Yuri Hohlov and Tatiana Ershova before the Opening Ceremony The Summit on the Global Agenda is an annual global brainstorming that brings together members of the World Economic Forum’s Network of Global Agenda Councils.

For the fourth consecutive year, over 700 members of the Network of Global Agenda gathered at the Summit to address over 70 areas, and comprise the most relevant experts from academia, business, civil society and government. During two days, global experts from over 80 countries – thought leaders from academia, business, government and civil society – identified key issues, explored risks and unmet opportunities, and elaborated mitigation strategies in a series of interactive sessions and uniquely designed conversations across councils and relevant themes.

The Network comprises 79 councils of 15-20 experts each, focusing on topics such as food security, climate change, financial stability and geopolitical risk.

The public debt crisis emerged as the top trend likely to impact the global economy in the next 12 to 18 months, according to a survey of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils, presented during the opening of the Summit of the Global Agenda in Abu Dhabi. The report  identified the following as important trends facing the global agenda in 2012: uncertain economic outlook, global power shifts, digital revolution, political entrenchments, instability of financial markets, scarcity of resources, climate change, and unemployment and inequality.

Yuri Hohlov and Tatiana Ershova at the Yas Marina CircuitThis year, five representatives of Russian federation participated in this event as members of a number of councils:

• Yuri Hohlov, Chairman of IIS Board of Directors, was working at the Summit for the fourth time as member of the Future of Government Council
• Sergey Alexashenko, Director, Microeconomic Studies, State University Higher School of Economics, joined the Competitiveness Council
• Sergei Guriev, Rector, New Economic Scool (NES), worked in the Europe Council
• Ruben Vardanian, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Troika Dialog Group, continued contributing to the Emerging Multinationals Council
• Ksenia Yudaeva, Director, Microeconomic research Center, Sberbank, was invited to the International Monetary System Council

Tatiana Ershova, IIS General Director, also visited major Summit events as a participant.

The Summit reach content, including records of the Plenary sessions, highlights, Councils' reports and tweets of the participants, is acessible on/via http://www.weforum.org/events/summit-global-agenda-2011

Yuri Hohlov at the Closing Plenary Session