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 media were present at the forum. Media outlets of 24 countries were represented, namely: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Britain, Germany, India, Iran, Spain, Italy, Qatar, China, Lithuania, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovenia, USA, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland, France and Japan. The XV St Petersburg International Economic Forum was convened on June 16–18, 2011 under the theme ‘Emerging Leadership for a New Era’. The Forum was attended by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and five foreign government leaders: Prime Minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of the People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, President