DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- The five-day World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2010 is due to start on Wednesday in Swiss town Davos under the theme of "Improve the State of the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild".
The meeting will focus on six areas of inquiry to present an interdisciplinary and systemic view of the major economic, political, societal and technological forces. Moreover, Haiti reconstruction is also set to dominate its agenda.
Based in Geneva, WEF is a non-governmental international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industrial agendas.
The forum, initially known as the European Management Forum, was founded by Klaus M. Schwab, a professor of business policy in Switzerland, in 1971.
In 1987, the forum changed its name to the World Economic Forum and sought to broaden its vision further to international conflicts. Its agenda now includes the most pressing problems facing the world, ranging from political, military and security concerns to bilateral and regional issues.
The foundation, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, is also called "Davos Forum."
The forum has more than 1,000 members currently, all of which are major companies driving the world economy forward. Also, the forum forges strategic and industry partnerships with its selected members. It sponsors international economic seminars each year jointly with state governments or enterprises worldwide.
With an increasing global influence, the forum has been hailed as the "top-level non-governmental global economic forum", in which the international political leaders, business leaders as well as leaders of civil and social organizations could exchange views on global economic issues.
The forum invited the first Chinese delegation to Davos in 1979. In June 2006, the forum opened its regional office in Beijing.
During the annual Davos meeting on Jan. 28 to Feb.1, 2009, the global leaders urged collaboration and swift action in response to the serious global recession under the theme of "The Power of Collaborative Innovation".
