World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Geneva-based foundation whose Annual Meeting of chief executives of the world's richest corporations, some national political leaders (presidents, prime ministers and others), and selected intellectuals and journalists, about 2000 people in all, is usually held in Davos, Switzerland. There are also regional meetings throughout the year. It was founded in 1971 by Klaus M. Schwab, a business professor in Switzerland, and has helped fund his family foundation, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

Participation by NGOs

The WEF has attempted to create dialogue with critics by inviting representatives of NGOs to participate in Annual Meetings.

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In the 2000 Annual Meeting, participating NGOs included:

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• Save the Children
• Amnesty International
• World Wildlife Fund for Nature
• Transparency International
• Oxfam
• Friends of the Earth
• Focus on the Global South

In the 2001 Annual Meeting, while most of these NGOs were invited again, Friends of the Earth and Focus on the Global South were not invited. Critics claim that these two NGOs were not invited in 2001 because their criticisms were too strong and clear.

Related Topics:
2001 - Friends of the Earth - Focus on the Global South

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In 2001, other NGOs were invited, including those from poor countries:

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• Martin Khor of the Third World Network in Malaysia
• Vandana Shiva of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in India
• Vicki Tauli of Indigenous People's International in the Philippines

and from rich countries, such as:

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• Public Citizen.

However, none of these were invited back in 2002. According to critics such as the Financial Times, the Forum says it is not inviting organizations that contribute only negative views and do not support its "mission" to narrow global divisions.

Related Topics:
2002 - Financial Times

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Greenpeace spent two years trying to cooperate with the WEF on the issue of global warming, but withdrew from the 2002 Annual Meeting because it found the WEF uncooperative. In a letter to Greenpeace, Klaus M. Schwab responded that the demands made by Greenpeace to the automobile industry at the 2001 meeting led to problems.

Related Topics:
Greenpeace - Global warming - 2002 - Klaus M. Schwab - Automobile industry - 2001

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