World Economic Forum director Martina Larkin talks to Biznews.com’s Alec Hogg about what’s on the agenda for Davos 2015 – the “can’t miss” topics and the role that 80 Global Agenda Councils play in getting key issues identified. She has some advice for Davos newbies on how to cut through the noise to get the most from their five day knowledge injection in Europe’s highest town. – AH
ALEC HOGG: Joining us now from Switzerland is Martina Larkin, who’s a Director and the Head of Global Knowledge Networks at the World Economic Forum. Well, it’s only a week to go Martina, before the 2015 annual meetings of the World Economic Forum get together in Davos. Lots of the agenda has been discussed already, in these global agenda councils. Perhaps you could explain to us how they work.
MARTINA LARKIN: Yes, of course. Thanks for having me. The network of the Global Agenda Council is a network in which, is a network of the best leaders from around the world, grouped in 80 topics, and they discuss the latest insights on various issues. They also come up with very tactical recommendations of how these issues might be addressed. They meet once a year in the UAE and also, work very closely together to really advance these agendas and these issues. As you mentioned, one of the major points that they work towards is Davos, but it goes beyond that. They also work towards the recent events of the forum and more, so it’s ongoing project work, which we have.
ALEC HOGG: These people who are on the Global Agenda Council… Where do you draw them from, and what kind of people are they?
MARTINA LARKIN: They are similar to most engagements at the forum. They are really, multi-stakeholders and multidisciplinary people from business, government, media, and society. We also have the next generation engaged, so many of the younger leaders who are between 20 and 30 years old are engaged in these councils and of course, regional diversity as well. We’re hoping to really, engage all the parts of society that need to be at the table when issues like these, are discussed.
ALEC HOGG: And you said there were 80 topics that they look at. Do they come up with concrete proposals at the end of those discussions in the UAE?
MARTINA LARKIN: Yes, they do. These topics can range from the future of China to state security, to economic issues and environmental issues. We have made great progress in some of them. For example, a recent success was related to the council on talent tours in Africa that they came up with an idea for regional visas for a smart travel initiative. They’ve been working with various governments in Rwanda, Kenya, and Mali to make sure that they are trying to implement this idea. Of course, the African Development Bank is involved as well as the African Union. In addition, this year the Council on Africa is trying to provide more leadership on creating a public/private cooperation framework to fast-track Africa’s economic transformation, particularly also inclusive growth. The gap in skills and education, leading capacity building and inclusive growth, and promoting Africa’s more positive narrative in the future.
ALEC HOGG: Well, applying so many good minds to so many topics no doubt, makes it a nightmare in what to put on the agenda in Davos itself, at the World Economic Forum, which is going to be held in a week’s time. How do you come to those conclusions? Do you have a bit of a bun-fight within the forum on who gets to put what on the agenda?
MARTINA LARKIN: Well of course, there’s some prioritisation happening on what really needs to be discussed. What is great is that some of these issues really, are so interconnected and interlinked that it makes sense to discuss them together. The issue I just mentioned about skills… You can’t really talk about the skills gap without talking about education, jobs, growth, where growth is going to come from in the future, and what the future of work will look like. Many of these issues are actually combined in major themes this year, which are built on four pillars. One is on crises and cooperation, which handles how we manage a much more decentralised, globalised world and here are issues such as crime, governance, and cyber security. International trade and investment will be featured significantly. Issues around growth and stability…
I thought I’d just mention that the key element, not only around the monetary policy but also, around employment and some of the issues where they get to post-crises economies. Of course, innovation and the industry is always a very major issue here in Davos, as well as in the forum, generally. Here, we will be discussing new models and strategies that are coming up from disruptive sectors, as well as the transformations taking place in some of the traditional sectors. Lastly, the last one is around security and society and that’s really around emerging economies, as well as just generally, a happier society to avoid this vicious cycle of distrust, polarisation and unrest that we’ve seen in so many parts of the world.
ALEC HOGG: It’s a lot of information and having been privileged to attend Davos a number of times; I know that it’s a wonderful opportunity to broaden one’s mind. Say, for the first-timer…for the person who’s coming to the World Economic Forum for the first time: what advice can you give them to get the most out of it?
MARTINA LARKIN: Well firstly, I think it’s an extremely exciting opportunity to be part of this meeting, which brings together over 2500 participants from 140 countries. So many different sectors, business leaders, public figures, and heads of state as well as meeting new champions, media, and arts and cultures as I mentioned. What I think is important to keep in mind, is that there are going to be so many parallel things happening. We have over 250 public sessions and as you may be aware of, many parallel private sessions taking place. To have an agenda and understanding of what one person wants to get out of the annual meeting and which topics to engage in, in more depth and who to meet to advance these things. Everyone who comes to Davos in general, has something they’d like to get out of Davos so being clear about this is certainly one of the elements.
We have major challenges is that we put forward to the world to be solved… We’re dealing with ten major challenges this year: anything from inclusive growth to infrastructure and other issues (gender gaps) and trying to continue to some of the ongoing work from some of the great progress that has been made is also very meaningful. Then, we have many more cultural sessions and things that relate to science and technology, which we’ve encouraged participants to explore. Even if it’s not directly tied to their day-to-day work, its part of enriching the experience in Davos that participants have and usually walk away with a very impressive story to tell about how these sessions or these encounters have actually, made very much of a difference compared to other things in which they might have participated.
ALEC HOGG: So plan well and put up your hand for the way that you can make a contribution, and you’ll get as much out of it as it is intended. Perhaps to close off with, are there any ‘must attend’ sessions or ‘not to miss’ sessions that you can point us to?
MARTINA LARKIN: I think that this year, there’ll be a lot of focus on the Internet and Internet governance; so certainly, there is an opportunity here to really listen to what’s happening in that issue, which is really evolving. Of course, we have many special addresses, like various heads of state, which are always very interesting and then any of the potentially, more climate-related or sustainability-related issues are very much at the top of the agenda. Whether it’s on tropical deforestation or on agriculture and food security, those are normally sessions we put forward here as major focus areas as well as areas where we can see we’ve made progress and where there is momentum.
ALEC HOGG: Martina Larkin is a Director at the World Economic Forum and she’s responsible for the Global Knowledge Networks.