Welcome to the World Economic Forum Davos live blog, where from 17 to 20 January we’ll be bringing you highlights and commentary from this year’s Annual Meeting.
The doors aren’t officially open yet, but here’s a sneak preview of what’s in store.
Responsive and responsible leadership
That’s the theme of Davos 2017, which this year takes place against a global backdrop of rising populism and economic uncertainty.
And who are these leaders? Well, they're not just the heads of state, CEOs, well-known climate scientists and campaigners taking part in the conference. “Leadership isn’t exclusively for people in positions of power, but applies to every one of us, regardless of age, profession and title,” says Global Shaper, activist and radio producer Zamantungwa Khumalo, who expands on her take in this article.
But beyond questions of governance, the debates will be full and far-reaching, encompassing as many of the big global issues we could fit into four days, from climate change to China’s economy, Brexit to biotech. Take a look at the highlights on our Best of Davos 2017 page, which we'll keep updating as we go along.
16:37 UTC
Everything you need to know about Davos 2017
Who is coming to the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting 2017, and what do they hope to achieve?
At Davos 2016, US Vice President Joe Biden launched the "Cancer Moonshot" - an ambitious initiative which aims to find a cure for cancer. This year he is back to share his insights into the progress made over the past 12 months.
While the moonshot is ultimately designed to bring a permanent end to cancer, in the meantime it also has shorter-term goals.
“The one thing the clinicians can tell you is that patients want to have their life extended: ‘Can you just keep me round for a few weeks, just so I can see my first grandchild,’” Biden explains.
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The last year was spent meeting researchers, politicians, philanthropist and many other with an interest in the fight against cancer, and setting a range of programmes and collaborations in motion.
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Among the key advances made, Biden highlights, is that there is now recognition of the need to share data and supercomputing power. Cancer research organisations are now joining forces to share data. Moreover, businesses have come forward in the fight against cancer, including the likes of IBM offering their Watson supercomputer and Amazon making available its cloud data. For example, the Cancer Genome Atlas has grown to over 30,000 individuals.
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Another element of the moonshot programme is working with a wide range of government agencies, many of which are not directly involved with healthcare or research - like NASA, for example. The intention is to involve an even greater number of them: “They all have a role to play,” says Joe Biden.
He mentions that President Kennedy had no army when he set out to go to the moon - the original ‘moonshot’ that inspires Mr Biden’s initiative. However, he feels that after decades of funding and research: “We now have an army.”
In addition to the Centres of Disease Control continuing to advance research into cancer vaccines, Mr Biden also mentions the need for more clinical trials and access to information about such trials for patients and their physicians, for better genetic profiling and for better cancer prevention: “At least 50% of the cancers could be prevented, he says.
Working with the international community
Joe Biden recounts that in his travels around the world, he has seen the same focus on the fight against cancer, often as high up on the agenda, than economic and geopolitical concerns.
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Mr Biden himself will be setting up the “Biden Cancer Initiative” with similar goals as the cancer moonshot. He wants to continue the conversation with pharmaceutical companies, and encourage more data sharing around the world.
He relates that when President Kennedy discussed going to the moon, his commitment to the nation was that he was ‘unwilling to postpone.’
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