The World Economic Forum is embarking on an ambitious new journey to harness the potential of the metaverse as a platform for collaborative, inclusive and effective international action. The Forum, in collaboration with Accenture and Microsoft, is building a Global Collaboration Village as the virtual future of public-private cooperation. It will provide immersive spaces where stakeholders can convene, create and take action on the world's most pressing challenges. "Since our founding in 1971, the Forum has served as a platform where business, government, civil society and other stakeholders can come together to address critical global issues," said Klaus Schwab, the Forum's Founder and Executive Chairman. "The metaverse will influence the way, people, governments, companies and society at large think, work, interact and communicate for the purpose of collectively addressing issues on the global agenda. "The Global Collaboration Village will be an extension of the World Economic Forum's public private platforms and in-person meetings and will provide a more open, more sustained and more comprehensive process for coming together." Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture, said: "While the metaverse is only in its early days, it already holds great promise, not only for redefining how organizations work and interact but also for fostering effective public-private partnerships. "We are pleased to collaborate with the World Economic Forum and Microsoft in creating the Global Collaboration Village and pioneering a trusted metaverse space. "This will complement the Forum's real-world collaborations and invite a range of diverse stakeholders to come together to address the world's most critical challenges and innovate a more sustainable future for all." The Global Collaboration Village will bring together key global stakeholders — international organizations, governments, partner companies and civil society organizations — to imagine alternative futures, explore ideas in an immersive way and envision what the future world could be. The Forum aims to be a pioneer within this new space and bring together others to co-create within it. Key aims of the Global Collaboration Village Global cooperation — To create a new virtual space where global interaction can be enhanced and cooperative solutions found Interactivity — To provide immersive experiences to foster a better understanding of key global challenges Inclusivity — To offer a collaborative public space where broad participation in discussions about pressing global issues is both encouraged and enabled Impact — The platform and all of its goals are geared towards catalyzing more effective individual and collective action following the Forum's mission statement and commitment to improving the state of the world About the launch of the Global Cooperation Village The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the Strategic Partners Accenture and Microsoft, presented the overall concept and architecture of the Global Collaboration Village, as well as a proof-of-concept of the experience and functionality, at the Annual Meeting 2022. This launch is the first step on a new journey. The Forum will continue to develop the Global Collaboration Village, together with a founding partners group, over the coming months and years, with the aim of turning the metaverse into a place where international cooperation can be strengthened and re-energized. In addition, the Forum is launching a new initiative on Defining and Building the Metaverse, which convenes more than 60 leading companies from technology and other sectors alongside experts from governments, academia and civil society to accelerate the development of governance and policy frameworks for the metaverse and strengthen economic and social value creation opportunities. This initiative and the Global Collaboration Village will help shape the foundations of the metaverse to truly create an equitable, interoperable and safe digital environment from the onset. — SG
