Zhang Qian

zhqcindy@163.com

ANSWERING Shenzhen’s invitation, over 900 outstanding youth representatives and elite educators from 100 countries and regions have come to the city to join the 2nd International Youth Conference (IYC), which raised its curtain at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center yesterday.

Themed “Youth Wisdom and Create the Future,” the three-day conference will focus on the positive role of youth in coping with future challenges by organizing lectures, panel discussions, forums and other forms of communication.

The organizing committee members comprise the United Nations Industry Development Organization (UNIDO), the Shenzhen Youth Federation and the Shenzhen Federation of Youth Entrepreneurship Promotion.

The conference has also invited over 80 senior representatives from international organizations from home and abroad, including the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), UNIDO, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), among other organizations.

Among the youth representatives, over 200 are Ph.D. students from renowned universities worldwide. The conference has also attracted nearly 180 youth makers.

During the conference, which will last until tomorrow, the attendees will participate in discussions on 16 sub-topics related to four major sectors: economy, technology, society and environmental protection.

Additionally, there will be 10 themed forums on topics including gene health, artificial intelligence, fintech, youth participation in social management and innovation, future education, and youth charity. Keynote speeches on gender equality, culture, wealth gap, and others, will also be delivered by some of the youth representatives.

According to the organizing committee, the youth representatives are also going to share their advice on how Shenzhen can implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development initiated by the United Nations.

“The purpose of the conference is to build an international platform that promotes communication and cooperation among young people all around the world, and to explore the future trends and challenges of the world,” said Liu Guangyang, secretary of the Shenzhen Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and honorary president of the organizing committee, at a media conference in April.

Hashim Hussein, head of the investment and technology promotion office of UNIDO, said the conference is going “to facilitate youth from around the world to exchange their opinions on the world’s current and future challenges.”

The current conference marks the second time it has been held in Shenzhen.

The first International Youth Conference was held in Shenzhen last August, seeing nearly 600 experts and top-performing youth from the world’s top-ranking universities and institutions discuss major issues regarding youth development.