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 The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Over the course of its 37-year history (read more here), the World Economic Forum has achieved a proud record of accomplishment in advancing progress on key issues of global concern.
Among the highlights:
 2007: German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, set out Germany's G8 presidency objectives of "growth and responsibility" at the Annual Meeting 2007. More I Germany's G8 presidency objectives
2006: Trade officials meeting at the Annual Meeting 2006 agree to accelerate talks to achieve a world trade deal. Some 25 trade ministers agreed to move on all key issues - agriculture, services and manufacturing - at the same time.
2006: The Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis (2006-2015) is launched by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and Bill Gates at the Annual Meeting 2006. The project - a coalition of over 400 organizations – aims to treat 50 million people and prevent 14 million tuberculosis deaths worldwide over the next ten years.
2006: The Annual Meeting 2006 gives sports leaders a voice. They presented their ideas on sport as a personal and social development tool, and called for new efforts to increase the impact of sport on society. Press release.
2005: The World Economic Forum works closely with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, to set his G-8 policy priorities of poverty alleviation in Africa and climate change. The Annual Meeting 2005 served as a platform for Mr Blair to launch his G-8 agenda.
2005: An advisory board created and led by the World Economic Forum helps shape Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair’s G-8 climate change agenda. The board, consisting of 24 global company chiefs, presented to G-8 leaders at their annual summit a statement calling on governments to establish ‘’clear, transparent and consistent price signals’’ through the creation of a long-term policy framework that includes all major emitters of greenhouse gases.
2005: Over 350 business leaders at the World Economic Forum’s Africa Economic Summit sign a declaration endorsing the Commission for Africa’s recommendations for the multibillion dollar aid plan. The letter was presented to G-8 leaders at their annual summit.
2003: At the World Economic Forum’s Extraordinary Annual Meeting in Jordan, under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II, the Arab Business Council is established in the aftermath of the war in Iraq to provide an important forum for shaping the future of prosperity and security in the Middle East.
2003: A region-wide US-Middle East Free Trade Zone is launched to open trade with the US and between Arab nations. Consisting of more than 50 of the region’s top business leaders, the Council is set to create cooperative action among leading members of the Arab corporate sector to enhance the competitiveness of the Arab region and to facilitate its integration into the global economy.
2002: The Forum provides a platform for the creation of a Disaster Resource Network, leveraging engineering and transportation industry firms’ resources to assist with disaster relief efforts.
2002: The Annual Meeting 2002 serves as a platform for Canada’s Prime Minister Jean Chrétien to announce the creation of a Canadian $ 500 million fund for Africa to support the objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development through the implementation of the G-8 Africa Action Plan.
2002: Additionally, the Gates Foundation announces a contribution of US$ 50 million for AIDS prevention in Africa, including US$ 20 million to fund the trial of a promising microbicide that could offer women a breakthrough in protection against HIV/AIDS.
2000: Recommendations from the Global Digital Divide Task Force are submitted to the G-8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit 2000; most of the proposals are adopted during the Summit and have become part of its final communiqué.
2000: At the Annual Meeting, World Health Organization Secretary-General Gro Harlem Brundtland announces a Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).
1999: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan announces the "Global Compact," to give "a human face to the global market" at the Forum's Annual Meeting.
1994: Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a draft agreement on Gaza and Jericho at the Annual Meeting in Davos.
1992: South African President F. W. de Klerk meets Nelson Mandela and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the Annual Meeting, their first joint appearance outside South Africa and a milestone in the country's political transition.
1989: North and South Korea hold their first ministerial-level meetings at the Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos; at the same meeting, East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl meet to discuss German reunification.
1988: Greece and Turkey turn back from the brink of war by signing the "Davos Declaration" at the Forum's Annual Meeting.
1979: The Forum becomes the first non-governmental institution to initiate a partnership with China's economic development commissions, spurring economic reform policies in China.
History
The World Economic Forum was first conceived in January 1971 when a group of European business leaders met under the partronage of the European Commission and European industrial associations. German-born Klaus Schwab, then Professor of business policy at the University of Geneva, chaired the gathering which took place in Davos, Switzerland. He then founded the European Management Forum as a non-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and drew European business leaders to Davos for their annual meeting each January. Initially, Professor Schwab focused the meetings on how European firms could catch up with US management practices. He also developed and promoted the "stakeholder" management approach which based corporate success on managers taking account of all interests: not merely shareholders, clients and customers, but employees and the communities within which they operate, including government.
Professor Schwab's vision for what would become the World Economic Forum grew steadilly as a result of achieving "milestones". Events in 1973, namely the collapse of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate mechanism and the Arab-Israeli War saw the annual meeting expand its focus from management to economic and social issues, and political leaders were invited for the first time to Davos in January 1974. Two years later, the organization introduced a system of membership, which were "the 1,000 leading companies of the world". The European Management Forum was the first non-governmental institution to initiate a partnership with China's economic development commissions, spurring economic reform policies in China. Regional meetings around the globe were also added to the year's activities, while the publication of the Global Competitiveness Report in 1979 saw the organization expand to become a knowledge hub as well.
The European Management Forum changed its name to the World Economic Forum in 1987 and sought to broaden its vision further to include providing a platform for resolving international conflicts. World Economic Forum Annual Meeting "milestones" during this time include the "Davos Declaration" signed in 1988 by Greece and Turkey which saw them turn back from the brink of war, while in 1989, North and South Korea held their first ministerial-level meetings in Davos, and at the same meeting, East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl met to discuss German reunification. In 1992, South African President F. W. de Klerk met Nelson Mandela and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the Annual Meeting, their first joint appearance outside South Africa and a milestone in the country's political transition.
The Forum has since expanded its activities to include a Centre for Public-Private Partnerships which engages businesses, civil society and political authorities in iniatives ranging from health initiatives in India to alliances combating chronic hunger in Africa. The Forum's knowledge centre, the Centre for Strategic Insight, has also expanded to include several other competitive reports, the Global Gender Gap Report, Global Risk reports and regional scenario reports.
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