12 blog highlights from Davos 2014

Five days, 108 blog posts. This year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos has been the busiest yet on the blog, capturing the ideas and insights of our extraordinary range of constituents. There aren’t many places where heads of state rub shoulders with twenty-something-year-old entrepreneurs, or where labour leaders share the stage with CEOs. This is true of Davos both physically and in the digital space.

Here are 12 highlights from a week on the blog exploring every facet of this year’s theme, The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business.

The reshaping of the world
Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, introduces the theme of the Meeting and writes that the reshaping of the world demands collaborative action.

Behind every great woman is a great man
Turning the gender debate on its head, Anne-Marie Slaughter questions why society makes it so difficult for men to take on caring roles.

A call for zero emissions
“We are on a collision course with nature. Cherry-picking a few easy measures will not do the trick.” Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, outlines three ways for the world to wean itself off fossil fuels.

Reshaping the world economy through reform, opening up and cooperation
In a special message for the Forum:Blog, Premier Li gives his vision for economic reform in China.

How can Europe save its lost generation?
With youth unemployment in Spain at 57%, entrepreneur and Global Shaper Maria Fanjul shares her ideas for job creation.

Interview: The importance of curiosity in science
Curiosity matters – without it, we would have no lasers, no GPS. Wolfgang Ketterle, Nobel Laureate in physics, makes a plea for the importance of open-ended research.

The emerging world’s hidden vaccine heroes
A lot of this week’s sessions have focused on health. Here, Bill Gates explains how companies in countries like Brazil, China and India are broadening access to vaccines around the world.

The key to tech breakthroughs? Love
Disruptive innovation has been a key theme this week, and there are few more vivid examples than Jane Chen’s account of inventing a life-saving baby warmer at 1% of the cost of previous models.

What lies ahead for the economy in 2014?
“While the worst fears have faded, the emerging economies face new policy challenges.” Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, takes the temperature of the global economy.

What does citizenship mean in the 21st century?
Jorge Soto, who leads digital strategy for the Mexican government, looks at how technology is rewriting the relationship between people and power.

Why we need a circular economy
Our myopic focus on consuming as cheaply as possible has created a linear economy in which objects are briefly used and then discarded as waste. This must change, writes Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips.

Listen to novelists, not just politicians
Part of the Meeting’s cohort of artists, the Turkish novelist Elif Shafak reflects on the power of literature to break through stereotypes and bring the world closer together.

 

Author: Ceri Parker is commissioning editor of the Forum:Blog

Image: A view of Davos REUTERS/Ruben Sprich