Previously, Singapore was thrilled when it was announced that the World Economic Forum, a global event with many powerful people attending, will be held in Singapore.
Typically, the World Economic Forum is held in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland and it aims to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the WEF announced on 7 December 2020 that the World Economic Forum that they will be holding it in Singapore instead from 26 to 28 May 2021.
Well, there’s been an update on the situation and turns out, they won’t be here in May, but in August instead.
What is the Special Annual Meeting 2021 about?
The Special Annual Meeting 2021 aims to discuss how the world can bounce back from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Singapore was selected as the preferred location for the World Economic Forum because COVID-19 cases in Singapore have been relatively low.
On 3 February 2021, the World Economic Forum announced that it would be postponing the event from May 2021 to August 2021 as they have faced international difficulties in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Europe.
The difficulties in organising the Special Annual Meeting 2021 amid the pandemic is further worsened by varying travel restrictions, quarantine measures and travel regulations across the different countries.
Although we might add, things might change since CNY is around the corner and experts here are worried about a potential spike in cases after the festive season.
What does the World Economic Forum do?
The World Economic Forum is an international organisation, whose mission is to ensure cooperation between public and private corporations.
To shape global, regional and industry agendas, the World Economic Forum involves leaders in government, business, culture and other aspects of society.
Singapore is often represented by our cabinet leaders such as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.
Other than the Annual Meeting, the World Economic Forum holds three other major annual meetings.
- The Annual Meeting of the New Champions, held in China, aims to discuss matters of to innovation, science and technology.
- The Annual Meeting of Global Future Councils, held in the United Arab Emirates, aims to address the major challenges faced by the world.
- The Industry Strategy Meeting aims to shape industry agendas and focuses on being pioneers of change within the industry.
In essence, the World Economic Forum has three key strategic challenges it aims to address:
- Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution
- Solving the problems of the Global Commons
- Addressing global security issues
We know what you’re thinking — why can’t they just get on a Zoom call?
While the World Economic Forum does acknowledge that they do interact virtually, they feel that important meetings such as the Special Annual Meeting should be held physically to encourage “more fluid, longer-term interaction”.
Kind of sounds like our bosses asking us to come back to the office when all we want is to stay home and work in our pyjamas.
The Davos Agenda 2021
Building on the original Davos Manifesto of 1973, the recent Davos Agenda aims to address issues such as taxation, corruption and human rights that have been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some topics covered in the Davos Agenda would be
- Society and Future of Work
- Fairer Economies
- Better Business
- Healthy Future
- Tech for Good
- Beyond Geopolitics
Snippets of these topics can be found on the World Economic Forum’s Instagram; but if you’re a fan of TikTok like I am, you’d be glad to know the World Economic Forum is on TikTok too.
Yes, seriously, the serious forum has a TikTok account.
@worldeconomicforumHow do you think we should regulate social media? ##socialmedia ##eu ##regulation ##democracy ##tech
So woke.
Feature Image: Drop of Light / Shutterstock.com
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