Plans to hold a special annual meeting of the Davos summit in Singapore in August have now been canceled, according to the World Economic Forum.
Education and the future of work were to be on the agenda, as Industry 4.0 has accelerated rapid workplace transformation of the digitization of work and online learning.
“It was a difficult decision, particularly in view of the great interest of our partners to come together not just virtually but in person, and to contribute to a more resilient, more inclusive, and more sustainable world,” said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, in a statement posted on their website.
“But ultimately the health and safety of everyone concerned is our highest priority.”
Singapore with its population of 5.7 million people had until recently been reporting low daily COVID-19 community infections in recent months.
Infections have been increasing in recent weeks. On Sunday, the Singapore government announced the strictest curbs on public gatherings and activities since the 2020 lockdown — known locally as the circuit breaker.
Singapore has also warned that children are vulnerable to virus variants. A return to home-based learning is starting this week.
The planned World Economic Forum summit was to discuss, among other pressing global issues, the future of work and skills needed with the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
In the Future of Jobs report released in October 2020 by the WEF, a shift in the division of labor between humans and machines could displace an estimated 85 million jobs by 2025.
