The Davos Agenda 2022 brings together world leaders to address the state of the world

The Davos Agenda virtual event offers the first global platform of 2022 for world leaders to come together to share their visions for the year ahead.

The week long virtual event, taking place on the World Economic Forum website and social media channels 17-21 January 2022, will feature heads of state and government, CEOs and other leaders. They will discuss the critical challenges facing the world today and present their ideas on how to address them.

The event will also mark the launch of several Forum initiatives including efforts to accelerate the race to 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, and the crises that accompanied it, will finally begin to recede," said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. "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 systemically. The Davos Agenda 2022 is the starting point for the dialogue needed for global cooperation in 2022.”

World leaders delivering “State of the World” Special Addresses will include:

The programme will also feature speakers including:

Conversations will focus on critical collective challenges across several key areas:

Climate action failure, extreme weather and biodiversity loss are ranked the top three most-severe risks for the world over the next decade, according to the Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022, published 11 January 2022.

For a brief moment, a drop in emissions in 2020 proved climate action is possible – and the collective response to COVID-19 is evidence that, if we work together, it’s not too late to save the planet. This requires reaching net zero, achieving the energy transition, committing to circular economies and sustainable consumption and – above all – putting climate and nature at the heart of recovery plans.

What to watch:

Now in the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid development of vaccines is a scientific achievement for the ages, but the Omicron variant shows why we must prioritize universal global distribution – or risk negative health, economic and geopolitical outcomes. Addressing antimicrobial resistance, disparities in health coverage and outcomes, and the importance of mental healthcare for all (and especially our global health workforce) are key to ensuring we'll have resilient, efficient and equitable healthcare systems by the time the next pandemic comes knocking.

What to watch:

After decades of progress in addressing poverty and income inequality, COVID-19 set us back – bringing the first rise in extreme poverty in a generation. Governments have rolled out some of the largest social spending program ever seen, but vaccine inequality and inflation – especially rising food and energy prices – threaten to widen the gaps even more. To truly recover, we must not only stabilize economies but also ensure they’re resilient and fair, providing social mobility, jobs and equitable opportunities for all.

Increasingly business recognizes the value of doing long-term good – and over the past year, has laid the groundwork for action with commitments to net zero, social justice and shared ESG metrics. Now, as we embark on the next phase of recovery, it’s important to put these plans into action and truly implement stakeholder capitalism to ensure the recovery touches not only the company’s shareholders, but also its employees, customers, suppliers, local communities and society at large.

On 7 January, Klaus Schwab published his latest book, The Great Narrative, co-authored with Thierry Malleret. Based on interviews with 50 of the world's leading thinkers, the book explores how we can build a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.

On 26 January, the Forum will release its Global Competitiveness Report 2021-2022.

What to watch:

The recent years have seen deepened political and social divides as well as a heightened mistrust of institutions and the spread of misinformation and disinformation. We must renew our commitment to global cooperation and shared prosperity – from vaccine equity to wherever the new era of global space exploration may take us.

At the same time, the shocks of COVID-19 accelerated the digital transformation of business and society ­– and innovations in vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and contact tracing have helped us to address the pandemic’s worst impacts. Looking ahead, technology holds the keys to solving the biggest challenges ahead of us: decarbonizing energy, diagnosing and treating disease, securing our food supply and helping small businesses and entrepreneurs everywhere survive and thrive.

But this rapid digital transformation is not without risk, as we’ve seen cybercrime spike and digital divides widen in the past two years, too. We must work together to balance innovation and responsibility to ensure the digital transformation is driving growth and innovation, and not creating harm.

The Forum will release the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022 report on 18 January.

What to watch:

The event will be livestreamed across the Forum's website and social media channels. All content will be shared using the official event hashtag #DavosAgenda.

Make sure to follow us on all of our platforms to stay up to date on key quotes, moments and news from the event:

More information can be found here.