In a few weeks time the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) kicks off in Davos, Switzerland, and 2019 begins in earnest. For many people, the yearly gathering in the Alpine resort is the agenda-setting event of the year, providing policymakers with the essential context for the crucial decisions that have to be taken in politics, economics and business. While Davos and the WEF have become the leaders in the global “talking shop” industry, it is by no means the only big thought-leading event of the year. This space has become increasingly crowded, partly because other organizations want to emulate the 48-year-old success of Davos, and partly because policy-making and deliberation has become more international and interactive in our increasingly connected world. But what makes a successful forum? A quick flick through my diary for 2018 reminded me of some of the factors — venue, attendees and agenda — that go into making the perfect event. For anybody interested in the energy business — and that includes everybody in the Arabian Gulf region and every serious economist in the world — the annual CERAWeek gathering in Houston, Texas, is an absolute red-marker event. The brainchild of Daniel Yergin, the recognized global expert on the energy business, it brings together thought leaders and energy industry executives in the American capital of energy. CERAWeek has every quality necessary for a successful forum: The city of Houston has all the venue facilities you could wish for; the attendee list is top notch; and the agenda is perfectly balanced between the generalists and the “nerds,” satisfying the need for specialist content alongside broader considerations. Later in the year, the news and information organization Bloomberg will host its annual global business forum in New York City. Under Michael Bloomberg, founder of the group, it has expanded enthusiastically into the forum space, and this is the flagship. While Davos and the WEF have become the leaders in the global “talking shop” industry, it is by no means the only big thought-leading event of the year. Frank Kane Timed to coincide with the United Nations General Assembly, the Bloomberg event has become an essential date in the calendar, and this year promises even more interest among those interested in American politics. The Bloomberg boss, three times mayor of New York City, is openly contemplating a run for the Democratic ticket to the US presidency. He is a well-known critic of the incumbent Donald Trump, and by early autumn will probably have made his mind up one way or the other. Even without the added political spice, the event is unmissable, with a first-class guest list and the most dynamic urban venue imaginable — the streets and avenues of Manhattan. Saudi Arabia’s MiSK holds an interesting gathering on the sidelines of the main show, too. Last year Bloomberg ate further into the WEF’s pie with the inaugural New Business Forum, aimed at a more business-like audience than Davos and with a distinctly American-Asian focus. It took place in the lush surrounds of the Sentosa resort in Singapore, which was a perfect venue. The NEF is unashamedly going after the WEF constituency, but has to decide a delicate issue: How far does it want to be seen as close to the government of China? The plan is to move the venue to Beijing this year (as was originally intended before a scheduling clash in 2018), but maybe Bloomberg will decide that “neutral” Singapore has a better feel — it is after all the “Switzerland of Asia.” The G20 summit is not really a forum in the same sense as the others, but as a forum for the exchange of information and opinion, it is unmatched. The presence of such seriously big hitters in the geo-political universe attracts top leaders from the business and cultural world, and there is plenty going on around the sidelines. It was well worth the 18-hour flight to Buenos Aires in 2018, and will be good value again in Japan next November, before it comes to Saudi Arabia in 2020. The Gulf region has been making its own inroads into the forum market recently, not least with its “Davos in the Desert,” the Future Investment Initiative organized by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in Riyadh. Abu Dhabi stages a rival to the Houston event with ADIPEC, while Dubai — the forum capital of the region — is host to a range of financial and commercial events each year. But once again, Davos at the end of next month will set the agenda for the rest of the year, and the standard for other forum organizers to match. Frank Kane is an award-winning business journalist based in Dubai. Twitter: @frankkanedubai Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point-of-view