Fon Mathuros, Head of Media, World Economic Forum, Tel.: +41 (0)79 201 0211 E-mail: fma@weforum.org
· The Open Forum Davos 2017, which runs in parallel with the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017, is organizing a series of panel discussions from 17-20 January, open to the public
· Topics including leading in divided times, being human in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and mental health will be discussed by global leaders, with strong female and youth representation
· The public is invited to join the sessions live in Davos or via webcast on www.weforum.org/open-forum
· For more information about the Annual Meeting 2017, please visit http://wef.ch/davos17
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 15 January 2017 – Leading in divided times, the race against racism, new models for Europe, being human in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, bridging generational differences and mental health are among the topics for discussion at the Open Forum Davos 2017, held in parallel with the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
The Open Forum, now in its 15th year, will open its doors to the general public from 17 to 20 January in Davos, Switzerland. Leading personalities from business, government, academia and civil society as well as young people will discuss and interact with the Swiss public on critical – and, at times, controversial – subjects, opening a unique window onto the most challenging debates of our time.
Panellist highlights at the Open Forum include public figures, chief executive officers and chairs, social entrepreneurs, experts and academics from Switzerland and around the world, as follows:
· Allen Blue, Co-Founder and Vice-President, Products, LinkedIn Corporation
· Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman, Nestlé
· Philip Campbell, Editor-in-Chief, Nature
· Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, State Secretary for Economic Affairs of Switzerland
· Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association
· Vitaliy Klitschko, Mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine
· Melanie Jolly, Minister for Canadian Heritage of Canada
· Doris Leuthard, President of the Swiss Confederation 2017 and Federal Councillor of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of Switzerland
· Peter Maurer, President, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
· Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States (2001-2011); Head of the Constitution of Fifty, Egypt
· Pier Carlo Padoan, Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy
· Matthieu Ricard, Founder, Karuna-Shechen
· Nicole Schwab, Founder and President, EDGE Certified Foundation
· William Lacy Swing, Director-General, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva
· Jacques de Watteville, State Secretary of Switzerland and Chief Negotiator with the European Union
Open Forum Programme
Tuesday 17 January
18.30 - 20.00 Can Women Have It All?
Wednesday 18 January
12.45 - 14.15 Leading in Divided Times
18.30 - 20.00 New Models for Europe
Thursday 19 January
12.30 - 14.00 Concert – Leadership beyond Borders: The Afghan Women's Orchestra "Zohra"
18.30 - 20.00 Bridging Generational Differences
Friday 20 January
09.00 - 10.30 The Race against Racism
12.30 - 14.00 Mental Health Matters
The Open Forum will be held at the Swiss Alpine Mittelschule, Guggerbachstrasse 3, Davos Platz, Switzerland. Although no registration is required, those wishing to participate are encouraged to arrive early as the maximum capacity of the auditorium is 300. For those unable to take part, all eight sessions will be livestreamed on www.weforum.org/open-forum.
Follow the debates using the Open Forum Twitter account: @OpenForumDavos #WEF #openforum. Some of the sessions will be broadcast by Swiss Television (SF-info), available on YouTube after the event; and some will benefit from social media integration, which offers deeper engagement and analysis to a global audience.
The 47th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is taking place on 17-20 January in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme Responsive and Responsible Leadership. More than 3,000 participants from nearly 100 countries will participate in over 400 sessions.
The Co-Chairs taking a principal role in shaping the discussion at the meeting are:
Frans van Houten, President and Chief Executive Officer, Royal Philips, Netherlands
Brian Moynihan, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America Corporation, USA
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Documentary Filmmaker, SOC Films, Pakistan
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, Save the Children International, United Kingdom
Meg Whitman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, USA
Notes to editors:
Visit the Open Forum page: http://www.weforum.org/open-forum
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/openforumdavos, https://twitter.com/Davos, http://wef.ch/twitter and http://wef.ch/livetweet (hashtag #WEF and #openforum)
Watch World Economic Forum sessions: http://wef.ch/youtube
Read our Forum blogs: http://wef.ch/agenda
Access our photo archive: http://wef.ch/pics
Become a Facebook fan: http://wef.ch/facebook
Follow us on Weibo: http://t.sina.com.cn/davos
Find us on WeChat: davos_wef