The bad guys say the World Economic Summit is being held in Davos, for the truly wealthy and most determined to attend. And actually there is something – just point out that it is the highest city in Europe (1560 meters above sea level), and its nearest airport is… in Zurich, 150 km away.
According to organizers' estimates, in those days up to 3,000 people came to the Swiss resort formerly known for skiing and the novel “The Magic Mountain” by Thomas Mann. Leaders of countries and organizations from all over the world, in addition to thousands of journalists, experts and people participating in the accompanying events. However, it should be said that there are approximately 10,000 residents, the city is not prepared to accommodate such a large number of guests, and this does not mean anything. This is why many Davos participants spend the night hundreds of kilometers from the city. The reason is not only the lack of sufficient hotel infrastructure, but also high costs – renting an apartment in Davos at this time costs up to several hundred thousand zlotys.
So it is not surprising that the common practice among “locals” is to go visit family or friends these days and rent their apartments temporarily.
In some elements, Davos is no different from other winter resorts.
In Davos, where?
It is important to remember that there is no “one Davos”. For an “ordinary person” to get a ticket to the World Economic Forum (WEF) is almost a miracle – this is where world leaders from the worlds of politics and business meet. Dozens of accompanying events take place in Davos at this time – on the city's main promenade, shops, bars and restaurants turn into pavilions for companies, states or NGOs, where much more accessible events are organized. Even there are VIPs participating in the World Economic Forum.
The main proceedings take place in the conference centre. Only a few can get there.
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The crowds in the streets of Davos make the city resemble other mountain resorts in winter. It is very difficult to find a free place to sit, and the long queues in front of restaurants are no different than in Zakopane. Apart from the fact that you can meet diplomats and high-level managers of global companies there. Discussions about the future of the world, the development of advanced technologies, and economic trends take place in crowded cafes, bars, and grocery stores.
Cafes and bars are turning into pavilions for countries and individual companies.
Poland is one of the few countries to display its own pavilion along the main promenade in Davos (a facility funded by BGK and NBP this year) and – to underscore regional cooperation – dubbed the “Three Seas Hub”. There is usually a pizzeria there. The world's major powers are not visible in most of its pavilions – look no further than the United States, China, Germany or France. However, you can see India, Belgium and Ukraine.
Three Seas Centre.
This year, the most impressive was the Ukrainian pavilion – featuring a clock that counts down the time from the beginning of Russia's large-scale aggression and an exhibition dedicated to the dramatic fate of Ukrainian children.
The heavily guarded Ukraine Pavilion was one of the most poignant places.
At this year's World Economic Forum meetings, Ukraine once again occupied an important place – although perhaps not as prominently as it did last year. Many analysts and politicians noted “war fatigue” in the behind-the-scenes conversations. Volodymyr Zelensky's visit was meant to prevent this – undoubtedly one of the highlights of this year's summit. The Ukrainian president's visit included exceptional security measures, as evidenced by the closure of streets while his limousine passed by – and Vladimir Putin proved that he is capable of eliminating his opponents also in Western European countries. Zelensky asked for help, but at the same time he persuaded people to invest in Ukraine – for this purpose he met, among others, with the heads of the largest American investment funds.
Police maintain order on the streets of Davos.
As some commentators say: During the forum, Andrew Sorkin of the New York Times expressed somewhat weak opinions about the Israeli war after the Hamas attack.
Artificial intelligence battle
One theme dominated the booths of many of the technology companies exhibiting – the further development of artificial intelligence. EU law on AI is being drafted, and there is a heated debate about what the regulation will look like. The extent to which the Giants will be forced to share their technology with other players to avoid a monopoly remains a controversial issue.
Technology companies are participating in large numbers in Davos to talk about artificial intelligence.
The heads of Google, Microsoft and Open AI present at the World Economic Forum pointed to the huge benefits of using the technology – increased productivity, treatment effectiveness and the ability to analyze big data resources. Although OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized that AI will not replace humans, some guests were skeptical.
“In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, which is a worrying trend.” Kristalina Georgieva, head of the International Monetary Fund, warned in her entry ahead of the meeting.
The ghost of Trump looms over Davos
In addition to somewhat pessimistic assessments of the global economy (more than half of the 60 economists from around the world surveyed by the World Economic Forum expect general economic conditions to deteriorate), analysts' comments included concern about the unstable situation in the United States. Donald Trump's victory in Iowa, which put him closer to victory in the Republican primary, made his potential success more realistic.
“The ghost of Trump haunts Davos,” the newspaper “Politico” wrote, anticipating the return of tense relations between Brussels and Washington and problems in the coordinated policy towards Russia in the face of the return of the former president.
Poland, or the post-election scene
The interregnum, that is, the period when the old king has left and the new king has not yet arrived – perhaps this is how we can describe the atmosphere in the Polish Pavilion (i.e. “Center of the Three Seas”). What was notable was the lack of SOE representatives voluntarily participating in the project. The announced attendance of the Minister of Finance, Andrzej Domanjski, did not take place due to the adoption of the budget law by the Chamber of Deputies at the same time.
Thus, except for President Andrzej Duda and the head of the Foreign Ministry Radoslaw Sikorski, the only important person in Polish institutions was Jacek Jastrzebski, the head of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka, who, as one might have expected not so long ago, will appear as the head of BGK as the host of “House of the Three Seas”. The President, who was dismissed a week ago, finally appeared in Davos in his capacity as the Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Poland for the Three Seas Initiative.
However, EU Commissioner Vera Jourova appeared at the Polish pavilion. In her discussion, she touched on combating misinformation and deep fakes.
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