Discover the themes driving the discussions

The programme will be structured around five key global challenges where public-private dialogue and cooperation, involving all stakeholders, is necessary for progress. In addressing these challenges, growth, resilience, and innovation will serve as cross- cutting imperatives, guiding how leaders engage with today’s complexity and pursue tomorrow’s opportunities.

Industries in the Intelligent Age

32 Sessions

Industries have had to adapt their business strategies to account for major geo-economic and technological shifts. Recent surveys indicate that technology is now the primary driver of change and disruption for businesses across sectors and leaders will need to be equipped with a new leadership toolkit to adapt to and fully capitalize on these deep and structural changes. While advancements in AI, quantum computing, biotech, robotics and automation and other fields present numerous opportunities, new technologies are also hiking energy demand. Electricity demand from the sector could reach 1,000 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2026, as compared to 460 TWh today. How can business leaders strike a balance between the short-term goals and long-term imperatives in the transformation of their industries?

Safeguarding the Planet

28 Sessions

Innovative partnerships and dialogue that enable investments and the deployment of climate and clean technologies will be critical to progress on global climate and nature goals, as well as to address the ‘energy trilemma’ of ensuring an affordable, secure and sustainable energy supply. According to the International Energy Agency, the technology on the market today can allow us to achieve 66% of the global emissions reductions needed if we are to reach net zero by 2050 – significantly up from two years prior but leaving much work to be done. A scaling up of ambition, governance, partnerships and capital is necessary to accelerate decarbonization efforts to reach net zero, invest in nature-positive transition pathways and ensure the circularity and resilience of resource systems overall. How can we catalyse climate and nature action through innovative partnerships, increased financing and the deployment of frontier technologies?

Investing in People

46 Sessions

Technological advancements are impacting everything from employment, skills and wealth distribution to healthcare, education and public services. Among the most urgent of these impacts is the need to reskill and upskill people to meet the demands of the economy of tomorrow and capitalize on the millions of new jobs in emerging and frontier fields which are higher up the value chain. While nearly 40% of global employment is exposed to AI, it is anticipated that most of this impact will be to augment work rather than to fully automate existing occupations. Strong job creation is already being experienced in the digital and service economies and it will be crucial to continue translating technological gains into net-positive results for the workforce. 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?

Reimagining Growth

50 Sessions

With limited fiscal space and monetary policy tools at their disposal, policymakers will need to look towards new frontiers and sources for growth. Innovation will play a central role in fully achieving global economic recovery and avoiding the spectre of a “Tepid Twenties” marked by slow growth, record-high debt levels and depleted fiscal buffers. Looking ahead, the digital economy already accounts for over 15.5% of global GDP and could form the basis for up to 70% of all the new value created in the global economy over the next decade. Yet, headwinds and structural vulnerabilities continue to counterbalance the more positive economic signs of a potential soft landing. 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?

Rebuilding Trust

27 Sessions

In an increasingly complex and fast-moving world, societal divides have deepened as people seek to reaffirm their identities. This is occurring against a backdrop of a shift towards multipolarity in geopolitics, growing competition between global powers and policy shifts towards protectionism, leaving international cooperation at a crossroads and hampering both trade and investment. At the same time, the digital economy is playing an increasingly critical role in reviving trade. The World Trade Organization estimates that the value of digitally delivered services has increased fourfold over the past two decades, growing at an 8.2% rate annually while growth in trade averaged 5.8%. How can stakeholders find new ways to collaborate on solutions both internationally and within societies?