Davos, Switzerland, January 24, 2020
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was among the many participants and presenters at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The annual event gathers the world’s key players in business, politics, academia, and charity, as well as celebrities, to find solutions to the world’s major problems, and to work out business deals on the sidelines. This year’s forum was held January 21 through today, January 24.
According to a recent report from BBC, the forum typically attracts about 3,000 people, at a fee of more than $625,000, though it is free for invited guests.
“Regular guests include billionaire financier George Soros, former UK prime minister Tony Blair, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and U2 singer Bono,” the BBC reports.
Among this year’s more noticeable participants were Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky, Angela Merkel, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Jennifer Morgan, the Executive Director of Greenpeace International, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, and Pat. Bartholomew, among many others.
The Patriarch presented several times, including in the “Climate Politics is Local” discussion. A video of the session can be viewed on the Forum’s website.
“The crisis that we face has less to do with nature or the environment, and more to do with the way we perceive and treat the world. We are abusing the earth in an irresponsible and godless manner precisely because we look at it in this way. Unless we radically change the way we see the world, unless we voluntarily transform our pattern of consumption, then we will continue dealing with symptoms, rather than with their causes,” he said.
He also called on world leaders not to put the interests of their countries above those of real people.
In a later talk on the role of religion in creating a cohesive and stable world, he highlighted that, “Faith can succeed in its mission and fulfill the role of cohesion and sustainability through dialogue and witness in the world.”
He also participated in a joint press conference with other religious leaders on religious leaders’ role in safeguarding communities, and delivered a special address on “How to Save the Planet.”
