JANUARY 11/12 2024
Building the Green, Digital and Inclusive City of the 21st Century
11th – 12th January 2024
Against the backdrop of the recent APEC Summit in San Francisco and the upcoming COP28 in Dubai CDA joined forces with the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations (Houston, Texas, United States), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing, China) and The Carter Center (Atlanta, Georgia, United States) to organise the trilateral conference ‘Building the Green, Digital and Inclusive City of the 21st Century’. With two thirds of world’s population living in cities by 2050 this conference is dedicated to evidence-based dialogue and to address urban innovation and solutions to mitigate climate change, capitalize on digital transformation and to support intergenerational and inclusive learning of citizens. Leading experts from Europe, China and the United States contribute their views and engage in an interdisciplinary discourse with the participants of this two days virtual event. With a keynote of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand) the conference features distinguished speakers from academia, corporations, finance, and governance.
The main research questions/topics of this conference are:
Could cities be organized in a way that they use mainly regional instead of global resources?
Could cities be planned, built, and maintained in a way that the resources they need are regenerated continuously?
How will large metropolises in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America be affected by sea-level rise in the coming decades?
What can be done to mitigate to urban heat islands due to global warming?
How can sustainable transport/mobility in cities look like in the 21st century?
What are the necessary steps towards conveying a planetary patriotism and addressing climate change in intergenerational and inclusive dialogue with citizens?
How can digitalisation help solve complex problems in cities of the 21st century?
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
The draft program of this joint conference of CDA, the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and The Carter Center is available here. The conference announcement is also published on the homepages of our co-hosts in the United States the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations and The Carter Center.
TIME, VENUE AND CONVENORS
Time: from 6:00 am EST (New York) / 12:00 pm CET (Brussels) / 7:00 pm CST (Beijing)
to 10:30 am EST (New York) / 4:30 pm CET (Brussels) / 11:30 pm CST (Beijing)
Venue: online event upon registration – virtual participation via zoom
Convenors: Neil M. BUSH
Founder and Chairman of the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations (BCF), Houston, Texas, United States
Alexander G. WELZL
President of China Data Analysis and Research Hub (CDA), Vienna, Austria
HONG Yongmiao
Dean of School of Economics and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing, China (tbc)
Paige ALEXANDER
Chief Executive Officer of The Carter Center (TCC), Atlanta, Georgia, United States (tbc)
REGISTRATION
Attendees may register by sending an email to lu@cda-hub.eu with the name, position and organization affiliation for each attendee. Attendees should register by Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 12 pm.
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Stephen I. ADLER
Former Mayor, City of Austin, Texas, United States
James BRAINARD
Mayor of Carmel, Indiana, and Member of the Board of Directors of U.S. Heartland China Association, United States
Vojko BRATINA
Policy Officer- S&T Attaché, Science and Technology Section, Delegation of the European Union to China, Beijing, China
Neil M. BUSH
Chairman of the George H.W. Bush Foundation For U.S.-China Relations, Houston, Texas, United States
Teresa CZERWINSKA
Vice President, European Investment Bank, Luxembourg
Steivan DEFILLA
President Assistant, Professor, APEC Sustainable Energy Center, Tianjin, China
Morgan DESPRÉS
Executive Director at the European Climate Foundation (ECF), Berlin, Germany
Emilly FAN
Schwarzman Scholar, Dallas, Texas, United States
Ji GAO
Director Energy and Nature, Environmental Defense Fund, EDF Beijing
Representative office, Beijing, China
Curt GARRIGAN
Chief, Sustainable Urban Development Section, Environment and Development Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), Bangkok, Thailand
Xiaojun (Dennis) HUANG
Executive Vice President, Bank of China, US Branches, New York, United States
LI Gary
Director, Head of Tech Solutions & Sustainability, CBRE China, Shanghai, China
Winston MA
Adjunct Professor, New York University School of Law, New York, United States
Dragana MARINA
Sustainability Research Lead, Continental Europe, and Head of Research & Data Intelligence, CBRE Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
David Qingzhong PAN
Executive Dean, Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University Beijing, China
Robert MAVSAR
Director of the European Forest Institute (EFI), Joensuu, Finland
Linxiu ZHANG
Director, United Nations Environment Programme-International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP); Adjunct Professor, School of Economics and Management (UCAS SEM), Beijing, China
ZHU Li
President, APEC Sustainable Energy Center (APSEC), Tianjin, China
THE ORGANISING INSTITUTIONS
Founded amidst the beginning pandemic in April 2020 with its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, China Data Analysis and Research Hub (CDA) follows its motto "Ex Sapientia Lux" and is dedicated to act as an independent, non-partisan and non-profit Sino-European think tank. With systemic and systematic research and analyses CDA strives to contribute to a peaceful bridge-building and evidence-based dialogue between Europe (the West) and China in the coming decades. With an interdisciplinary focus on innovation, deep-tech and sustainability CDA understands itself as an international hub of academics, professional experts from business and governance as well as institutions engaged in bi-/multilateral research and collaborative projects. Against the backdrop of the Grand Challenges of mankind addressed in the UN Sustainable Development Goals CDA strives to make a planetary patriotism and geo-innovation a reality in the 21st century.
With its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States, the George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations honors its namesake’s life-long view that the U.S.-China relationship is the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world and that a constructive relationship between the two countries serves a vital interest of the United States, as well as the interests of the entire global community. Bush China Foundation seeks to advance engagement, education and information-sharing among the U.S. and Chinese policymaking, business and academic communities. It is committed to promoting diversity, cross-generational inclusion in foreign policy and to giving back to their communities. The Bush China Foundation’s active, wide-ranging, and highly innovative program of activities reflect President Bush’s vision of honest and open dialogue between nations and a safer and more prosperous world for all.
Located in Beijing, People’s Republic of China, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) is administered and managed by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), established in 1949. Comprising more than 100 institutes, CAS is China's highest academic institution in the Natural Sciences, the highest-ranking consulting institution in science and technology, the preeminent research and development center for the Natural Sciences and high technology, and the most important base in the training of advanced scientific talents. As of August 2020, UCAS had 57 teaching and research institutes as well as 16 affiliated hospitals. At that time UCAS had 3,090 professors and 11,257 supervisors, including 176 CAS Members, from three national research centers (or labs), 73 national key labs, 189 CAS key labs, 29 national engineering research centers (labs) and various national frontier scientific research projects. In 2019, UCAS had over 51,700 postgraduate students enrolled. The UCAS School of Economics and Management (UCAS SEM), strives to be a first-class research-oriented school with a global outreach and an AACSB as well as an AMBA accreditation.
Since its foundation in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, in the early 1980ies The Carter Center has been guided by the principles of its founders, the 39th president of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn. Founded, in partnership with Emory University, on a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering, the Center seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health. President Carter's decision to normalize diplomatic relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China in 1979 changed both countries and the world. The Carter Center remains committed to preserving the legacy of President Carter and Deng Xiaoping’s historic decision while adapting to the demands of the 21st century. Through its research, workshops, and online engagement initiatives, the China Focus and program fosters greater dialogue, exchange, and critical reflection on the past, present, and future of U.S.-China relations.