How can cities and products be designed to promote active and healthy lifestyles? Dimensions to be addressed: - Making health the default choice through product and urban design - Promoting physical activity as an enabler of health, well-being and creativity - Exploring cross-sectoral roles and responsibilities in promoting health and well-being

What challenges and transformations are shaping the leadership context in Africa?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Demand for strategic infrastructure
• Progress towards economic diversification
• Crucial investments in human capital
• Commitment to regional integration

How can Arctic development be pursued with a legal framework and long-term resilience in mind?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Identifying key issues and actors
• Highlighting uncertainties
• Balancing interests and risks

What are the secrets of successful leadership in the world of the arts?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Motivating artists to perform at their best
• Maintaining an entrepreneurial edge
• Sparking the imagination of audiences

What should be the role and responsibility of the banking system?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Ensuring global financial stability
• Defining core functions of major commercial banks
• Implications of structural and regulatory changes 

How are architects creating the foundations for thriving urban societies?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Driving the sustainability agenda
• Creating beacons of hope
• Fostering civic engagement

How can national innovation strategies be designed to promote sustainable, inclusive and resilient prosperity?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Unlocking long-term investments
• Advancing from emerging technologies to industries
• Leapfrogging to knowledge-based economies 

How can giving, lending and investing be combined effectively to maximize social benefit?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Mapping needs and incentives of players
• Learning from successful joint-financing structures
• Identifying areas ripe for further collaboration

How can global, national and industry resilience to catastrophic risks be increased?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Assessment of national resilience to global risks
• Role and impact of hyperconnectivity
• Strategies to prevent systemic failures

What strategic shifts and transformational issues are shaping the growth context in China?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Upgrading to value-added products
• Catering to 1.3 billion consumers
• Financing innovation and entrepreneurship
• Integrating sustainability into business strategies 

With traditional institutions weighed down by partisan gridlock and vested interests, what innovative forms of collaboration and leadership are emerging in hyperconnected societies?

This session was developed in partnership with NHK. 

How could connected vehicles and transportation systems transform mobility? Dimensions to be addressed: - Improving road safety and traffic flow - Reducing carbon footprints - Improving supply chain visibility This session is linked to initiatives and communities of the Forum. John Moavenzadeh is available to brief participants. This session is open to reporting press.

How can adversity be transformed into creativity?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Using theatre to find a voice in society
• Turning blighted areas into creative hubs
• Designing tools for economic development

The World Economic Forum's Crystal Award honours artists who have used their art to improve the state of the world. 

How are Africa's leaders mitigating investment risk in Africa's economies?

This session was developed in partnership with CNBC Africa.

How can cities be designed for urban resilience and prosperity?

• Understand the characteristics of smart cities
• Rethink infrastructure for resilient dynamism
• Share best practices and partnership models

How are digital technologies fuelling artistic creativity?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Using social media to collaborate online
• Integrating the latest technologies in the creative process
• Creating platforms that transform ideas into reality

How could imminent tipping points in ecological systems cause irreversible changes at a global scale?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Scientific knowledge of the world's hotspots
• Big data for better decision-making
• Risk management support platforms

What near- and long-term political and societal risks are arising from the economic malaise?

• Risk of structural unemployment
• Declining human capital wealth
• Spreading political instability

This session was developed in partnership with Al Jazeera.

How will unconventional energy transform geopolitical and industry landscapes?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Shifting supply, demand and trade patterns
• Assuring energy sources and energy security
• Examining subsidies and cost structures

What challenges and transformations are shaping the leadership context in Europe?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Divergent competitiveness levels
• Fiscal-monetary-banking system nexus
• Future of governance institutions

How is business balancing shareholder and stakeholder demands to respond to the changing expectations of society?

• Improving accountability and fighting corruption to regain public trust
• Restructuring value chains to produce multistakeholder value
• Redesigning the system to reward a long-term mindset

In the face of climate change and increased competition for resources, how can food security be ensured?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Increasing responsible investment
• Enabling collaboration and knowledge exchange
• Developing technology solutions
• Empowering farmers 

Do the near-term benefits of quantitative easing outweigh the long-term risks?

How are corporations fostering entrepreneurial innovation in a low-growth environment?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Thinking beyond industry boundaries
• Crowdsourcing from the marketplace
• Building capacity for disruption

How can deeper regional cooperation sustain Asia's growing economic interdependence?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Leveraging lessons from ASEAN economic integration
• Managing unresolved geopolitical differences
• Strengthening regional institutions and cooperation initiatives

How are digital norms and technologies transforming higher education?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Shifting to adaptive curricula
• Enabling personalized learning
• Revolutionizing access to learning 

How will new consumption and production models transform global value chains?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Exploring new models of economic value creation
• Shifting to closed-loop models
• Scaling towards circular economies

The Co-Chairs of the Annual Meeting will debate the emerging issues of 2013, and their implications for the global economy and their industries.

