Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 5 September 2013 – Well over 1,600 participants from 90 countries will take part in the 7th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, which is taking place in Dalian on 11-13 September. The New Champions are led by the World Economic Forum’s growing Global Growth Companies Community as well as the communities of Technology Pioneers, Young Global Leaders, Global Shapers and Young Scientists. After seven years, the Meeting is widely known as the Summer Davos and is the foremost global business gathering in Asia. The Meeting is held in close collaboration with the People’s Republic of China, with the support of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
This year the working theme is Meeting the Innovation Imperative. The Meeting will feature an intensive and interactive three-day programme to explore and address the innovation imperative under the following thematic sub-themes:
- Unleashing Innovation
- Transforming Industry Ecosystems
- Connecting Markets
- Building Societal Resilience
In addition, the World Economic Forum will be holding private, peer-to-peer meetings designed to provide participants with cross-industry and multistakeholder perspectives on key emerging issues. The intensive and interactive private programme will be thematically linked to sessions in the official programme and include the following industry-related topics: Energy; Health and Healthcare; Information Technology and Telecommunications; Infrastructure and Urban Development; Mining and Metals; Mobility; and Science and Technology.
“The Annual Meeting of the New Champions brings together innovators who are creating the future of business and society. It will highlight how the heads of top-ranked multinationals and tomorrow’s industry champions, together with government, media, academia and civil society, can drive competitiveness and economic recovery, ” said Olivier Schwab, Executive Director, World Economic Forum China.
Li Xuedong, Deputy Director-General, International Cooperation Department, NDRC, said: “The theme of this year’s Meeting fully matches the innovation-driven development strategy put forward by the CPC Eighteenth National Congress. Premier Li Keqiang’s debut at Summer Davos will attract widespread attention. We look forward to working closely with the World Economic Forum to make a greater contribution to the sound and sustainable development of the global economy.”
In addition, Qu Xiaofei, Vice-Mayor, Dalian Municipal Government, said: “First held in Dalian in 2007, Summer Davos has been an important platform for the world to know China and for China to integrate into the world. Dalian government values the opportunity in hosting this meeting again. The meeting will further raise the City of Dalian’s profile and openness to an international audience.”
This year’s select group of business leaders from the Forum’s Member companies who will act as Mentors at the Meeting are: Oleg V. Deripaska, Chief Executive Officer, RUSAL, Russian Federation; Hikmet Ersek, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Western Union Company, USA; Augie K. Fabela II , Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus, VimpelCom, Netherlands; Andrea Illy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, illycaffè, Italy; André Kudelski, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Kudelski Group, Switzerland; Ellen Kullman, Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, DuPont, USA; Rich Lesser, Global Chief Executive Officer and President, The Boston Consulting Group, USA; Liu Jiren, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Neusoft Corporation, People’s Republic of China; Global Agenda Council on Emerging Multinationals;Giuseppe Recchi, Chairman, Eni, Italy; Tulsi Tanti, Chairman, Suzlon Energy, India; Zola Tsotsi, Chairman, Eskom Holdings, South Africa; Wang Jianlin, Chairman and President, Dalian Wanda Group, People’s Republic of China.
Heads of state and government, as well as leading personalities who have already confirmed their participation, are: Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs, Turkey;Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education; Arkady Dvorkovich, Deputy Prime Minister, Russian Federation; Jyrki Katainen, Prime Minister, Finland; Luis A. Moreno,President, The Inter-American Development Bank; Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister, Malta;Plamen Orecharski, Prime Minister of Bulgaria; Elio Di Rupo, Prime Minister, Belgium; Tigran Sargsyan, Prime Minister, Armenia; Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund.