Fon Mathuros, Head of Media, Public Engagement, Tel.: +41 (0)79 201 0211; Email: fmathuro@weforum.org
· Over 200 Global Shapers, Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs and Young Global Leaders who are changing the world for the better will be in Davos for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016
· Follow these entrepreneurial leaders in Davos at https://youtu.be/o9Mhs_hZdP4
· For more information about the Annual Meeting 2016, please visit www.weforum.org
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 17 January 2016 – Millennials, young leaders and social entrepreneurs who are having a strong positive impact on society will join world leaders in Davos this week for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016.
More than 200 leaders from the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Young Global Leaders communities will take part in a programme addressing the challenges posed by a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate to one another. On the agenda are acute challenges of geo-economics, global security, public health, education, gender parity and climate change.
Highlights for each community include:
Global Shapers – 50 Shapers, talented young entrepreneurs and change-makers, are in Davos representing 50 cities across the world (including Al Khobar, Beijing, Beirut, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Chennai, Gaza, Lviv, Palo Alto and Tel Aviv). Among them is Tunisian human rights advocate Amira Yahyaoui, who is one of six Co-Chairs of the Annual Meeting 2016. Shapers from 20 cities will discuss topics ranging from careers to setting up businesses to urban design and infrastructure in a series of live webcast discussions called Shaping Davos. You can follow the sessions at shapingdavos.org and on Twitter with #ShapingDavos or @globalshapers.
There are 5,500 Shapers in over 450 city-based Hubs – two-thirds of which have established grassroots initiatives. To learn more about the work of this community, please contact: Dai Di (Ms) at di.dai@weforum.org.
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship – Social entrepreneurs are active where traditional markets have failed. The 25 Social Entrepreneurs in Davos are applying the latest business thinking in a practical and sustainable way to benefit the marginalized and poor. They include:
· Ramazan Salman of the Ethno-Medical Centre Association, Germany, which supports migrants in navigating the health and education systems
· Shannon May of Bridge International Academies, Kenya, a chain of nursery and private schools in Africa delivering high-quality education for just $5 a month on average
Learn more about the impact of social entrepreneurs in a series of videos and blogs that are available for re-publication here. You can follow the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs at @schwabfound and www.schwabfound.org. For more information, please contact Micol Lucchi at micol.lucchi@weforum.org.
Young Global Leaders (YGLs) – There will be 150 YGLs in Davos. Some of the initiatives involving the YGLs taking part in the Annual Meeting include:
· The Druid Collective, which supported cutting-edge company Neuro Recovery Technologies with strategy and fundraising in its mission to find a cure for paralysis for people with spinal-cord injury; YGL Mark Pollock, who has been paralysed since 2010, took his first few steps again with the aid of a bionic suit and a jolt of electricity to stimulate his muscles
· De-Carbonathon, a competition to find innovative solutions to reduce CO2 emissions in cities
· Murgency, a free app designed by an India-based start-up that links healthcare professionals to emergency cases with the touch of a button; the app has so far responded to 300,000 emergency calls
· The Circulars, an award recognizing individuals and organizations across the globe that have made a notable contribution to driving circular economy principles. The award is judged by David G. Rosenberg, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AeroFarms; Ida Auken, Member of Parliament, Denmark; Peter Lacy, Global Managing Director, Strategy and Sustainability, Accenture; and Rain Newton-Smith, Director, Economics, Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
· Table for Two aims to tackle obesity and hunger simultaneously; TfT meals will be served to World Economic Forum participants at the Congress Centre and in 10 hotels in Davos; twenty euro cents per meal will be donated to TfT to serve school meals to children living in Syrian refugee camps in Jordan
You can follow the YGLs at @YGLvoices. For more formation, please contact Maxwell Hall at maxwell.hall@weforum.org.
Over 2,500 leaders from business, government, international organizations, civil society, academia, media and the arts will participate in the 46th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, on 20-23 January. Under the theme, Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the programme comprises over 300 sessions, of which over 100 sessions will be webcast live.
Taking a formative role in shaping the discussion at the Annual Meeting 2016 as the Co-Chairs are: Mary Barra, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, General Motors, USA; Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Brussels; Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Corporation, USA; Hiroaki Nakanishi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hitachi, Japan; Tidjane Thiam, Chief Executive Officer, Credit Suisse, Switzerland; and Amira Yahyaoui, Founder and Chair, Al Bawsala, Tunisia.
Notes to Editors
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