The 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting began in Davos, Switzerland today bringing together a record number of heads of state, government and international organizations alongside leaders from business, civil society, academia, the arts and media.

The theme of the event is "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World".

The meeting will focus on finding ways to reaffirm international cooperation on crucial shared interests.

Alongside international cooperation, an additional priority of the meeting will be to overcome divisions within countries.

What is WEF?

WEF is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation committed to "improving the state of the world", according to the organisation's website.

It aims to shape global, regional and industrial agendas by bringing people together through dialogue.

Established in 1971 by the German economist Klaus Schwab, the WEF was originally known as the European Management Forum, until a name change 16 years later, in 1987.

The World Economic Forum committed to improving the state of the world. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance.

The activities of WEF are shaped by a unique institutional culture founded on the stakeholder theory, which asserts that an organization is accountable to all parts of society. The institution carefully blends and balances the best of many kinds of organizations, from both the public and private sectors, international organizations and academic institutions.

Moreover, the Forum focuses that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.