The Workshop for Thought Leaders: Learning from Urban Innovation was launched at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou on November 2. Mr. Liu Baochun, Director General of Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office presided over the opening ceremony, which was graced by addresses delivered by Mr. Cai Chaolin, Vice Mayor of Guangzhou, Mr. Ma Jun, Vice President of Sun Yat-sen University, Mr. Felip Roca, Secretary General of Metropolis and Ms. Bernadia Tjandradewi, Secretary General of UCLG ASPAC. Over 50 urban administrators, experts and scholars from home and abroad attended the ceremony.

Entrusted by Mr. Chen Jianhua, Mayor of Guangzhou, Co-president of UCLG, Co-president of Metropolis and Honorary Chairman of Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation and on behalf of Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government, Vice Mayor Cai Chaolin expressed his warmest congratulations on the launch of the workshop and extended his most sincere welcome to all of the distinguished guests coming from afar. Vice Mayor Cai stated that as urban administrators are leaders for advancing urban innovation and improving urban governance, their capabilities and visions are critically important for shaping a bright future for cities around the world. As a co-president city of UCLG and Metropolis, Guangzhou is in duty bound to reach consensus of the world’s urban administrators, strengthen inter-regional and inter-city exchanges of experience on urban governance and elevate public services of cities to a higher level.

On this historic moment when China’s Belt and Road Initiative and pilot free trade zone strategy are being implemented, Guangzhou is well-poised and well-positioned to deepen reform and to exchange inspiration with the world. It is with this solemn responsibility in mind that Guangzhou has endeavored to launch this workshop, an international platform based on the innovation initiatives of Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation and the practices of Guangzhou’s international partners, hoping that through this platform, urban administrators from the world can share wisdom and make common progress hand in hand.

In his address, Vice President Ma of Sun Yat-sen University indicated that as the pace of urbanization and globalization accelerates, innovation has become the key for cities around the globe to enhance their leadership capabilities. Vice President Ma expressed his unwavering conviction that innovation would serve as a powerful agent for achieving prosperity in cities, advancing sustainable development and improving urban citizens’ life.

Secretary General Felip Roca considered the Guangzhou Award (jointly established by UCLG, Metropolis and the city of Guangzhou) to be greatly meaningful in the sense that it played a crucial role in promoting urban innovation and development.

Likewise, Secretary General Bernadia Tjandradewi spoke highly of the role of Guangzhou on the international stage. She regards Guangzhou as one of the global centers of urban innovation and believes that cities all over the world could draw strengths on the initiatives collected through the Guangzhou Award. As she pointed out in her speech, it was proper and necessary for the workshop to focus on the theme of urban innovation leadership, which provides precious learning opportunities for creative and visionary city leaders who are brave enough to challenge authority and to apply the innovation experience of other cities to the management of their own.

The workshop is co-sponsored by Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation, UCLG Community on Urban Innovation and the Asia-Pacific Office of Metropolis, and is undertaken by School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University. The workshop, with a five-day session, is themed on “Innovative City Leadership in Urban Transformation” and is geared toward the purposes of discussing city-related issues, facilitating dialogues on innovation, sharing global wisdom and deepening China’s innovation initiatives.

Based on the Guangzhou Award’s platform for cooperation and exchanges, this workshop serves to strengthen urban administrators’ capacity building and wisdom sharing on urban innovation. The in-depth exchanges of ideas and wisdom will take place at the workshop through a variety of forms, including keynote speech, roundtable, case study, group discussion and site visit. In addition, Chinese and international experts are invited to offer advice and suggestions on how to address the challenges facing participating cities.

The roster of the workshop has 22 representatives of 14 cities from 12 countries, including vice mayors and officials of local governments and international organizations. These 14 cities include Bristol of the UK, Lodz of Poland, Bamako of Mali, Hyderabad of India, Colombo of Sri Lanka and Sao Paulo of Brazil.