At last year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, youth climate activist Greta Thunberg called for a more immediate and critical economic response to the looming threat of climate change. This year, other activists like her will be able to participate in the historically elite forum with online streaming available to anyone interested in specific hubs. 

The theme of this year’s forum is “The Great Reset,” a timely name after a tumultuous start to 2020. WEF executive chairman Klaus Schwab announced they are creating a “powerful virtual hub network” to interact with Davos leaders in 2021. This includes more than 400 “hubs,” located all over the world, that will be “open to everyone,” including journalists who historically had to go through an extensive approval process to be included in the Swiss event. 

Each year, the WEF draws significant criticism about its exclusive, elite, and heavily male nature. Especially in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, critics have argued that attendees from high profile financial institutions are merely fueling inequality and environmental degradation. 

Schwab announced that climate change will once again be a primary topic at the forum, but coronavirus has also pulled economic inequalities to the forefront of the conversation. Schwab said the global pandemic has “laid bare the unsustainability of our old system.” The protests for racial equality across the US and the world have also pushed for the summit to address racism and discrimination. 

Despite the pandemic, it looks like the event will continue as planned in person in January 2021. Growing global disillusionment with capitalism is significantly shifting the tide of this historic economic event. As we face a “great reset” as a country and as a global population, hopefully, “The Great Reset” WEF, with the help of newly included participants around the globe, will push for legitimate, sustainable, and equitable economic reform.