the annual meeting has brought together key figures in history who have never sat down in public before to discuss major points of contention, and it has been the scene of numerous deals and steps in important negotiations.

This year more leaders from around the world will come for the public events and the behind-the-scenes networking, each with their own agenda.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR