[ 2025 Workshop for Thought Leaders ]

June 3-6 | Guangzhou

[ Theme ]

Digital Technology: Accelerating the Local Implementation of the Global Agendas

▸ How can digital technology enhance government governance capabilities?  

▸ How can technology drive sustainable urban development? 

▸ Innovative solutions for building urban resilience  

▸ Digital empowerment to deepen public engagement  

▸ Smart practices for optimizing public services  

Join global innovators to co-create the future of smart cities! 

Event Details 

This workshop will use on-site teaching to promote interactive communication, with formats including keynote speeches, case sharing, roundtable discussions, panel discussions, site visits, and cultural experiences. 

The event will deeply analyze and share outstanding urban innovation cases from the Guangzhou Award and local successful examples, exploring the innovative value and practical experience of the cases to provide references for participants. At the same time, the event will focus on the real challenges faced by cities, encouraging participants to actively engage in discussions, share experiences, exchange ideas, and propose innovative solutions.

Urban areas are increasingly confronted with multifaceted challenges such as climate change, rapid population growth, and inequality. To address these intricacies, cities require innovative, adaptive, and forward-thinking planning strategies. 

Digital tools, such as Metaverse technologies and digital twins, offer transformative potential to tackle these challenges, enabling cities to plan smarter, respond faster, and build more resilience for the future.

This stream will explore how cities can leverage such technologies to enhance urban management, optimize urban planning processes, improve disaster preparedness, and foster resilience against future uncertainties. 

Discussions will focus on practical applications, use case studies, and best practices that demonstrate how digital tools can create more sustainable and more resilient urban environments. 

The COVID-19 lockdowns revealed several structural weaknesses in urban environments, highlighting systemic issues across various dimensions of city life. These weaknesses underscore the urgent need for cities to build more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable systems to withstand future crises and challenges. They also underscore the pressing necessity for cities to prioritize the well-being and quality of life of their residents, becoming cities that leave no one and no place behind. 

This stream will highlight how local authorities should prioritize the integration of technology to enhance citizen participation and improve service delivery, fostering a caring and inclusive city in the digital age. 

By leveraging digital tools, cities can better meet the needs of vulnerable populations, bridge equity gaps, and create inclusive environments. Simple yet impactful technological solutions have the power to transform community well-being, offering tangible benefits to residents and enabling local governments to respond proactively to emerging challenges. 

Discussions aim to inspire local government to actively seek and adopt innovations that enhance the quality of life for residents and develop actionable strategies for creating an inclusive and caring urban environment for all residents.

Advances in science and technology are transforming transportation, reshaping urban mobility, and revolutionizing urban planning. From carriages to motor vehicles, high-speed rail, autonomous systems, and low-altitude drone deliveries, these innovations are redefining how people move and how cities are designed and built. The integration of digital tools and innovative solutions is set to transform urban mobility, offering unprecedented opportunities to create sustainable, safer, efficient, and interconnected urban ecosystems.

To harness the full potential of these advancements, cities must establish robust regulatory frameworks for emerging technologies, and collaboration between stakeholders is essential to drive the adoption of new solutions, enhance inclusivity, and scale technological innovations.

This stream will explore cutting-edge approaches, inspiring cities to reimagine transport, energy, and mobility for a smarter, safer, and more sustainable urban future.

Participants will examine strategies to embrace smart technologies, improve accessibility, reduce environmental impacts, and support the transition to cleaner energy and transport solutions. 

By focusing on future-ready innovations, this stream will provide actionable insights into how cities can lead the way toward a sustainable and connected urban future.

What is the International Thought Leaders' Workshop?

The International Thought Leaders’ Workshop (referred to as the “Workshop”) is an important extension mechanism and communication platform of the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award).

The primary objective of the workshop is to create a global platform for city leaders, urban practitioners, and private sector and civil society stakeholders to engage in peer-to-peer knowledge exchange. 

Since the first “International Thought Leaders’ Workshop” in 2015, the Workshop has successfully held four times, bringing together city leaders and experts from around the world to explore cutting-edge urban innovation topics and continuously promote the sharing of global urban governance experiences and capacity building. To date, the event has attracted over 300 mayors, deputy mayors, representatives of international organizations, and city representatives from more than 50 countries.