World Economic Forum

Crown Prince Haakon first attended the Annual Meeting in Davos in 2005. Since then, the Crown Prince has taken an active role at several meetings. In 2013, the Crown Prince led the debate in the session "Leaders: Born or Made", and in 2011 he gave a presentation on dignity based leadership.  In 2009, he took part together with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of South Africa, in a panel debate on the significance of dignity as the basis for development at the global level. This was also the topic of a concluding session in 2007 in which the Crown Prince participated. That year, he took part in a discussion on entrepreneurship as well.

In 2006, Crown Prince Haakon led a panel debate on the role high-profile personalities and public figures can play in humanitarian work.

The Crown Prince contributed the piece “The Power of Dignity” to the report “Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue” published in 2008. The report may be downloaded by clicking on the link to the right.

Young Global Leaders

Crown Prince Haakon was a member of Young Global Leaders from its launch in 2005 until autumn 2010, when he became a member of the Foundation Board, the governing body of the YGL Community.

The forum comprises leaders under the age of 40 and is the most important voice for young people in the World Economic Forum. In 2009 new members were nominated from 65 countries, representing all regions of the world. They hold leadership positions in the business, political and public spheres, academia, non-governmental organisations and the media and they share one thing in common – as leaders they play an important role in their communities. More than 100 members are invited to the Annual Meeting in Davos.

Global Redesign Initiative

Launched by the World Economic Forum in January 2009, the aim of the Global Redesign Initiative was to devise functional solutions to improve the ability of the international community to solve major global challenges. The YGL created input for the Global Redesign Initiative within six areas: Values, Governance, Education & Youth, Health, Sustainability & Environment, and Strengthening Economies.

The World Economic Forum established a network of Global Agenda Councils which provided input to this process. The councils were made up of over 1,000 experts on more than 50 topics – from water supplies to pandemics and migration. Crown Prince Haakon was a member of the expert group on values, while Crown Princess Mette-Marit, who is a Special Representative for UNAIDS, was a member of a group on health and young people.

The Crown Prince led the YGL’s efforts under the Global Redesign Initiative until the final report was presented in Doha, Qatar May 2010.