Guo Weimin noted that the GYLD is a good platform to promote exchange and dialogue between Chinese and foreign young leaders. He voiced hope that people will look at the world with equality, respect and inclusiveness, communicate with each other through mutual appreciation, learning and sharing to promote harmonious coexistence, exchange and mutual learning among different cultures.

Du Zhanyuan, president of China International Publishing Group

Du Zhanyuan noted that youth is an important force for continuous global dialogue and multilateral cooperation, and voiced expectations that this platform will further stimulate global young people’s enthusiasm for dialogue, to spark ideas and trigger powerful voices.

Marielza Oliveira, director and representative of UNESCO Beijing

H.E. Nicolas Chapuis, ambassador of Delegation of the European Union to China

H.E. Dominic Barton, ambassador of Canada to China

H.E. Luis Diego Monsalve, ambassador of Colombia to China

H.E. Mohamed Abd El-Sattar Elbadri, ambassador of Egypt to China

David Q. Pan, executive dean and professor of Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University

Amakobe Sande, interim resident coordinator, UN China

Pascal Lamy, former director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Boris Ruge, vice-chairman at the Munich Security Conference (MSC)

Vincent Price, president of Duke University

Martin Raiser, World Bank’s country director for China

Ronnie C. Chan, Chairman of Asia Society Hong Kong Center

Kishore Mahbubani, Singapore’s former ambassador to the United Nations (UN)

Wang Huiyao, CCG President

In the welcome remarks, Dr. Wang Huiyao noted that young people have increasing impact on various fields and are the key to a sustainable, inclusive and stable society. Young leaders are the future decision-makers and guiders of the international community. He emphasized that the Young Leaders Program will effectively identify and cultivate young international talent with insight and a broad perspective.

Mabel Miao, CCG Secretary General

As the chief of the program, CCG Secretary General Dr. Mabel Miao introduced GYLD. She said, inspired by successful global youth leadership programs, the GYLD is designed to nurture the development of opinion leaders from diverse regions, sectors, disciplines, cultural and professional backgrounds. She noted that GYLD aims to develop a dynamic community network with the vision and influence to drive positive cross-cultural dialogue and communication. She stressed that via open and extensive exchange, we seek to bring together enterprising, globally minded men and women under the age of 45, to debate and formulate action plans, proposals, and innovative solutions to the world’s most complex challenges. The GYLD embraces values such as internationalism, creativity, diversity and inclusiveness in global affairs. The GYLD focuses on areas ranging from globalization, global governance, multilateralism, technology and innovation, dialogue among civilizations, sustainable and inclusive development, and public health. Miao also mentioned that in the future, the GYLD will develop programs including annual forums, workshops, seminars and symposiums, and joint research. Longer-term GYLD plans also include scholarships and grants, exchange programs, talent competitions, etc. where young leaders travel globally to meet their counterparts in person in post-pandemic times.

Theresa Tse, chairwoman of board committee of Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited

Noah Fraser, managing director of Canada China Business Council

Joshua Dominick, founder & organizer of Krankin’thru China

Wang Guan, CGTN news anchor

GYLD representatives, Theresa Tse, chairwoman of board committee of Sino Biopharmaceutical Limited; Noah Fraser, managing director of Canada China Business Council and Joshua Dominick, founder & organizer of Krankin’thru China, delivered feature speeches at the launch event hosted by CGTN news anchor Wang Guan.

The program launch is meaningful for global young leaders to exchange ideas, play an important role in international affairs and contribute to global governance. 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN). Encountering global challenges such as the global pandemic, the UN has launched a global dialogue initiative calling on people to “Shaping our future together”. Young people are the best representative of the future. How they view, think about and deal with these global challenges will determine the future world.

Guests that witnessed the launch included Ma Jia, deputy director of the bureau of international liaison at the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of CPC; Sun Ming, vice president of the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS); Tobias Beck, program manager, Friedrich Ebert Foundation; Tomas Fuentes Benitez, founder of Stokes; David Blair, senior commentator and economist of China Daily; Kavish Bisseswar, first secretary, Embassy of Netherlands; Gao Yinghua, assistant to the chairman of the Board, China Biopharmaceutical; Gian Marco Brizzolara, co-founder of China Tech Blog; Adam Clancy, second secretary, Embassy of Australia; Han Yi, producer of Better Angels; David Jia, chairman of LKK Innovation Design Group and founder of LKKER Sharing Design Platform; Annakret Kornig, second secretary, German Embassy; Natalia Kvachadze, assistant to the Ambassador of Georgia to China; Li Yitian, founder of SANTIAN Supply Chain Management Corporation; Mohammad Kawzaa, second secretary, Embassy of Egypt; Jonathan Lopez, content strategy manager, ByteDance; Joseph Oliver Mendo’o, Ph.D, Peking University School of International Studies; Vugar Panahov, counsellor, Embassy of Azerbaijan; Kaushal Prakash, HR leader of Greater China, DXC Technology; Dmitry Oksyukovskiy, third secretary, Embassy of the Russian Federatio; Shi Yang, founder of Zhejiang Honghui Asset Management Co. LTD; Kim Ursu, chief of staff to the Ambassador of Canada to China; Anthony Wang, private equity associate, CITIC CAPITAL; Wang Yanping, public affairs general manager, Linkedin China; Zhang Sheng, chief growth officer (CGO), Suntech; Ulan Nukhitzhan, culture & educational counselor, Embassy of Kazakhstan.

Some 100 outstanding young people from international organizations, multinational corporations, universities, think tanks, media and other different fields from over 20 countries participated in the launch.

On December 16, the Forum on Global Young Leaders Exchanges on Poverty Reduction Innovation was held online. Senior global opinion leaders and representatives of young leaders from various communities will engage in a dialogue on poverty alleviation, the first goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and discuss how to strengthen global youth cooperation and leverage cutting-edge technology and new business models to promote poverty alleviation.