This session was developed in partnership with CNBC.

With the Millennium Development Goals expiring in 2015, what should be at the top of the next development agenda?

How can the international community work together to educate the over 60 million children not in school, build the needed 4 million classrooms and train the necessary 2 million teachers?

What strategic shifts and transformational issues are shaping the global financial context?

• Limits of monetary policy
• Eurozone options
• Real world impact of Basel III and Solvency II
• Future of shadow banking .

The rapid spread of digital misinformation is fuelling social clashes and possibly geopolitical conflict, requiring a rethink of related global risks. This session explores possible contingencies as highlighted in the Global Risks 2013 report. 

What should be at the top of the global science agenda in 2013?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Creating new sources of growth
• Ensuring food and resource security
• Strengthening decision-making capacity

What should be at the top of the security agenda in 2013?

What strategic shifts and transformational issues are shaping the healthcare context?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Growing emphasis on cost effectiveness
• Shifting from treatment to prevention
• Delivering biotech innovations
• Ageing societies in advanced and emerging economies

What strategic shifts and transformational issues are shaping the human development context? Dimensions to be addressed: - Fiscal austerity in advanced economies - Decelerating growth in large emerging economies - Rising inequality in high-growth developing countries

Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel explains the physiological basis of memory and its implications for understanding memory loss and diseases such as Alzheimer's.

A conversation with award-winning author and Harvard Graduate School of Business professor Clayton Christensen on his breakthrough idea on how to fix national finances 

A conversation with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom George Osborne on the challenges facing Britain, Europe and the global economy.

A conversation with computer scientist Jeannette Wing on her breakthrough idea about how to spread computational thinking

A conversation with social innovator, entrepreneur and director of the MIT Media Lab Joichi Ito on his breakthrough idea on a world with decentralized innovation. 

A conversation with renowned activist and Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo on his breakthrough idea for a transformational approach to addressing climate change by redesigning current economic models.

A conversation with top Chinese economist Li Daokui on his breakthrough ideas on China's growth trajectory, economic structural changes and future role in the world economy in the midst of domestic and international tensions

A conversation with physician and renowned expert in functional medicine Mark Hyman on his breakthrough idea for a new paradigm of systems medicine that addresses root causes and optimizes biological networks to create wellness.

A conversation with the Prime Minister of Malaysia Mohd Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak on his breakthrough idea for initiating and sustaining Malaysia's economic and political transformation

A conversation with business management professor Sheena Iyengar on her breakthrough idea about global leadership.

A conversation with Nobel prize-winning biochemist Tim Hunt on rethinking education to foster curiosity, creativity and competitiveness 

How are investors addressing the world's growing social and environmental challenges?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Benefits of private equity and venture capital
• Investment policies for sustainable and inclusive growth
• Establishment of capital markets for social entrepreneurs

What strategic shifts and transformational issues are shaping the growth context in Japan?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Economic growth and fiscal sustainability
• Domestic and international political tensions
• Implications of an ageing population

How is the millennial generation redefining the rules in business and society?

Dimensions to be addressed

• Generation we or generation me?
• Norms and values of digital natives
• Competitive work attitude in a connected world

How can business, science and society push the global innovation frontier to meet the needs of a population of 9 billion?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Prioritizing innovations for human development
• Rethinking partnerships to accelerate impact
• Building a co-creation paradigm for solutions
• Aligning science with global challenges

What strategic shifts and transformational issues are shaping the natural resource context? Dimensions to be addressed: - Shifting consumption patterns globally - Discovery of new resources - Volatility in supplier countries

As the world struggles to sustain growth, could Central Asia be the next region to watch?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Benefits to the energy sector
• Economic growth potential
• Emergence of interregional integration

What new vision for growth is needed to achieve inclusive, sustainable and resilient prosperity?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Focusing on productivity and employment
• Embedding innovation as a growth engine
• Rethinking cooperation models amid global constraints

How are generational and structural shifts reshaping the future of work?

• Incorporating a millennial mindset of empowerment and flexibility
• Reconciling age-old wisdom with new-age thinking
• Building reliable virtual environments for work
• Leveraging social technology for innovation

How do artefacts convey the essence of culture?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Evaluating the role of encyclopaedic museums
• Overturning stereotypes about diverse cultures
• Mirroring societal change

In today's challenging political and financial climate, the Eurozone has many trials ahead. As Europe prepares for the Eurozone 2.0, it will have to balance smart and inclusive growth with smart austerity measures. Is the European dream of solidarity, stability and integration a broken promise?

• How can we reconcile diverging interests among European nations?
• Should budgetary discipline be enforced? If so, how?
• Can Germany effectively run the Eurozone's economic policy?
• How should the birth defects of the Eurozone be rectified to achieve competitiveness on the global stage?

