The international community should encourage and hear more voices from young people in different countries in facilitating global communication and addressing global challenges, a consensus achieved by officials, representatives from international organizations and experts on a dialogue forum for global young leaders, which is held at China’s capital city Beijing on Saturday.
The forum, 2023 Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD), invites about 150 international youths, scholars, representatives of embassies in China, and representatives of international organizations from nearly 30 countries to share their thoughts and opinions on topics such as intercultural communication, climate change and sustainable urban development.
The forum was held around the second anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping sending a reply letter to representatives of foreign participants at Global Young Leaders Dialogue in August, 2021.
In the reply letter sent by Xi on August 10 in 2021, Xi hailed the active efforts made by foreign young people to deepen their understanding of China through visiting various parts of the country.
Xi encouraged them to further promote exchanges and mutual learning and contribute to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.
President Xi encourages us to contribute our youth power to the community with a shared future for mankind, which is what we are practicing, Miao Lu, secretary-general of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and founder of GYLD program, told the Global Times on Saturday.
The Global Young Leaders Dialogue is held in Beijing on August 12, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of Center for China and Globalization (CCG)
In the past two years, we have organized foreign young people to visit projects in different cities and provinces in China. At the same time, we have also encouraged young people to propose their solutions and thoughts on global governance related topics, she said.
Several heads of governments and senior officials of international organizations also expressed in their messages sent to the forum that they expect more young people to take an active part in global governance and inject more diversified youth power in promoting world peace, stability, prosperity and development.
“The strength and vitality of a nation rests in its young leaders. The young people are the agents of change. Blessed with unlimited curiosity and innovative genius, they have the will and confidence to take on the challenges with resolve and determination, to transform their societies and world at large,” Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan said in a letter sent to the forum which was read by Moin ul Haque, Ambassador of Pakistan to China.
The 2023 GYLD is hosted by Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and is in partnership with Schwarzman College of Tsinghua University, Yenching Academy of Peking University and Beijing Returned Overseas Chinese Federation.
During the forum, three sub-forums were also held, on which young leaders form different countries shared their views on topics including a new era of cross-cultural communication and the role of audiovisual media, how to build a youth-development-friendly city, as well as climate change and resilience.
Jointly initiated by the Beijing-based think tank CCG and the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS) in 2020, the GYLD program provides a unique communication, education, and professional development platform for young achievers with diverse regional, cultural, disciplinary, sectorial, and professional backgrounds across the globe, to share ideas and learn mutually from others.
