World Youth Forum Concludes Dual Summits; Global Youth Explore New Global Issues in the AI Era

HONG KONG and MACAU, Aug. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Youth Forum (WYF) – a global youth platform for challenge-based learning and growth, co-created by top cross-sector partners through multilateral collaboration – wrapped up its 2025 Future Economics Leadership Summit (WYF-FELS) in Hong Kong, China, and Future Liberal Arts Leadership Summit (WYF-FLALS) in Macau, China, between August 5 and 16. The event attracted nearly 1,000 youth representatives and diverse academic forces from 15 countries and regions, including China, India, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States, among others, who joined together to explore global issues in the era of artificial intelligence.

Attendees included notable figures such as: Mr. Zhao Gang, Director General of the Global Innovation Center; Dr. Un Shil Choi, Chairperson of the UNESCO Expert Advisory Committee for Learning Cities; Mr. Christopher Caltabiano, Interim CEO and Chief Program Officer of the Council for Economic Education (CEE); Mr. Keith Wenner, President of the Board of the United States Academic Decathlon Association (USAD); and Dr. James Song, President of Midwest University. Experts from institutions including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Amazon.com, Inc., Newcastle University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and other institutions participated as mentors and judges, providing professional guidance and in-depth evaluations to youth representatives.

Engaging in Global Issue Challenges: World Youth Launch Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Dialogues

Centered on the AI era, the two WYF summits have built a bridge for global youth to learn, grow, and engage in cross-cultural exchanges. Among them, WYF-FELS, held in Hong Kong, introduced top global academic challenges programs-the National Economics Challenge (NEC) and Business Professionals of America (BPA). Its multi-dimensional challenge system, encompassing knowledge assessments, case studies, and business simulations, enables youth from different countries to compete and collaborate on economics and business knowledge on a shared platform, demonstrating their professional accumulation and understanding of global economic issues.

Subsequently, WYF-FLALS, hosted in Macau, leveraged core challenge activities such as the International Academic Decathlon (IAD) and the Global Youth Creative Expo (Hi World) as platforms to guide participants in exploring issues including "Technology & Social Equity", "Green Technology & Sustainable Cities", and "AI & Human Culture" from interdisciplinary perspectives, including mathematics, science, social sciences, and the arts. This approach encouraged youth to uncover new connotations of contemporary humanistic spirit through rigorous academic inquiry.

As a centerpiece of both WYF summits, "U20 Youth Voices" broke down geographical barriers and facilitated cross-national team formation, resulting in cross-cultural teams like U.S.-South Korea, Singapore-Thailand, and China-India. These teams conducted in-depth discussions on global issues such as sustainable development and technology and social equity. Insights from multiple teams were highly praised by experts as "groundbreaking youth perspectives," underscoring the unique value of cross-national collaboration in researching global issues.

Vishva Rao, a youth representative from the United States, shared, "The convergence of different cultures here has shown me how diverse perspectives blend and shape economic thinking. It's delightful to strengthen friendships with each other while discussing issues like economics."

Multilateral Co-Creation: Creating a Global Playground for Youth Learning and Growth

In the "Educators' Symposium" segment, educators from China, India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, the United States, Vietnam and other countries engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as financial literacy development for middle school students and AI-driven educational transformation, facilitating exchanges and collaboration across the global education sector. During the event, outstanding former participants of WYF and NEC, currently studying at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, shared insights into how their research and study experiences have informed their university studies and future career development, illustrating the long-term value and enduring impact of these initiatives.

"As one of the Co-Creators of WYF, CEE is a U.S.-based nonprofit educational organization with a 76-year history. We are delighted to see WYF leveraging its global youth network to empower youth to play, shine, lead, and shape the future. This aligns closely with our philosophy. When considering how to expand the National Economics Challenge (NEC), initiated by CEE, to more countries, WYF has always been an excellent partner," noted Mr. Christopher Caltabiano, Interim CEO and Chief Program Officer of the CEE.

