The Belt and Road Youth Forum of the 2050 Conference kicked off at Yunxi Town, otherwise known as Cloud Town, in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, on April 24. It was themed on "The mission of Young People from Belt and Road Cities in Promoting Innovation in the Post-Pandemic Era".

The government officials and student delegates present at the event either in person or remotely included Li Minggang, ambassador of China to Kuwait, Vladimir Norov, secretary-general of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Maria Moreni, president of Italy-China Link and co-president of Belt and Road Local Cooperation (BRLC), Kyosti Oikarinen, co-president of BRLC, Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, secretary-general of United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) , Steffen Woerner, executive director of Stadtjugendring Heidelberg and Zhai Mofan, a student from the Hangzhou-based China Academy of Art.

Li Minggang, ambassador of China to Kuwait, makes a keynote speech via video link at the Belt and Road Youth Forum of the 2050 Conference. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Li shared his story of how he took the lead in building the homepage of the embassy website when he was working at China's embassy in the US and encouraged young people to make bold suggestions and innovations in their work. He believes that China will become an all-round modern country through the innovative spirit of young people. 

Vladimir Norov, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General delivers a keynote speech via video link at the Belt and Road Youth Forum of the 2050 Conference. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"There are 1.8 billion young people living in the world today – the largest number in the history of mankind. Almost half of the world's youth live in the SCO region – which is more than 800 million people. Young people, with their energy, innovation and courageous ideas, are an important pillar of SCO's future development in various aspects of its activities," said Norov.

"The outcome of the 2050 Conference will allow us to develop concrete proposals and recommendations for the promotion and implementation of promising innovative ideas by the younger generation, and to establish close cooperation within the SCO," he added.