WEF director backs Davos as host location
Alois Zwinggi, director of the World Economic Forum (WEF), has declared his support for Davos in eastern Switzerland. In an interview with Tamedia published on Friday, he admitted that work needed to be done to convince some locals.
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“We have to convince certain sections of the population that we also bring benefits for them,” Zwinggi said in an interview with the Tamedia newspapers. Those responsible need to communicate better what the World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos has to offer, he said.
The location is ideal for the WEF, he explained, pointing out that the WEF has been in Davos, canton Graubünden, for 55 years and also wants to celebrate its 100th anniversary there. “We must have sufficient accommodation for this, the conference infrastructure must be right and we must feel that the population wants us.”
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For Zwinggi himself, the 2027 event will be the last. “I will be 65 at the end of next year, after which I will retire,” he said.
Strengthening contact with the population
According to Zwinggi, the organisation wants to seek greater contact with the population in future. The expensive accommodation and the consequences for the population are an issue, he said. The WEF organisers want to ensure that demand is curbed. For example, with fewer free riders, fewer people would be travelling to Davos, said the director.
In Davos, which has just under 11,000 permanent residents, the population practically quadruples during WEF week. The impact the forum can have on certain residents was recently demonstrated by a proposal from the Graubünden Tenants’ Association. It wants to take action against contractual clauses that force tenants to leave their homes during the WEF.
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‘Institutions are bigger than individuals’
Davos was apparently not linked to the departed WEF chairman and founder, Klaus Schwab. “As a rule, institutions are bigger than individuals,” Zwinggi replied to a corresponding question from Tamedia. The guarantee for Davos is supported by the entire Forum Foundation.
The WEF made headlines this week due to an investigation into Schwab. The Forum’s Board of Trustees initiated it due to possible irregularities in the management of the organisation. The investigation was triggered by an anonymous whistleblower letter. Schwab rejected the allegations as “malicious insinuations”, as he said in an interview with CH Media on Wednesday.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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