Chair Zhuang Rongwen presided over the Second Session of the First WIC Council, which was convened by correspondence from April 23 to May 6. The Council reviewed and adopted the Rules of Procedure of the WIC Council, the List of WIC New Members, the setup of WIC’s Zhejiang Office, and other issues.

On May 17, Chair Zhuang Rongwen met with John Hoffman, CEO and Director of GSMA Ltd., in Beijing. Mr. Zhuang thanked GSMA for its support to international exchanges and cooperation as well as the work of WIC and exchanged views with Mr. Hoffman on topics such as innovation and development of 5G and international cooperation in mobile communication. Mr. Zhuang expressed hopes that GSMA would play a greater role in WIC’s development by further leveraging its role as WIC’s Initial Member. Mr. Hoffman spoke highly of China’s great achievements in Internet development and governance and the development of 5G applications, saying that GSMA looked forward to deepening cooperation with the WIC to create more value for the innovative development of new mobile Internet technologies and applications.

　　On May 15, Secretary-General Ren Xianliang met with the team led by Lu Lan, Director of the Cyberspace Administration of Shandong Province, in Beijing. Mr. Ren pointed out that AI technology and AI industrial applications were growing rapidly, and AI was at a critical juncture of transformation. He expressed hopes to work closely with Shandong to make sound preparations for Nishan Dialogue on Digital Civilization and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future in cyberspace. Ms. Lu Lan said that the Shandong Provincial People’s Government attached great importance to the preparation and would strive to organize a successful event.

On May 19, the World Internet Conference (WIC) and Dunhuang Academy jointly organized the Member Day Activity on “Digital Dunhuang” and held a briefing session on the collection of Practice Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace for 2023. At the briefing session, the WIC reviewed the previous collection and release of practice cases and outlined event arrangements for 2023. Representatives from Dunhuang Academy shared their experience on the case of “Digital Dunhuang”. During the event, WIC member representatives visited the “Digital Dunhuang” project, which served as an integrated digital resource protection system for safeguarding the digital resources of large caves. They also discussed Dunhuang’s achievements in preserving cultural heritage.

On May 23, The World Internet Conference (WIC) held a briefing session to call for submissions to the 2023 World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements and Practice Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace, in Beijing. The meeting was attended by representatives from over 30 WIC members, government departments, embassies in China, business associations, and industrial institutions. The call is now open to government departments, international organizations, social organizations, scientific research institutions, universities, technical communities, enterprises, and innovation teams around the world. The deadline for the submission is June 21. At the meeting, the WIC Secretariat introduced the application, review and release of the 2023 World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements and Practice Cases. The call for submissions to the World Leading Internet Scientific and Technological Achievements and Practice Cases has formally started.、

To fully showcase the world’s excellent Internet technologies, products, and application achievements while promoting industry exchanges and cooperation in the Internet field, the call for exhibitors to the 2023 WIC “Light of the Internet” Expo is now open. The Expo will be held in Tongxiang City, Zhejiang Province in the autumn of 2023. The Expo includes exhibition activities and the launch of new products and technologies. The exhibition activities will be held both offline and online, and will provide a display platform for well-known Chinese and foreign enterprises, entrepreneurial and innovative enterprises and teams, and relevant institutions. The launch of new products and technologies will provide well-known Chinese and foreign enterprises, innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises, universities and relevant research institutions with a platform to release and promote their achievements.

In order to further promote the use of AI technology for public welfare, the WIC launched the “AI For Good” program to build a platform, form a common concept of using AI technology for the benefit of humanity, build ecosystem, share practical experience and nurture the international community’s commitments. The WIC now calls for submissions from the international community on public welfare programs with respect to the application of AI technology in culture, education, health, disability services and other fields to demonstrate the important role of AI in enabling different regions and groups around the world to share development opportunities. Typical programs will be selected to form the “WIC AI For Good Action Plan”, and a launch ceremony will be held during the WIC Nishan Dialogue on Digital Civilization.