Davos 2019 Top 11 Moments. World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

Read our collection of thoughts by Davos 2019 participants, from world leaders. The meeting took place on 22-25 January, under the theme Globalisation 4.0: Shaping a New Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The WEF's latest global risk report placed environmental challenges, including the failure to tackle climate change as the top threat to the global economy.

"After World War II, the international community came together to build a shared future. Now, it must do so again," writes Professor Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, in this article on the meaning of Globalization 4.0.

At the opening press conference, six inspiring young leaders joined Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella this year as Co-Chairs of Davos, and they had a strong message.

Mohammed Hassan Mohamud speaks in Davos. World Economic Forum 

Perhaps the most emotional plea came from Mohammed Hassan Mohamud, a Somalian refugee who has spent the last 20 years living as a displaced person in a camp. What keeps him awake at night is whether he will spend the rest of his life there.

His call to action for participants was two-fold. First of all, he said that refugee camps were unethical, killing people and their spirit. Then he challenged people to get to know refugees, talk to them, and demystify them. "I don't know what you're afraid of," he said.

On the first day of the WEF in Davos, HRH Prince William The Duke of Cambridge interviewed Sir David Attenborough, discussing a range of issues including glaciers, filming challenges and plastic pollution.

After congratulating Sir David for winning the crystal award from the World Economic Forum, he asked how the world had changed since he started his broadcasting career in the 1950s.

Sir David Attenborough spoke those chilling words as he collected his Crystal Award on Monday, lamenting the massive destruction humanity had meted out on the natural world.

It's a theme that resonated all week. The venerated broadcaster said: "It's not just a question of beauty, or interest, or wonder - the essential ingredient of human life is a healthy planet. We are in danger of wrecking that."

HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge also participated in a panel discussion along with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Dixon Chibanda Director of the African Mental Health Research Initiative, and HSBC CEO John Flint, discussing mental health. One in four people will experience mental illness in their lives, costing the global economy an estimated $6 trillion by 2030.

The Duke of Cambridge suggested that Britain’s wartime generation have been hurting themselves bottling up their feelings - rather than breaking down the stigma of mental health. He also openly described the distressing nature of his work as an air ambulance pilot prompted his own mental health difficulties" You have a suit of armour on, you deal with children being really sick, elderly people, but something comes along that’s related to your own life, and it takes you over a line," he said.

They say it’s a job, but my goodness they do a very hard job every day.

It’s normal to feel these emotions, William continues, adding:

"If you don’t feel anything, you should get checked out for that."

 He also spoke of the "stiff upper lip" mentality in British culture, which encourages people to suppress emotional difficulties. Now, Prince William also believes a new generation has realised that this is not how to deal with the situation.

On the same day, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled a new approach to running New Zealand’s finances. "We need to address the societal well-being of our nation, not just the economic well-being,” she said during a Davos discussion on More than GDP.

This means that from 2019, her government will present a “well-being budget” to gauge the long-term impact of policy on the quality of people’s lives. In practical terms, child poverty figures will be presented at every budget. The onus will be on ministers to show how spending proposals will benefit people, and work with other ministers across party lines to ensure they have a positive, long-term impact, Ardern explained. “Our people are telling us that politics are not delivering and meeting their expectations. This is not woolly, it’s critical,” she said

Jacinda Ardern also explained that her government is prioritising mental health because it affects everyone.

One of the sad facts for New Zealand is that everyone knows someone who has taken their own life.” We’re a small country, of less than 5 million people, but last year more than 600 people committed suicide.” she adds.

Arden explained how she had been affected personally:” I have lost friends, and I wouldn’t have to look far in my cabinet to find other people who have too.”

During the Leader session on the second day, Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Holding, and Member of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum talked about his personal experiences.

Since 1999, Alibaba has become the globe-spanning retail giant.

Twenty years on, Jack Ma shared streams of advice to young global entrepreneurs who gathered to hear him speak at Davos 2019.

