Annual Meeting in Davos

 "The Global Shapers are amazing!" wrote Crown Princess Mette-Marit on Twitter on Monday, 23 January, after having taken part in a meeting of 70 young leaders and entrepreneurs between the ages of 20 and 30.

Youth are leading the way

The Global Shapers Community convened for the first time two days prior to the start of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. This new network complements the Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGL) for leaders under the age of 40, of which the Crown Princess is a member.

On its website, the World Economic Forum states: “50 % of the world’s population is under the age of 27…. This generation has the passion, dynamism and entrepreneurial spirit to shape the future.”

Crown Princess Mette-Marit joined fellow members of Young Global Leaders in sharing her experience with the Global Shapers Community as part of the process of helping it to make its voice heard in the debate at Davos.

The 2012 Annual Meeting focused largely on the financial crisis in Europe, addressing in particular the youth employment crisis and the need to shape new models.

World Economic Forum

This year some 2 600 participants gathered to attend the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, which ran from 25-29 January.

The Crown Prince and Crown Prince attended the Annual Meeting in the capacity of their roles in YGL: Crown Princess Mette-Marit is a Young Global Leader herself, while Crown Prince Haakon is a member of the Young Global Leaders Foundation Board.

The Crown Princess attended the Annual Meeting in Davos for the first time in 2011, while the Crown Prince first attended in 2005.

The Global Fund: 10 years old

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess attended a variety of seminars and meetings throughout the week. The Crown Prince also took part in two interactive sessions: one on multiculturalism and one on what conventional leaders can learn from the unconventional leaders.

On Thursday, 26 January, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess took part in activities marking 10th anniversary of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. As a Special Representative for UNAIDS, Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been involved over the past four years in efforts to ensure adequate youth leadership in AIDS-related work and promote funding for youth-led projects.