A healthy population contributes to economic development and the health sector is a significant provider of employment. But half the world’s population still does not have access to health services and future affordability of health systems is challenged by the development of new and expensive treatments and an ageing population with growing healthcare needs. A change in perspective, which considers investing in health as contributing to sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and global markets and their impact on health is needed. How can we expand the fiscal space for health to ensure that no one is left behind? Is a rethink of the health insurance system and the social contract for health needed? Can improved health data help better engage finance and economy ministers, as well as investors, to meet the vision of SDG 3?

Expected speakers:
Federal Councillor Alain Berset
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director general of the World Health Organization
Beatrice Weder di Mauro, Professor of Economics, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Shobana Kanineni, Executive vice-chairperson of Apollo Hospitals

Moderator:
Prof. Ilona Kickbusch, Founding director and chair Global Health Center, The Graduate Institute

Contact person:
Miguel Perez-La Plante, +41 79 580 39 41

In the presence of Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga

Contact person:
Ambassador Nicolas Bideau, Head of Presence Switzerland, +41 79 667 69 15, prs@eda.admin.ch

The speed of technological change and increasing interdependence requires new governance mechanisms. It is increasingly evident that digital tools and platforms, while being convenient, connected, and transparent also present critical risks. Few industries are exempt from the challenge of maintaining trust in an environment of rapidly evolving technology, vastly increased volume, availability and complexity of data. Are existing forms of institutional governance designed for the digital age?

Followed by the formal launch of the Swiss Digital Initiative, a long-term and sustainable process for safeguarding ethical standards in the digital world, which kicked-off in September 2019 in Geneva. On the occasion of the Forum in Davos, the Swiss Digital Initiative foundation will be formally launched and a first project presented.

This event is fully booked.

Expected speakers:
Peter Brabeck, President GESDA
Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis
Antonio Hodgers, President State Council of Geneva
Doris Leuthard, President SDI, Former Federal Councillor
Ueli Maurer, Swiss Federal Councillor
Urs Rohner, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Credit Suisse
Brad Smith, President Microsoft
Gillian Tans, Chairwoman Booking.com
Martin Vetterli, President EPFL

Moderator:
Jovan Kurbaljia, Director, DiploFoundation

Contact person:
Stéphanie Schenk, +41 78 795 73 78, stephanie.schenk@digitalswitzerland.com

Innovative finance has been identified as one of the most important catalysts for achieving Agenda 2030. 2 billion people worldwide are still excluded from financial services due to a lack of access, valid identification or financial knowledge. In the absence of inclusive financial systems, individuals are limited in their ability to save and invest or store their money safely. They are therefore also less resistant to economic shocks or hazards.

Disruptive new financial technologies, including cryptocurrencies, claim they can create new opportunities for financial empowerment and inclusion by bypassing expensive bank infrastructure or international transfer fees. What is the potential of these initiatives and how should regulators respond to these rapid changes?

Please note: Chatham House Rules

Speakers:
David A. Marcus, Head of Calibra
Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme
Patrick Njoroge, Governor, Central Bank of Kenya

Moderator:
Katherine Brown, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing, World Economic Forum

Contact person:
Anne Hassberger, anne.hassberger@eda.admin.ch

We welcome you to an evening fireside conversation alongside some of Geneva’s leading visionaries, innovators and disruptors, sharing their stories of inspired action and vision for what’s needed to create a sustainable future.

Expected speakers:
Ambassador Valentin Zellweger
Dorothy Ng’ambi Tembo, Executive Director Ad Interim, International Trade Centre
Florian Kemmerich, Managing Partner Bamboo Capital Partners
Peter Bakker, President and CEO, WBCSD

Moderator:
Alexandra ‘Santu’ Boëthius, Co-founder, Impact Hub Geneva and Accelerate2030

Contact person:
Miguel Perez-La Plante, +41 79 580 39 41

The way we currently produce, process, retail and consume food is not sustainable. Therefore, the UN will convene a Food Systems Summit in 2021.
This High Level Dialogue will discuss the required changes to bring about the type and scale of investments needed to make the transformation possible. The event will offer leaders from business, governments, international organizations
and civil society an opportunity to make a substantial contribution towards the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.

