Davos: WEF 2019 is all about the money but is it cost effective? By Angela Barnes
Last updated: 21/19/2019– 17:33 As leaders in business and politicsgather in Davos for the World Economic Forum 2019, Euronews has been taking alook at how much it costs to attend the elite gathering - and whether it isrepresentative. Here's what we found. WEF membership: How much does itcost? A majority of its funding isprovided by its members, business entities, who join to participate in itsactivities. There are different levels ofmembership, according to The Forum's website. The cost to be a WEF member rangesfrom CHF 60,000 to CHF 600,000, "depending on the level ofengagement," the site says. That's around €52,941 to €529,442. When the fee to be a member ispaid, most will then be able to attend the annual meeting, however, attendanceis subject to an extra fee. The amount is not specified. Who doesn’t have to pay? Non-business participants, youngglobal leaders, certain media, heads of state, and ministers from over 70countries do not have to pay to take part. There is also some fundingavailable to help academics attend. Is the attendance representative? A study carried out by QUARTZreveals some interesting trends about the attendees this year.The website, which acts as a globaleconomy guide, used the list made public by The Forum to do the maths. It found 22% of those at theconference are women, compared to 21% last year..The oldest attendee is 92-year-oldbroadcaster Sir David Attenborough. The youngest, 16-year-oldphotographer, Skye Meaker, from South Africa. The average age for male attendees is54; for women, it is 49. What is the regional attendance? The meeting will host more than3,000 participants from 115 economies. By region, Western Europe has themost participants - 1,159 according to The Forum, 25% of them women. North America and Asia are theother two most represented regions at this year's meeting.Eight hundred and sixtyparticipants are attending from North America, of which 31% of them are women. Central and Eastern Europe has 71participants, 7% women. One hundred and eighteen people aregoing from Africa, 26% women. Fifteen percent of the MiddleEast's 241 participants are women. South Asia has 235 attendees with15% of them women. One hundred and twelve people aregoing from Latin America, 16% of them are women. Two hundred and seventy four peopleare going to the meeting from the Asia Pacific region, of them, 18% are women.
