Five reasons why you should care about the WEF in Davos

After Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, it has been suggested that the World Economic Forum has become an irrelevance.

Here are five reasons why it's still worth paying attention to the annual Alpine gathering of the global elite.

:: It's committed to improving the state of the world. No, really

That is actually the World Economic Forum's slogan. Whether they've managed it is another question.

After all, this time last year no-one here had an inkling that Britain would vote to leave, let alone that Donald Trump would be in power.

Nor is it especially clear how the forum has improved the world in previous years.

Sure, its proponents will point to things like the 1988 "Davos declaration" in which Greece and Turkey averted war or Nelson Mandela's appearance alongside F.W. de Klerk (for the first time) on the Davos stage at 1992.

But critics would point out that the forum has rarely been particularly good at predicting, or for that matter preventing financial crises.

All the same, there is much important talk here about how to improve things like child mortality rates, malaria in Africa or education.

It's just that those wise words are often delivered by celebrities like Will.I.Am and Shakira, both here this year.

:: The guest list is pretty amazing

It really is: the president of China. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The heads of the world's leading banks. A handful of the world's richest people. Jamie Oliver. All crowded around the proverbial fire in this Swiss mountain town.

They may not have all that much original to say, but if the importance of an event is measured by household names, or for that matter wealth, or influence, there are few that can challenge Davos.

:: It's in trouble

After all, Davos's ultimate mission is to make the world more open, more prosperous and more free.

Yet in the past year, Britain has voted to leave the European Union and Americans have elected someone who espouses protectionism, closed borders and, well, who knows what else?

In other words, the people of the world have sent a resounding message up the mountain that they, by contrast, value controlling their borders over economic prosperity, and would rather elect an untested outsider than a Davos veteran (Hillary Clinton is no stranger to the Kongresszentrum).

Plenty of food for thought for those gathering in Switzerland this year.

:: The tables are turning

The telling thing about this year's conference is that the star of the show is, for the first time, not the leader of a major western economy, but China's President Xi.

Not long ago, China was very much an outsider at the WEF. It tells you something about their ascendant position in the world that they now have pride of place in the schedule.

The question is what kind of noises come out of the Chinese delegation. Do they drop further hints that in the absence of American leadership in the world's economic and political system (Mr Trump, after all, is a noted sceptic of the UN, IMF and NATO) they will take more of a proactive stance?

Is President Xi outraged at Mr Trump's suggestions that the Chinese are currency manipulators? Is he looking forward to working with the Chinese leader?

:: It means skiers have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

Most of the residents of Davos - and for that matter neighbouring village Klosters - spend most of their days holed up inside the Kongresszentrum - the nuclear bunker style building where the big speeches take place.

Others - particularly businesspeople and bankers - have back-to-back meetings in their hotel suites.

The upshot is that one of Europe's finest skiing areas is almost deserted for one week of the year.

So if you're interested in skiing, and don't mind shuttling in from another resort, make the most of it.

The snow is, at last, looking pretty good this year.