Davos 2025: What to expect and who's coming?

One of the catchlines at Davos 2024 was ‘projections are not destiny’. Leaders warned against fragmentation, but they set their sights on unity. There was reference to a new age of economic ‘non-normality’ but also a sense of ‘remarkable resilience’. The AI alarm bells sounded, but we also saw excitement building for what it can help us achieve.

So as we emerge from the disruptions of democracy’s ‘record year’ and look to 2025, the shifts away from incumbent parties suggest the end of an era. The sense of urgency for leaders to regroup shows that collaboration is ever critical, but increasingly challenging.

Collaboration for the Intelligent Age

Davos 2025 convenes under the theme, ‘Collaboration for the Intelligent Age’. The concept draws on Klaus Schwab's suggestion that converging technologies are rapidly reshaping the world, pushing us to an inflection point, “an era far beyond technology alone”, he says. “This is a societal revolution, one that has the power to elevate humanity – or indeed to fracture it.”

So what are the biggest questions for leaders as they grapple with the challenge of collaboration in an age of converging technologies and hyper intelligence? How can we avoid fragmentation and build a smarter future? How can innovation tackle crises like climate change and the misuse of technology? Will collective action and responsible leadership foster equality, sustainability, and collaboration rather than deepen existing divides?

The meeting is organized under five areas:

1. Reimagining Growth - Reviving and reimagining growth is critical to building stronger and more resilient economies. How can we identify the new sources of growth in this new global economy?

2. Industries in the Intelligent Age - Industries have had to adapt their business strategies to account for major geo-economic and technological shifts. How can business leaders strike a balance between the short-term goals and long-term imperatives in the transformation of their industries?

3. Investing in People - Geoeconomic changes, the green transition and technological advancements are impacting everything from employment, skills and wealth distribution to healthcare, education and public services. How can the public and private sectors invest in human capital development and good jobs that contribute to the development of a modern and resilient society?

4. Safeguarding the Planet - Innovative partnerships and dialogue that enable investments and the deployment of climate and clean technologies will be critical to make progress on global climate and nature goals, as well as to address the energy triangle of achieving equitable, secure and sustainable energy systems. How can we catalyse energy, climate and nature action through innovative partnerships, increased financing and the deployment of frontier technologies?

5. Rebuilding Trust - In an increasingly complex and fast-moving world, societal divides have deepened, geopolitics is multipolar, and policy is shifting towards protectionism, hampering both trade and investment. How can stakeholders find new ways to collaborate on solutions both internationally and within societies?

Participation is diverse - by sectors, industries, generations, and gender. This diversity is fundamental to the Forum’s approach to ensure that the most important issues in the world are discussed as widely as possible and solutions are designed with a diverse, cross-sectoral lens.

In 2024, Davos attendees came from 125 countries, involving the following Forum communities:

Chief executives and chairs of the Forum 1,000 Partner companies actively engaged in initiatives and communities such as the International Business Council, Community of Chairpersons and Industry Governors.

Public figures from across the world including G7 and G20 countries as well as heads of international organizations.

Leaders from the foremost civil society, labour and media organizations as well as top thinkers and academics.

Members of the Unicorn and Technology Pioneers communities, the Community of Global Shapers, the Forum of Young Global Leaders and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

Check back here for news on 2025’s attendees.

The meeting is accessible for the wider public through livestreaming of the public sessions, complemented by the presence of media leaders and reporting press, and through local engagement at the Open Forum in Davos.

The Forum’s purpose-driven extended reality (XR) platform, the Global Collaboration Village, will also bring together diverse global stakeholders in immersive, real-time environments to accelerate, enhance, and scale up progress on the key themes of the meeting. - WEF