World Business Dialogue

The World Business Dialogue is the largest international student-run business convention that is annually hosted by the non-profit Organisationsforum Wirtschaftskongress (OFW). The World Business Dialogue is an impulse-congress, on which current innovations and social trends are analyzed and discussed regarding their impact on prevailing and chances on generating new business models. Therefore, it brings together excellent students with top-class personalities from economy, politics and science and offers them a platform for a cross-generational and cross-cultural dialogue. It was named as one of the 10 must-attend business student events in 2015

The volunteer student initiative Organisationsforum Wirtschaftskongress (OFW) was founded as an association in 1984 and sees itself as a school for entrepreneurs. In 2013 it was converted into a non-profit company with limited liability. Each year the OFW offers around 40 students the opportunity to add practical experience to their theoretical knowledge by organising the annual World Business Dialogue which took place the first time at the [University of Cologne] in 1987. However, by that time it was called Deutscher Wirtschaftskongress (German Economic Congress).

The 1st German Economic Congress took place from 10 March to 11 March 1987 and dealt with the topic "The Space as market." Since the patron cancelled his attendance to the conference, the minister of foreign affairs, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, appeared as his representative and demanded a German space agency in his speech.

Since the [Rote Armee Fraktion] assassinated the chairman of Siemens, Karl-Heinz Beckurts, who had been chosen as a speaker for the 1st German Economic Congress, the OFW was forced to intensify the security controls.

Starting with this foundation, the attention was especially focused on improving and expanding not only the organisation, but also the programme of the conference. First, a huge festival hall was built for the 2nd German Economic Congress on the Albert-Magnus-Platz in front of the University of Cologne which was supposed to reflect the university character of the event. Two years later, in 1991, there was the initiation of, for example, the still very popular workshops in which the students independently acquire and record results. By then, the German Economic Congress was known all over Europe and hence there was more foreign participants among students and speakers.

The 3rd German Economic Congress has been arranged alternatively via satellite in the USA, since, at that time, several American speaker were unable to travel to Germany, because of the threat of terrorism caused by the Golfkrieg.

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