Here are seven of his top quotes from his talk:

1. "Of course I was scared and had doubts [when I started Alibaba]. However, I believed someone, if not us, would win. There are no experts of tomorrow, only of yesterday."

2. "In business, never worry about competition, never worry about the pressure. If you worry about pressure, don't be a businessman ... If you create value, there is opportunity. Today the whole world worries. That means there is great opportunity."

3. "Your first job is your most important. Not necessarily a company that has a great name, but you should find a good boss that can teach you how to be a human being, how to do things properly, and stay there. Give yourself a promise: I will stay there for three years."

4. "How can we teach kids to be more creative and do things that machines cannot do? Machines have chips, but human beings have hearts ... Education should move in this direction."

5. What keeps Jack Ma awake at night? "Nothing! If I don't sleep well, the problem will still be there. If I sleep, I have a better chance to fight it."

6. "To manage smart people you have to use culture, the value system, they believe what they do. If you just want to use rules and laws and documents to control - that's how you control stupid people."

7. "When I hire people, I hire the people who are smarter than I am. People who four, five years later could be my boss. I like people who are positive and who never give up."

 

FUTURE OF EUROPE

Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany during the Session “Special Address by Angela Merkel, Federal Chancellor of Germany” at the Annual Meeting 2019 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 23, 2019 Copyright by World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell

The leaders of Germany, Italy, and Spain each offered a different view on the future of Europe when they delivered their messages to participants.

"A sense of despair is spreading," said Italy's Giuseppe Conte. "Even the middle class is facing poverty. Everyone feels that tomorrow will be worse than today ... Our experience might be an indication of what Europe will look like tomorrow," the Prime Minister said.

Conte proposed some urgent interventions to "heal our severe social wounds". These include citizen income and flexible retirement age.

Angela Merkel urged people to think beyond their narrow national interests and to reform global institutions intending to achieve “win-win” outcomes. "I stand here before you as someone who believes fully in the international order," Chancellor Merkel said.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez started his speech by warning that we are in danger of forgetting the lessons learnt from the 2008 financial crisis. "Citizens need to feel that their fates are in their own hands, that effort, talent, courage count for something, that they can make autonomous life plans," he said.

 Day two also focused on facing the reality of our ocean. "We have a full-blown, global emergency," said former US Vice President Al Gore in the session, Taking Action for the Ocean. We're taking fish out, putting plastic in, and putting heat in, too.

The ocean, for many people, is 'out of sight, out of mind,' said Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, but there are many problems like acidification, coral bleaching and seabed mining that we need to solve.

"If everyone knew how serious this problem is, everyone would become activists. We need to improve everyone's understanding of the ocean and turn this into solutions." said REV Ocean CEO Nina Jensen.

All the panellists agreed that it's not too late to act.

"Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something," Jensen said, before going on to list three things everyone can do now to help the ocean.

"First, use your vote," she said. "We get the political leaders we deserve, and unless you vote for the leaders we need, nothing will change. Secondly, reduce your meat consumption, as this is a big driver of climate change. Finally, cut out all single-use plastic in your daily life. Do all these things, she says, and you will have a big impact."

Bono, U2 singer and co-founder of the One campaign, speaks during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

U2 frontman Bono spoke at Davos on Wednesday morning, telling business leaders that capitalism is not immoral: “It’s amoral.”

The singer and development campaigner said capitalism had taken more people out of poverty than “any other ism” but that “it is a wild beast and if not tamed it can chew up many people on the way."

 

On the final day of the World Economic Forum, 16-year-old campaigner Greta Thunberg addressed delegates about climate change. She told delegates she was here to tell them that “Our house is on fire,” due to greenhouse gas emissions and rising global temperatures.

She had chosen to trek to Davos to get her message out. Thunberg travelled by train for 32 hours to reach Davos and spent Wednesday night camped with climate scientists on the mountain slopes – where temperatures plunged to -18C.

