GENEVA — The World Economic Forum (WEF) will convene the Special Annual Meeting 2021 in Singapore from May 13-16. It will return to Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, for the Annual Meeting 2022. The Special Annual Meeting 2021 in Singapore will be the first global leadership event to address worldwide recovery from the pandemic. This in-person meeting will bring together leaders to focus on shaping solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Further details will be announced in due course. “A global leadership summit is of crucial importance to address how we can recover together,” said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum. “The Special Annual Meeting 2021 will be a place for leaders from business, government and civil society to meet in person for the first time since the start of the global pandemic. Public-private cooperation is needed more than ever to rebuild trust and address the fault lines that emerged in 2020.” The change in location reflects the Forum’s priority of safeguarding the health and safety of participants and the host community. After careful consideration, and in light of the current situation with regards to COVID-19 cases, it was decided that Singapore was best placed to hold the meeting. During the usual “Davos week”, which in 2021 runs from Jan. 25-29, the Forum will host a virtual event to rebuild trust and shape the principles, policies and partnerships needed for 2021. The Davos Agenda will feature participation from heads of state and government, chief executive officers, civil society leaders, global media and youth leaders from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and North America. Building a better future for work, accelerating stakeholder capitalism and harnessing the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be important topics on the agenda. Ahead of the Special Annual Meeting 2021, the Forum will host the Global Technology Governance Summit in Tokyo from April 6-7, 2021. This will feature global stakeholders from government, business and civil society dedicated to ensuring the responsible design and deployment of emerging technologies through public-private collaboration. — SG