What specific slogan is most commonly linked to Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum?
Executive summary
The phrase most consistently tied to Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum is the aspirational slogan “committed to improving the state of the world,” which appears in Forum materials and is repeatedly referenced by major reporting about Schwab and Davos [1] [2] [3]. Other notable motifs associated with Schwab—“The Great Reset,” “stakeholder capitalism,” and recent Davos themes such as “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age”—are influential programmatic phrases but do not carry the same persistent, institution-wide status as the Forum’s stated slogan about improving the world [4] [5] [6].
1. The slogan that shows up in official bios and press coverage
The World Economic Forum’s public-facing identity is anchored by the line “committed to improving the state of the world,” an explicit slogan used in Forum descriptions and cited in business-school case studies and international reporting about Schwab’s role in founding and shaping the WEF [1] [2]. Journalists and analysts also quote the same formulation when summarizing the Forum’s mission and when explaining why the Davos meeting draws scrutiny and praise alike, which demonstrates the slogan’s function as the organization’s enduring tagline in both promotional and critical contexts [3] [2].
2. Programmatic phrases that are often conflated with the slogan
Beyond that core slogan, Schwab himself popularized several programmatic catchphrases that are widely associated with his intellectual project: “The Fourth Industrial Revolution,” the book and concept he advanced, “stakeholder capitalism,” which titles a 2021 book and frames his economic argument, and “The Great Reset,” a 2020 initiative and book co-authored by Schwab [7] [5] [4]. These terms operate less as institutional slogans and more as thematic prescriptions or campaign titles that have driven WEF agendas and media narratives about the Forum’s priorities [7] [4].
3. Recent Davos themes and temporary taglines
Davos annual meetings also adopt rotating themes that briefly crystallize Schwab’s messaging; for example, the 2025 Annual Meeting theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age” was foregrounded in Schwab’s addresses and reported widely as the year’s framing idea [6] [8]. Such themes receive intense short-term visibility and can be mistaken for permanent slogans, but reporting shows they function as event-specific banners rather than the Forum’s long-term institutional motto [6] [8].
4. How critics and commentators reframe or weaponize phrases
Critics and cultural commentators often repackage or seize upon particular phrases to make broader points: some columnists and magazines point to “committed to improving the state of the world” as emblematic of Davos’s lofty rhetoric amid elite gatherings [9] [3], while conspiracy-driven coverage elevated “The Great Reset” into a contested political narrative that far outstrips the original policy proposal in tone and reach [4]. This divergence shows how one set of institutional slogans can persist in neutral organizational use while other Schwab-associated phrases morph into flashpoints in political debate [9] [4].
5. Verdict — which slogan is “most commonly linked”
On balance, the single phrase most commonly linked to Schwab and the WEF across institutional pages, academic discussion, and mainstream reporting is the aspirational slogan “committed to improving the state of the world,” which appears in Forum profiles and in independent accounts describing the organization’s mission [1] [2] [3]. While Schwab’s other phrases—“The Great Reset,” “stakeholder capitalism,” and rotating Davos themes—are highly visible and sometimes more politically charged, they function as topical initiatives or program titles rather than the Forum’s perennial slogan [4] [5] [6].