Having already addressed the UN Climate Change COP 24 conference, Thunberg is rapidly becoming the voice for a generation who are demanding urgent action to slow the rise in global temperatures.

Thunberg started striking from school last summer to press Swedish MPs to meet their Paris Agreement obligations.

“At places like Davos, people like to tell success stories, but financial success has come with an unthinkable price tag on climate change. We have failed.”

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of IMF, used a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Thursday to remind the financial sector against spiralling executive pay.

 “After two years of solid expansion, the world economy is growing more slowly than expected, and risks are rising,” said Ms. Lagarde as she presented the forecasts at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“Watch out where your compensation systems are, yet again, going,” she said to bankers.

She also urged the financial sector to aim for a higher purpose than just maximum profit and described the poor representation of women at the top of the banking business as “appalling.”

The IMF boss, who famously said that the banking collapse would have looked much different if it had been “Lehman Sisters” rather than Lehman Brothers dominating Wall Street, also took gender imbalance to task.

A Global outlook.

 LATIN AMERICA

 The leaders of Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, along with the Foreign Minister of Canada, used a joint statement to offer their countries’ backing to Mr. Juan Guiado, leader of Venezuela’s opposition-controlled Parliament after he had declared himself Interim President. A day earlier, Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez, called on Mr. Guiado to take action. In a session on the future of the crisis-struck economy, experts discussed the next steps for Venezuela – and hopes for a different future.

 CHINA

Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan delivers a speech at the 2019 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Davos, Jan 23, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

 China's Vice-President Wang Quishan talked about the importance of multilateralism and dialogue while giving an upbeat assessment of China's economy, saying it will continue to achieve sustainable growth.

Among the key concerns was the Chinese economy.

The country is slowing just as its leadership tries to turn it into a more modern economy by reducing its reliance on manufacturing and exports and increasing consumer spending.

The country reported growth of 6.6 percent in 2018, the weakest since 1990. Demand for Chinese exports weakened last year, and the IMF expects China’s growth to decelerate again this year — to 6.2 percent.

“China’s growth slowdown could be faster than expected especially if trade tensions continue, and this can trigger abrupt sell-offs in financial and commodity markets” — something that happened when Chinese growth sputtered in 2015, said IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo struck a positive note for the resolution of America's trade dispute with China. “There are those who say that a superpower conflict between our countries is inevitable. We don’t see it that way,” he said.

JAPAN

‘Womenomics’ had helped pull Japan back from the brink, declared Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Two million women had entered the workforce since 2012, boosting the economy.

“A long-awaited positive feedback cycle is taking root, with growth in employment and income generating greater demand and even more employment. In order to make our growth long lasting, we are encouraging investment, which will enhance productivity.”

AFRICA

President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, 23 January 2019. Picture: GCIS

When President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke out about South Africa’s "nine lost years" at a dinner in Davos this week, Old Mutual CEO Peter Moyo said the cost of the period crystallised for him.

"We've got the skills, we've got the technology, we should now have the courage to be ahead of the curve," said South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa. The technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as AI and blockchain, would allow the continent to "leapfrog" ahead.

 "I actually think the mood has been very good about South Africa. I get a sense that the outlook is positive," said Moyo, who added that there was significant interest in emerging markets and also in the outlook for Africa.

"They (investors) still believe that Africa will get back onto the (global) radar screen. It’s very positive about the Africa outlook. In particular, people are beginning to be more positive about the East African bloc. It is the most organised bloc (the East African Community bloc).

"If there is a region that has done a lot in terms of the fourth industrial revolution, it is East Africa. When you talk about financial inclusion, Kenya keeps coming up time and time again. Moreover, (there is much talk about) how organised Rwanda is: people are saying that President Paul Kagame is an excellent leader.

"They are moving in the right direction," said Moyo, 

Moyo said an emphasis this year had been on how well countries are prepared for the fourth industrial revolution - the automation revolution, which could change work and business as comprehensively as the first industrial revolution did.

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