Views: 199
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (20-24 January, 2026) is taking place in Davos-Klosters (Switzerland), gathering global leaders and experts to explore projected scenarios to drive resilience and cooperation in a rapidly evolving geo-economic and technological spheres. WEF’s sessions will address shared global and regional priorities, foster public-private collaboration and examine innovative approaches to navigating uncertainty and accelerating sustainable growth; hence, the Forum’s slogan: “In the Spirit of Dialogue: Collaboration for the Intelligent Age”.
Background
Since 1971, governments and business leaders, academics and lawmakers are meeting in the alpine town of Davos, Switzerland, for the initially so-called European Management Symposium, which was aimed at improving management practices across the public and private sectors. In the years that followed, the event became known as the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and grew into the preeminent venue for leaders from every corner of the world to come together to address the defining challenges of the times; around 3,000 participants attended the Annual Meetings in recent years, and participants at recent meetings came from over 130 countries.
Reference to: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/12/convening-power-wef-annual-meeting/?emailType=Forum%20Stories
New global and European economic patterns are affected by dramatic intersection of geopolitics, evolving digital technologies and structural changes. In 2026, geoeconomic fragmentation, rising debt and the green transition are going to reshape markets, with quite uneven AIs deployment in different parts of the world. Thus, with widening geopolitical divides, the corporate communities are facing greater volatility and difficult trade-offs, making resilience, scenario planning and faster decision-making critical to long-term success.
The World Economic Forum’s Scenarios for the Global Economy Dialogue Series (in the first edition) are exploring four futures for the new economy by 2030; the process shaped by geoeconomic shifts and technological change, while offering insights on growth, trade, labour and competitiveness.
Uncertainty and complexity are increasingly shaping the outlook for the global economy: i.e. the geopolitical rifts are widening, fast-changing technologies are reshaping industries and labour markets, and decision-makers are grappling with mounting trade-offs.
Strategic decisions in this context require greater agility and foresight; thus, the WEF’s Dialogue Series on Scenarios for the Global Economy aims to help decision-makers navigate uncertainty by exploring scenarios for the global economy and their implications for businesses.
The Forum’s released first set of four scenarios; each scenario however, includes informed, creative and anticipatory strategies that can help businesses navigate the new economy’s trends.
More in: https://www.weforum.org/meetings/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2025/
Four main scenarios on “new global economy”
The World Economic Forum’s Scenarios for the Global Economy Dialogue Series leverages foresight and cross-industry dialogue to help decision-makers understand and navigate uncertainty. The first edition explores four futures for the new economy in 2030 at the intersection of geoeconomic and technology trends. Decision-makers from different sectors offer their thoughts on the transformative trends impacting their industries and related strategy responses.
In the WEF’s “Four Futures for the New Economy: Geoeconomics and Technology in 2030”, each scenario holds risks and opportunities that can reshape sectors and individual businesses – but informed, creative and anticipatory strategies can help businesses navigate the new economy.
More on the “new global economy” in: https://www.weforum.org/publications/four-futures-for-the-new-economy-geoeconomics-and-technology-in-2030/
Thus, the first “feature” deals with the digital technology’s adaptation; the second – with the so-called “cautious stability” and avoiding risks; the third – with the widespread technologies that create both risks and opportunities; and the fourth – with the geopolitical volatility and tighter “trade circles”.
WEF asked top executives on: a) which global trends would have the most significant impact on strategies in industries and business over the next five years; and b) what would be the key sources of growth and resilience in an era of heightened technological and geo-economic uncertainty.
More about 4 scenarios and CEOs opinion in:
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/12/navigating-the-new-economy-decisionmakers-insights/. Besides, on top stories in:
https://www.weforum.org/publications/top-10-emerging-technologies-2024/
The WEF’s key findings
Among top ten emerging technologies’ trends there are the following:
1. AI for scientific discovery: while artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in research for many years, advances in deep learning, generative AI and foundation models are revolutionizing the scientific discovery process. Thus, the AIs will enable researchers to make unprecedented connections and advancements in understanding diseases, proposing new materials and enhancing knowledge of the human body and mind.
2. Privacy-enhancing technologies: protecting personal privacy while providing new opportunities for global data sharing and collaboration, “synthetic data” is set to transform how information is handled with powerful applications in health-related research.
3. Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces: these innovative surfaces turn ordinary walls and surfaces into intelligent components for wireless communication while enhancing energy efficiency in wireless networks. They hold promise for numerous applications, from smart factories to vehicular networks.
4. High-altitude platform stations: using aircraft, blimps and balloons, these systems can extend mobile network access to remote regions, helping bridge the digital divide for over 2.6 billion people worldwide.
5. Integrated sensing and communication: the advent of 6G networks facilitates simultaneous data collection (sensing) and transmission (communication). This enables environmental monitoring systems that can help in “smart agriculture”, environmental conservation and urban planning. Integrated sensing and communication devices also promise to reduce energy and silicon consumption.
6. Immersive technology for the “built world”: combining computing power with virtual and augmented reality, these technologies promise rapid improvements in infrastructure and daily systems. This technology allows designers and construction professionals to check for correspondence between physical and digital models, ensuring accuracy and safety and advancing sustainability.
7. Electrocaloric: as global temperatures rise, the need for cooling solutions is set to soar. Thus, offering higher efficiency and lower energy use, electrocaloric processes release and absorb heat under mechanical stress, presenting a sustainable alternative to current technologies.
8. Carbon-capturing microbes: engineered organisms convert emissions into valuable products like biofuels, providing a promising approach to mitigating climate change.
9. Alternative livestock feeds: protein feeds for livestock sourced from single-cell proteins, algae and food waste could offer a sustainable solution for the agricultural industry.
10. Genomics for transplants: successful implantation of genetically engineered organs into human bodies marks a significant advancement in healthcare, offering hope to millions awaiting transplants.
Source and reference to: https://www.weforum.org/publications/top-10-emerging-technologies-2024/digest/; as well as in: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/12/navigating-the-new-economy-decisionmakers-insights/