World Economic Forum criticized in the Swiss national media. Since the annual meeting in January 2003 in Davos, an "Open Forum Davos", co-organized by the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, is held concurrently with the Davos forum, opening up the debate about globalization to the general public. The Open Forum has been held in the local high school every year, featuring top politicians and business leaders. It is open to all members of the public free of charge. The annual meeting of the forum also has been decried as a "mix of pomp and platitude" and criticized for moving away from serious economics
St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Prior to this, the Forum was held at the Tauride Palace, the headquarters of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CIS. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Foundation was established in March 2007 to deal with the organizational and technical aspects of running the forum. Anton Troyanov was appointed Director of the Foundation. The first Forum in the updated format was held in 2007, organized by the SPIEF Foundation under the leadership of the Organizing Committee. The same year a partnership between the World Economic Forum (WEF) and SPIEF was announced. On January 25, 2007, St. Petersburg International