UNIDO Launch event of the 4IR Alliance and the Award Ceremony of the Global Call 2023 at CIIE in Shanghai

November 07, 2023

On November 6th, the Head of the UNIDO Centre in Russia Mr. Igor Kozhin took part in the launch event of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Alliance (4IR Alliance) and the Global Call 2023 Award Ceremony at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.

Under the banner of “Smart Leading, Green Future”, the event brought together a diverse group of attendees. These included international organizations, representatives from China’s central and local governments, global travel industry leaders, and prominent companies in the fields of energy, investment, finance, insurance, and technology. Industry associations, professional media, and experts on innovation and sustainable development were also in attendance.

The event featured a distinguished lineup of participants and speakers. Among them were Ms. Fatou Haidara, the Director-General Representative and Executive Director of UNIDO, Mr. Chang Qide, the UN Resident Coordinator in China, Mr. Wu Yabin, Head of UNIDO ITPO Beijing, Mr. Gu Yue, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of China Pacific Property & Casualty Insurance Co., and Mr. Zhang Shuo, Chief Representative of the Beijing Office of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

The event marked the official launch of the second phase of the 4IR Alliance, organized by UNIDO ITPO Beijing. This phase has a more international focus and aims to delve deeper into emerging industries and frontier sectors. The UNIDO’s 4IR Alliance is committed to enabling everyone to address the challenges and reap the opportunities of the 4IR. It seeks to tackle the digital divide, alleviate extreme poverty, and promote Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID).

During the event in Shanghai, the UNIDO Centre in Russia extended an invitation to AO Kaspersky Lab to become a new partner of the 4IR Alliance. Mr. Andrey Suvorov, Director of Business Development at Kaspersky Lab, represented the company at the event.

The event also included the Award Ceremony of the “UNIDO Global Call 2023 Global Solution Collection Campaign”. This year, the UNIDO ITPO Beijing leads the Global Call 2023 that is focused on three strategic categories: green hydrogen energy, energy efficiency optimization, and clean energy innovation, with an emphasis on clean and smart energy.

The objective of the Global Call 2023 is to amass innovative solutions in clean and smart energy that contribute to Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development. This year, the campaign received over 300 original projects from more than 60 countries, including Russia. Notably, projects from developing countries accounted for 88.5% of the total, showcasing the event’s inclusiveness and diversity.

The Award Ceremony invited experts from numerous authoritative institutions in the industry, such as the International Hydrogen Energy Association, International Hydrogen Energy Center, Beijing Tsinghua Industrial Development Research Institute, Tencent Group, and Schneider Electric, to conduct reviews.

The UNIDO Global Call was first launched in 2020 by the UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) in Rome, Italy. Since then, the initiative has been passed on to ITPO Bonn in 2021, and Shanghai in 2022. Over the past three years, the initiative has seen participation from more than 2,000 participants from 108 countries.

For more information at ITPO Beijing website:
https://unido-itpo-beijing.cn/