SUMMARY

WES goes hybrid! With the 22nd edition of the summit, we are delighted to have achieved our widest ever reach, hosting 750 virtual and 550 in-person attendees from over 250+ universities across the globe.

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In an era governed by unprecedented economic and political turmoil, our diverse range of speakers covered topics ranging from macroeconomic policies to humanitarian crises. It was our greatest honour to have His Majesty King Letsie III grace our stage with a riveting address on the Economics of Agriculture. His speech was complemented by more world leaders, with the former Prime Minister of Jordan addressing modernization in the Middle East and the former President of Finland discussing multilateralism. Nobel Economist Edmund Phelps’ address on innovation was a crowd favourite and encouraged an elaborate Q&A session with the audience. Furthermore we were delighted to hear about macroeconomic policy from not one, but two prominent Central Bank Governors and were brought to tears by the poignant and compelling insight into the War in Ukraine by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk. Finally, a very special message from Dr. Jane Goodall about the urgency of climate change drew the curtains on another year of a successful summit that left the audience with a lasting sense of accountability and purpose.