Failure as a feature, not a bug ↓

Noubar Afeyan w Eric Lohrer

At the heart of Flagship Pioneering’s model lies an evolutionary process of institutional innovation, where failure is seen not as a setback but as a valuable data point on the path to success. Through groundbreaking examples like Moderna, this approach has proven its potential to achieve transformative outcomes - including saving the world.

Our invitation to act: How can those in the room reframe failure within their organisations to transform it into a driver of innovation and progress, rather than a setback?

References

2025 Annual Letter: Polyintelligence, Flagship Pioneering, 2025

What Evolution Can Teach Us About Innovation, Harvard Business Review, 2021

Public-private partnerships: peeking under the hood ↓

Edith Heard & Stefan Oelrich w Ruth Fulterer

Public-private partnerships are a vital mechanism for translating scientific breakthroughs into tangible societal and economic benefits. They are also becoming an increasingly essential ingredient in the development and deployment of AI models.

Using the collaborations between Charité and Bayer, as well as EMBL, the global biomedical community's de facto data infrastructure hub, as examples, this session will explore how such partnerships are created and what it takes to foster many more across Europe.

Our invitation to act: What is the next step you can take in your organisation to encourage and strengthen the creation of public-private partnerships?

References

Open Targets, EMBL

EMBLEM, EMBL

«Wir haben zu viele gute Köpfe, die in die USA abwandern», sagt Bayers Pharma-Chef Stefan Oelrich, NZZ, 2025

Biomedizin-Boom in Berlin: „Wie in Cambridge“, Tagesspiegel, 2020

The courage to back bold bets ↓

Anita Zaidi w Eric Lohrer

The Gates Foundation embodies a unique willingness to embrace risk and failure with its bold bets, investing in first-of-their-kind products and tackling areas that impact the majority of the global population yet remain underfunded including women’s health and economic power. What does it take to back a bet with only a 5% chance of success and see it through to global impact, ultimately changing the world?

Our invitation to act: What is your next act of sponsorship for women leaders going to be? What would it take to make it happen within the next 30 days?

References

How big data can improve women’s health, Nature, 2024

Women’s Health Innovation Opportunity Map, Innovation Equity Forum, sponsored by the Gates Foundation and US National Institutes of Health, 2023

Lessons of history: failure as a teacher ↓

John Halamka w Fabian Rudolf

John’s illustrious career spans decades of pioneering healthcare information strategies and policies on organisational, national, and international levels. Reflecting on the past, he will share lessons from notable failures and discuss how they inform a forward-looking approach to healthcare and technology.

Our invitation to act: How do you create and maintain a space within your organisation for critical thinking - encouraging robust discussions about whether technology is the solution and ensuring its deployment aligns with sustainability goals?

References

All systems down, Computerworld, 2003

Who are we looking for? ↓

When curating our audience, we prioritise building a community of contributors over consumers. At the core of this ethos are acts of giving and collective creation. We seek individuals who elevate others’ social capital, rather than viewing them through the lens of their current role. We value first movers — those who go the extra mile, expanding opportunities for everyone through their daily actions.

Our perspective is reflected in Denzel Washington’s words to Ethan Hawke during the 2002 Oscar season: “You don’t want an award to improve your status. You want to improve the award’s status.”

Finally, we leave you with the encouragement of last year’s session moderator, Miriam Donaldson - a board director with decades of rich and versatile experience across our ecosystem:

“Over the two decades I have lived in Switzerland I became aware of the unique and incredibly powerful group of people discussing the world’s most important topics, otherwise known as the WEF. Until invited to contribute to FOUR’s session in 2023, I believed it was an inaccessible and mysterious place that I didn’t even consider trying to participate in. Initially, even with an invitation, my doubts about making a valuable contribution and the logistics of even getting to Davos made me hesitate. But as I learned more about what motivated FOUR to host their session on AI in healthcare, I moved from hesitation to activation. The unique mix of guests and the collaborative environment were curated to create connections that might not have been made otherwise – between individuals and between their ideas. I am confident that the discussion that took place was a genuine one where people leaned-in to the complexity of implementing AI for impact and with the intent to gain perspectives. And best of all, instead of just talking about it, we demonstrated the benefits of having men and women jointly engaged in problem solving and driving innovation in healthcare."

Session aims ↓

1. Inspire differentiated and bolder decision-making in the near future. We look to achieve this through two key pathways:

1. Executive-level actions by distinguished audience members,
2. Grassroots initiatives contributed to, build and led by leaders within their organisations and ecosystems.

2. Provide a meaningful networking platform for global changemakers to connect, fostering the beginning of impactful relationships and collaborations.

3. Support Switzerland’s foreign affairs mission to promote trust, innovation, and consensus-building through participation - core values and concepts that Switzerland works to actively uphold and exemplify in practice.

When crafting our session, our focus was on uniting a coherent session structure with substantive content that holds the potential to inspire actions in rooms beyond Davos, advancing the evolution of healthcare systems worldwide to meet the changing needs of the populations we serve.

Community values ↓

What makes for an exciting, thought-provoking and original discussion that participants carry with them until the next January? We believe it lies in small but meaningful actions that reflect our community values and create a shared space for connection and reflection.

1. Fostering sustainability

Sustainability is not solely about how we treat resources but reflects the measure of inconvenience we are willing to embrace when it challenges our comfort and status.

Public transportation usage: If you are attending our session only, we encourage you to use public transportation to minimise our collective environmental impact.

