The GES primarily focuses on problems that cannot be solved by individual countries or organizations alone and therefore require global cooperation between leading policy makers, business executives, academics and other representatives of civil communities.
The conferences each year are attended by more than 400 people from around the globe, among them Nobel Laureates, Ministers, EU-Commissioners, CEOs and Academics.
Unlike at other symposia the sessions at the GES are meant to be primarily solution-oriented, that is, moderators are asked to focus discussions on suggested solutions.
It is meant to stimulate an ongoing discussion that eventually feeds back into the next Global Economic Symposium.
This program is meant to initiate an ongoing international effort that taps some of the brightest minds of the next generation to identify, evaluate and implement solutions to global problems.
Members are invited to suggest and discuss topics of global importance and develop concrete solutions proposals for them.
The underlying idea is that if we all join forces to solve problems that affect us all, we are more likely to recognize our common humanity and our common destiny than if we address global problems from the perspective of special interest groups or focus all our attention on national, cultural, and religious rivalries.