Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    EIGHT companies in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region were awarded for their creativity and innovation in different areas at a ceremony in Guangzhou on Friday night.

    The Delta Creativity and Innovation Ceremony (DCIC) 2016 Awards were presented to both Chinese and foreign companies based in the PRD region that excel at creativity and innovation within eight categories: architecture and urban development, business and community services, fashion and retail, arts and cultural industry, information technology, tourism and entertainment, manufacturing and industrial design, as well as sustainability and environment.

    The eight award-winners were selected from 124 submissions by public vote and a judge panel from 11 countries’ consul generals in Guangzhou, delegates of chambers of commerce and industrial pioneers.

    A seminar on creativity was also held during the ceremony with the participation of scholars, entrepreneurs, delegates of consulate generals, and representative from different countries’ chambers of commerce in southern China. Ideas and discussions were shared on topics that concerned top entrepreneurs, such as the innovation momentum among China’s Internet companies, how to raise funds from angle investors, how to utilize the advantages of local companies and how to promote projects with joint capital investment.

    Bertrand Furno, consul general of France in Guangzhou, spoke highly of the PRD region’s creative climate. “The region has an impressively strong base and infrastructure for creativity, and moreover, its industry will unequivocally grow from strength to strength in the upcoming years, hence the strength of the PRD region,” he said.

    Ng Kok Siong, CEO of Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City Investment and Development Co., the ceremony’s sponsor, said he hoped the DCIC ceremony could be a platform that not only celebrates a few top-notch winners but also encourages and promotes creativity and innovation in the RPD region.

    For Jean-Jacque Verdun, founder of PRD-based culture company Sanjiaoling and Delta Bridges Media, the ceremony was just a beginning and the next step is “ to figure out how to combine all of the new innovative ideas and to create greater cohesion with each other to improve success for the long term and ultimately showcase the Pearl River Delta area to the world.”