H.M. Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will attend the Davos 2022 Forum organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on 24-25 May. She will participate in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA).
This is the first in-person gathering for the Davos Forum following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The event will be held under the theme “Working Together to Regain Trust.”
The UNSGSA’s program in Davos will include four plenary sessions where she will deliver prepared remarks. She is also scheduled to hold high-level bilateral meetings with government representatives from various countries. Further, the Special Advocate will hold talks with key stakeholders from the private sector and international development organizations.
The UNSGSA’s activities will be centered around several key priority areas, including the pivotal role of digital and financial inclusion—especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic—in contributing to good financial health, resilience and increased economic opportunities. The Special Advocate is also expected to focus on ways to support increasing inclusive fintech and inclusive green finance, among other topics.
On Tuesday, Queen Máxima is scheduled to deliver remarks for the “Financial Inclusion: Addressing the Largest Gaps” event highlighting the actions most needed to deliver full financial inclusion, as well as which innovations can address this ongoing challenge. The UNSGSA’s speech is expected to encourage participants to consider a financial health perspective while they continue to advance inclusive finance, notably among vulnerable segments.
She will later provide remarks focusing on AI-driven innovations for financial inclusion and risks around algorithm bias for the “Rules of the Road for the Digital Economy” organized by Mastercard. Also, on Tuesday, the UNSGSA will deliver brief remarks at the “Unlocking Capital at Scale for Digital Inclusion” event about using private capital and fostering a helpful policy environment to generate more investment in the digital economy organized by the EDISON Alliance.
On Wednesday the Special Advocate will host a meeting with the CEO Partnership for Economic Inclusion (CEOP). Queen Máxima will also speak at the IDH—The Sustainable Trade Initiative’s roundtable event, where she will highlight the role of agricultural companies in providing financial services that meet the needs of smallholder farmers and contribute to their financial resilience. The ultimate goal is to generate a living income.
As UNSGSA, Queen Máxima is a member of the Stewardship Board of the World Economic Forum System Initiative on Shaping the Future of Financial and Monetary Systems and of the Edison Alliance.
The Davos Forum’s publicly available sessions, including the “Financial Inclusion: Addressing the Largest Gaps” and “Unlocking Capital at Scale for Digital Inclusion” events, will be livestreamed on WEF’s YouTube channel here: https://wef.ch/youtube.