Mr. Keith Wenner, President of the Board of the USAD, commented, "The youth have demonstrated excellent cross-cultural communication and collaboration skills, and their ideas are extremely inspiring. USAD and WYF share a strong spirit of alignment – both remain committed to young people's learning, growth, and progress, empowering them to become whoever they want to be without limitations. This shared commitment to youth development makes our collaboration with WYF profoundly meaningful."

Houston Hou, Executive Convener of the WYF, stated: "Since its founding, WYF has always firmly believed that young people are the shapers of the future. The significance of WYF lies precisely in providing a truly global stage that belongs to young people around the world. Going forward, WYF will gradually expand into multiple literacy fields such as Science and Engineering, and Life and Health. By 2030, we aim to reach 100 countries and become the world's most aspirational platform for youth challenge and growth."

For more information about WYF, please visit the official website: http://www.wyforum.org

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

World Youth Forum Concludes Dual Summits; Global Youth Explore New Global Issues in the AI Era

HANOI, Vietnam, Jan. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Viettel Group has officially broken ground on the construction of Vietnam's first semiconductor chip fabrication plant. The project is implemented by Viettel as a mission assigned by the Ministry of National Defense, in accordance with a Government Resolution.

For the first time, Vietnam is developing domestic chip fabrication capability, laying a foundation for the goal of gradually mastering core technologies and developing a domestic semiconductor ecosystem.

The plant will be built in the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park (Hanoi) on an area of 27 hectares, oriented to become national infrastructure serving research, design, testing, and semiconductor chip production.

Once operational, the plant will be able to serve national industries such as aerospace, telecommunications, IoT, automotive manufacturing, medical devices, and automation, among others.

A complete semiconductor chip product typically goes through six main stages: product definition, system design, detailed design, chip fabrication, packaging and testing, and integration and testing. In recent years, Vietnam has gradually participated in five of these stages; however, chip fabrication—the most complex and critical stage—has not yet been possible domestically. Building a semiconductor chip fabrication plant will help complete and close the entire semiconductor chip production process in Vietnam.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh emphasized: "The groundbreaking of Vietnam's first high-tech semiconductor chip fabrication plant is an event of particularly important significance. This is a step toward realizing the national semiconductor industry development strategy, creating a foundation for Vietnam to gradually participate more deeply in the global value chain, based on science, technology, and innovation."

According to the Prime Minister, the plant's presence will contribute to completing the domestic semiconductor ecosystem, enabling chip design companies, technology start-ups, and research institutions to shorten testing cycles, quickly finalize products, and bring technology into practical applications.

The plant is also expected to become a hands-on training center for the semiconductor workforce, linking training with a real production environment. Through this, Vietnam aims to train 50,000 chip design engineers under the Semiconductor Industry Human Resources Development Program through 2030, toward a scale of more than 100,000 people in Vietnam's semiconductor industry under the National Semiconductor Strategy through 2040.

For Viettel, being assigned to lead the implementation of the semiconductor chip fabrication plant continues the Group's core technology development strategy, which it has persistently pursued for many years. Viettel has proactively prepared human resources through in-depth training, international cooperation, and technology transfer, while also accumulating experience from research, design, and the application of chips in technology systems and products.

Lieutenant General Tao Duc Thang, Chairman and CEO of Viettel Group, affirmed: "Immediately after today's groundbreaking ceremony, the Group will begin implementing the project, with the set objective that by the end of 2027 we will complete the construction, receive technology transfer, and begin pilot production. The period from 2028 to 2030 will focus on finalizing and optimizing processes and improving line efficiency in accordance with industry standards, thereby serving as a basis for researching chip fabrication technology at more advanced process nodes."

The project will be implemented during 2026–2030, with a roadmap from plant construction and technology transfer to process completion and improved operational efficiency. In the long term, the Hoa Lac plant is planned to be expandable in scale, providing a foundation for Vietnam to gradually access more advanced semiconductor technologies.

The groundbreaking of the high-tech semiconductor chip fabrication plant marks an important milestone in Vietnam's journey to build technological capability, contributing to realizing the goal of "Technological self-reliance, Sustainable Future."

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

Viettel Breaks Ground on Vietnam's First Semiconductor Chip Fabrication Plant