2. Building an inclusive & consent-based space

Challenging the dominant Davos gender norm: We are proud of achieving a gender-balanced speaker lineup last January. As one attendee remarked, “Being in a room that felt representative made the entire experience more comfortable.”

Designing for introverts: The Crystal Lounge layout balances group participation with a quieter retreat area in the back of the room, allowing space for moments to recharge.

3. Nurturing a shared focus

Mobile phones: Kindly store your phone during the session to foster meaningful, in-person interactions. Use only as needed for scheduling.

Name badges: Please replace WEF-issued badges with our simple name tags to create a space focused on people, not titles or affiliations.

4. Respecting privacy & creativity

Photos & videos: Seek explicit consent before sharing multimedia to honor privacy and comfort levels within our group.

Artists credit: When using official photos, please credit Presence Switzerland or the photographer to celebrate the creativity behind the lens.

5. Expressing gratitude

Thank you cards: On departure, please share your thoughts and appreciation for the House of Switzerland team on our thank-you cards. Let’s honor the incredible efforts behind our shared experience.

6. Building a culture of continuous improvement

Sharing feedback: Though we have invested a great deal of effort to craft this session, our aim was to be better than the previous year, not perfect. In light of that, and our ethos of building a community of contributors and not consumers, we will be sharing a brief set of feedback questions over email in the days after the session. We kindly ask our audience to participate, as your insights are invaluable in shaping future iterations of our gathering.

Together, these thoughtful actions will help us create a memorable and impactful morning that embodies the essence of Davos and our community values.

Session logistics for newcomers ↓

Dress code

The dress code is business casual. We recommend wearing sturdy footwear, as Davos is typically covered in ice and snow during the WEF week.

Coat area

A coat area is available at the entrance to the Crystal Lounge to accommodate coats, backpacks, small suitcases, and similar items.

Note-taking

You are welcome to take notes during the session. We encourage the use of analog pen and paper over digital devices.

Accommodation and travel

For those visiting Davos for the first time, we advise against seeking accommodation in Davos due to limited availability. Instead, we recommend taking public transportation, such as an early morning train from Zürich, on the day of the session.

Weather conditions

We suggest downloading the MeteoSwiss app for accurate weather updates and forecasts.

Registration fee

There is no registration fee for the session. The House of Switzerland programme is generously funded by the Swiss government.

About House of Switzerland ↓

The House of Switzerland at the World Economic Forum is a success story that began in 2019. In 2024 alone, it hosted over 70 bilateral meetings and 18 thematic events over three days, bringing together more than a thousand participants. Now a hallmark for federal institutions and public and private actors alike, the House of Switzerland Davos will once again serve as a platform for fostering relationships and facilitating communication during the WEF 2025.

“The House of Switzerland is more than just a place; it is our global living room—a space to exchange ideas, foster connections, and showcase Switzerland as a hub of support and commitment on the world stage. Here, we address today’s challenges by bringing Switzerland’s excellence and innovative spirit to the forefront.“

Ambassador Alexandre Edelmann, head of Presence Switzerland

© FDFA, Presence Switzerland

About Swissmedic ↓

Swissmedic is the Swiss authorisation and supervisory authority for therapeutic products in Switzerland and combines scientific expertise with a clear vision: safe, effective, high-quality medicinal products for humans and animals. Networked at national and international level, Swissmedic works to strengthen trust in therapeutic products and drive innovation. With modern approaches – such as efficient international authorisation procedures and low-threshold advice services for start-ups – and in committed collaboration, Swissmedic not only contributes to safeguarding health but also helps strengthen Switzerland as a location for research and innovation.

"Switzerland is renowned for its excellence in research and development, particularly in medicines and medical devices. To ensure innovative technologies and therapies are developed locally, earn global trust, and adhere to the highest safety standards, regulation and innovation must work seamlessly together – driving progress to benefit patients worldwide."

Philippe Girard, deputy executive director, Swissmedic

© Swissmedic / Alain Amstutz

About FOUR & Bumblekite ↓

FOUR is a healthcare technology startup based in Zürich, Switzerland, focused on building AI-enabled infrastructure supporting healthcare systems across the globe. Its community-building initiative, Bumblekite, is renowned for hosting a globally acclaimed annual machine learning summer school in health, care, and biosciences.

Zürich-based travel tips ↓

If you are passing through Zürich on your way to or from Davos and have some time, we warmly encourage you to visit two exceptional women-founded and -led businesses. These spaces reflect the mission of our event: to present a positive and inspiring image of Switzerland on the global stage. This featurette is shared solely to highlight their inspiring work and carries no monetary component.

INTWINE: Located near the city centre and founded by the visionary Katharina Viana, INTWINE celebrates female creativity. It currently showcases a captivating collection of artworks by the French artist Anne-Sophie Dumont, alongside meticulously curated craftwork designed by women from around the globe.

© Product pictures: Kassie Borreson

Löw Delights: A chocolate manufactory in the heart of Zurich, Löw Delights was founded and is run by sisters Laura and Fabia Löw. Their passionate team of chocolatiers specialises in luxurious, sustainable, and contemporary chocolate creations, combining craftsmanship with innovation.

© Löw delights GmbH (left) © Löw delights GmbH / Nora Dal Cero Photography (right)

Accessibility ↓

This session will be conducted in English.

The elevator to the Crystal Lounge has a width of 0.8 meters and a depth of 1.4 meters. It is available and suitable for manual wheelchairs. For electric wheelchairs, the width is limited to 0.8 meters.

If you require any accommodations or have specific accessibility needs, please let us know in advance, and we will do our best to support you.