Oxfam present at the World Economic Forum in Davos

Today marks the start of this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The meeting brings together some of the world's top leaders and representatives from business, government, international organisations, academia and civil society to discuss trends and developments affecting the global economy. The WEF is a major political event that has an impact and influences the international agenda. It also attracts significant media attention.

This year, Oxfam's international CEO, Winnie Byanyima, has been invited to co-chair the meeting. Byanyima will use her position at Davos to push for action to help fight global poverty. She will also push for progress towards a global climate agreement.

2015 is an important year in many ways. Growing extreme inequality and climate change affecting people's lives here and now define the greatest challenges of our time. Strong global leadership is needed to reverse this trend, and world leaders now face a difficult and important task that requires cooperation across borders.

"Do we really want to live in a world where one percent of the world's population owns more than the other 99 combined?" Byanyima asked himself earlier this week and continues. "The world needs change in 2015: we need to agree on an action plan to combat climate change, we need to address the extreme gaps between rich and poor and we need to agree on global policies that can help us achieve these goals.

Oxfam's vision is a world free from poverty and injustice. Today, the world's 80 richest individuals own as much as the world's poorest half, while almost a billion people barely have enough to eat.

Extreme inequality continues to rise - as early as next year, it is estimated that one percent of the world's population owns more than the rest combined. This trend threatens to reverse the positive developments of recent decades. It is therefore high time to act!

Extreme inequality:

• Depriving people of better conditions
• Widening the gap between women and men
• Hurting world economic growth
• An obstacle in the fight against poverty
• Even it Up!

Oxfam is taking a stand against extreme inequality through the Even it Up campaign launched last fall. People from different walks of life and parts of the world, including leading economists, academics, politicians and activists have rallied behind our demands. You can also take a stand by supporting the campaign via the link below.