Expected speakers:
Marta Antonelli, Research Director, Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition Foundation
Qu Dongyou, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Suni Harford, Member of the Group Executive Board, President Asset Management, UBS
Theo de Jager, President, World Farmer’s Organisation
Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy for 2021 Food Systems Summit
Maness Nkhata, Owner, Lakeshore Agro-Processing Enterprise
Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin

Moderators:
Part 1: Michelle Grant, World Food Systems Centre ETH Zurich
Part 2: David Nabarro, Food Systems Dialogues Curator and Co- Laureate of the 2018 World Food Prize

Contact person:
Urs Wiedmer, urs.wiedmer@gs-wbf.admin.ch

There are an estimated 40.3 million people in modern slavery, despite a blanket global ban on such criminal practices. To bring this figure close to zero by 2030 and to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we would need to reduce the number of people affected by around 10,000 individuals per day. Financial sector institutions have a key role to play in addressing this global challenge by investing in and fostering innovative business practices that help end slavery and trafficking.

This lunchtime panel debate will provide a platform to discuss financial sector perspectives on modern slavery and trafficking, raise awareness among WEF participants and provide recommendations for the sector’s engagement against human trafficking and slavery. It will introduce the findings of the Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking contained in its report “Unlocking Potential : A Blueprint for Mobilizing Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking”, released in September 2019 at the UN General Assembly, and developed in the frame of Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAST), also known as the Liechtenstein Initiative.

Expected speakers:
Dr. James Cockayne, Head of Secretariat for Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking; Director of the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research
Mr. Olivier de Perregaux, CFO, LGT Group; previous Commissioner of the Financial Sector Commission
Dr. Katrin Eggenberger, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Culture of the Principality of Liechtenstein
Jörg Gasser, CEO Swiss Banking Association
Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer
Julie Monaco, Managing Director and Global Head of Public Sector, Citi Bank

Moderator:
Daniel Thelesklaf, Director of the Money Laundering Office Switzerland (MROS/ Swiss FIU) and previous Commissioner of the Financial Sector Commission

Contact person:
Carmela Bühler +41 79 706 88 31, carmela.buehler@eda.admin.ch

Human contact, legislation, and contracts are just a few of the human mechanisms developed over centuries to build trust. Today, in transposing these mechanisms into the digital world, breaches and malicious usage hinders digital progress and technologies.

So what does trust mean in a digital context and what models, methods, and tools do we have at our disposal to build meaningful trust quickly in an AI-driven and remote business world? And what role does artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, cryptography, and privacy play in the development of trust?

Furthermore, the rapid increase of global collaboration among individuals and corporations on the one side, and the current lack of tools to build trust mechanisms on the other side, presents a gap that we must address today, if we truly wish to harness the tremendous combined power of human and machine intelligence.

Expected speakers :
Elliott Ash, ETH Zurich
Olga Fink, ETH Zurich / WEF Young Scientist
Bryan Ford, EPF Lausanne / Professor of Decentralized and Distributed Systems
Humera Malik, CEO, Canvass Analytics
Joël Mesot, President, ETH Zurich
Carmela Troncoso, EPF Lausanne / Professor of Security and Privacy Engineering
Martin Vetterli, President, EPF Lausanne

Moderator:
Shalini Trefzer, Executive Director World in 2050, Diplomatic Courier

Contact person:
Christina van Ligten, +41 76 503 01 10

How can we make better use of innovative technologies to slow down climate change, particularly in the building and construction sectors, which are among the principal contributors to CO2 emissions? Selected business leaders, political representatives and Swiss innovators will discuss the crucial role of innovation in sustainable development and the importance of partnerships between the private and the public sectors in reducing global CO2 emissions. Practical examples of innovative Swiss technology in construction materials and expertise in building design and financing models will demonstrate the impact of such solutions.

Expected speakers :
Sabine Döbeli, CEO of Swiss Sustainable Finance
Pierre Jaboyedoff, Project Director Indo-Swiss Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings BEEP
Ajay Mathur, Director General of the Energy & Resources Institute TERI, India
Karen Scrivener, Head of Construction Materials Laboratory, EPFL
Tatjana von Steiger, Deputy Head Global Cooperation at SDC

Moderator:
Manuel Sager, SDC Director General

Contact person:
Régis Nyffeler, regis.nyffeler@eda.admin.ch, +41 77 410 76 08