--- description: The World Economic Forum, also called simply "Davos," is being held this year from Jan. 20-23. title: Why This Year's World Economic Forum Matters image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0f7a209894d49c9/69887886428a9e9657cd0e43/gettyimages-464166481.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Economy](/tag/economy/) ## Economy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why This Year's World Economic Forum Matters by [Rana Foroohar](/author/rana-foroohar/) and [Arpita Aneja](/author/arpita-aneja/) Jan 11, 2016 7:15 PM CUT  Participants arrive at the congress centrre prior to the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21, 2014. Participants arrive at the congress centrre prior to the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21, 2014.Eric Piermont—AFP/Getty Images by [Rana Foroohar](/author/rana-foroohar/) and [Arpita Aneja](/author/arpita-aneja/) Jan 11, 2016 7:15 PM CUT The World Economic Forum, an annual summit bringing together the top minds in business, policy, media and more, is being held this year from Jan. 20-23\. The event is often referenced simply as “Davos,” after the Swiss mountain resort where it’s held. This year’s summit will focus on “The Fourth Industrial Revolution,” what the WEF calls “a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.” For more on this year’s World Economic Forum, watch the video above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4175744/world-economic-forum-davos-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4175744/world-economic-forum-davos-2016/"},"headline":"Why This Year's World Economic Forum Matters","datePublished":"2016-01-11T19:15:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:57:44.241Z","description":"Some of the world's top minds are meeting in Davos this month","url":"https://time.com/4175744/world-economic-forum-davos-2016/","keywords":["Economy","Davos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0f7a209894d49c9/69887886428a9e9657cd0e43/gettyimages-464166481.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rana Foroohar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rana-foroohar/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Arpita Aneja","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/arpita-aneja/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0f7a209894d49c9/69887886428a9e9657cd0e43/gettyimages-464166481.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SWITZERLAND-DAVOS-ECONOMY-MEET","caption":"SWITZERLAND-DAVOS-ECONOMY-MEET","creditText":"Eric Piermont—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/economy/","name":"Economy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4175744/world-economic-forum-davos-2016/","name":"Why This Year's World Economic Forum Matters"}}]}] ```