Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Kailash Satyarthi and
Jane Goodall at Open Forum in Davos
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, January 2019 – Sessions on escaping extinction and tackling plastic pollution plus the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s special screening of the documentary, The Price of Free, which portrays the rescue of 80,000 child factory workers in India, are among the events open to the public, on a first come, first served basis at the Open Forum Davos 2019.
Fareed Zakaria, the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS will be joined in conversation with Jane Goodall during which they will discuss her life’s journey through the world’s last forests and her work with great apes, humanity’s closest relatives.
Extreme swimmer from Davos, Ernst Bromeis, will discuss his journeys across the waters of Europe and what it takes to protect our planet’s most important resource. There will also be a special performance and dialogue with a quartet of the Sphinx Virtuosi chamber orchestra, which comprises some of the most talented young African-American and Latino soloists in the United States, highlighting how increasing diversity in classical music benefits everyone.
The Open Forum Davos, now in its 17th year and with a fresh new look, will open its doors to the public from 22 to 25 January in Davos, Switzerland. Leading personalities from business, government, academia and civil society, as well as young people, will discuss and interact with the Swiss public on critical – and, at times, controversial – subjects, opening a unique window onto the most challenging debates of our time.
Panellists at this year’s Open Forum Davos comprise public figures, chief executive officers, representatives from civil society, experts and academics from Switzerland and around the world, including:
Jane Goodall, Founder, Jane Goodall Institute, USA speaking during the Session “Close Encounters with Jane Goodall and Skye Meaker” at the Annual Meeting 2019 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 22, 2019. .Congress Centre – Betazone. .©World Economic Forum / Sandra Blaser
· Jane Goodall, Founder, Jane Goodall Institute
· Peter Thomson, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, New York
· Marco Lambertini, Director-General, WWF International
· Denis Mukwege, Founder, Panzi Hospital and Foundation
· Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad
· Kailash Satyarthi, Founder, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation
· Pascale Baeriswyl, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Switzerland
· Heather Koldewey, Fellow, National Geographic Society
· Ernst Bromeis, Water Ambassador, The Blue Miracle
· Marietje Schaake, Member of the European Parliament, European Union
· Roger Köppel, Member of the National Council, Swiss Parliament
· Ricken Patel, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Avaaz.org
· Rachel Haas, Managing Director, NO MORE
· Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education and Research and Innovation of Switzerland
· Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences of the United Arab Emirates
· Laurie Santos, Professor of Psychology; Head, Silliman College, Yale University
· Karan Johar, Head, Dharma Productions
· Cristiana Pasca Palmer, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity
· Jeremy Farrar, Director, Wellcome Trust
Open Forum Programme
Tuesday 22 January
09.00 – 10.00 Water for Life
12.30 – 14.00 Plastic Pollution: And End in Sight?
18.30 – 20.00 Averting “Peak Europe”
Wednesday 23 January
09.00 – 10.30 Escaping Extinction
13.00 – 14.00 An Insight, An Idea with Jane Goodall
18.30 – 20.00 Violence against Women
Thursday 24 January
09:00 – 10:00 An Encounter with the Sphinx Virtuosi
12.30 – 14.00 Loneliness: An Epidemic?
18.30 – 20.00 The Price of Free
Friday 25 January
09.00 – 10.30 Bridging Science with Society
The Open Forum will be held at the Swiss Alpine Mittelschule, Guggerbachstrasse 3, Davos Platz, Switzerland. Although no registration is required, those wishing to participate are encouraged to arrive early as the maximum capacity of the auditorium is 300. For those unable to take part, all ten sessions will be livestreamed on www.weforum.org/open-forum.
Follow the debates using the Open Forum Twitter account: @openforumwef #WEF #openforum. All sessions will be livestreamed on the Forum’s website, available on YouTube after the event too; and some will benefit from social media integration, which offers deeper engagement and analysis to a global audience.