While retaining its African-American roots, principles and aesthetics, jazz has become one of the world's first truly global music styles. The centrality of improvisation, fluidity of leadership and collective nature of jazz bands have enabled jazz to absorb new traits without sacrificing identity.

• How do jazz musicians use improvisation to create their art form? How can the processes translate into daily life and enrich our experiences?
• What can jazz teach us about nurturing our own creativity, interactions and survival skills?
• How can jazz serve as a strategic model for diplomacy, leadership, collaboration and innovation?

In the past century, businesses have become increasingly proactive corporate citizens, taking on social and environmental causes that were traditionally the domain of international organizations and NGOs. Meanwhile, non-profit institutions have found their management and performance under scrutiny.

As we advance to an era where efficiency and accountability take precedence, how can humanitarian funds be applied most effectively?

• To whom should NGOs be accountable?
• What are their roles and responsibilities?
• Should NGOs be run like businesses?
• What are the opportunities for businesses and NGOs to collaborate?
• What are the drivers to create partnerships? 

Obesity is the fastest-growing chronic disease, killing 2.8 million adults every year. With 1.4 billion overweight adults, we live in a world where unhealthy food, labour-saving devices, motorized transport and sedentary work are prevalent, and fast food sales are on the rise, blurring the boundaries between meals and snacks.

• What are the key drivers of the obesity epidemic?
• What societal and economic priorities challenge efforts to reduce obesity?
• What policies need to be implemented, and how should they be aligned with business?
• How can physical activity create a balance between energy intake and output? 

How are innovative partnerships accelerating progress on sustainable growth and development?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Defining success factors
• Scaling bottom-up solutions
• Supporting multilateral processes

How can economies deliver safe, affordable and sustainable energy to drive future growth?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Learning from top-performing countries
• Determining the optimal energy mix
• Balancing domestic and global supplies

With more than 14 million young people out of work and disengaged, how can Europe's leaders prevent a lost generation?

This session was developed in partnership with France 24.

The world's leading opinion shapers from the media and academia debate scenarios for 2013.

With new economic and geopolitical challenges, how will the ASEAN economies unleash the next wave of growth?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Fostering economic integration
• Supporting Myanmar's transition
• Strengthening security cooperation

As the European Union pursues the imperative to integrate in the face of political backlash, how can Europe's leaders restore growth and employment?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Sparking and sustaining innovation-driven competitiveness
• Building stable fiscal, financial and economic architecture
• Re-engaging voters in national politics 

How can social innovation be scaled up for greater impact in the region?

• Leveraging social enterprises for social and environmental challenges
• Fostering innovative partnerships and financing models
• Sharing inspiring success stories

What makes the world's top performing economies more competitive than others?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Implementing competitive strategies
• Achieving scalability across sectors

How should digital norms and rights evolve in hyperconnected societies?

• Explore ownership and value of data
• Balance freedom of expression of the individual with national security
• Assess a framework that allows innovation and rewards creativity

What common themes should pave the way towards the post-2015 development agenda? Session objectives: - Applying complex systems thinking - Focusing on win-win scenarios - Forecasting achievements for 2030 This session is linked to initiatives and communities of the Forum. Dominic Waughray is available to brief participants.

How are shifting political and economic realities in the G20 affecting progress towards a new climate framework?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Stabilizing insecure economic outlook in East and West
• Changing leadership in US and China
• Shifting alliances and new partnerships

What strategic shifts and transformational issues are shaping the social technology context?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Unlocking innovation through social media platforms
• Data-driven approaches to influence consumer choices
• Changing digital norms and privacy regulations

Governments worldwide remain in a weakened condition in one of the most uncertain and fragile periods in recent memory. How can nations restore their legitimacy and effectiveness in the current global context?

What are the new opportunities for funding ventures in high-growth economies?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Funding small and medium-sized enterprises
• Innovating models for high-impact entrepreneurs

A critical success factor of any economy is its ability to believe in, invest in and engage its own people. Young Global Leaders give short talks on developing three pools in human capital that remain untapped. Learn about:

• The ability in disability
• Ageing population in young enterprises
• Bring on the women "flexperts"

How can the promise of the Arab Spring be advanced in light of deepening social and political uncertainties?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Creating conditions for consensus-based politics
• Shaping growth and employment models
• Responding to regional power shifts

How can insights into human behaviour be applied to trigger smarter and more sustainable consumer choices?

• Make sense of behaviour and choice
• Understand the shifting nature of consumption
• Outline strategies for smarter choices

How can the supply-demand gap for long-term capital be overcome to fund corporate growth, innovation and infrastructure?

Dimensions to be addressed:

• Aligning incentive structures
• Designing effective public policy
• Cultivating long-term thinking

Visualization expert Katy Börner explores how digital maps can help navigate today's vast networks of innovation and knowledge.

How can gender gaps be closed at the highest levels of economic decision-making?

• Increasing female graduates in relevant fields
• Overcoming mid-career development hurdles
• Exploring potential of regulatory intervention