On the morning of November 11, the 2023 World Young Scientist Summit (WYSS) opened in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province.

Wan Gang, President of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), delivered a speech via a video. Huang Lixin, Chairman of Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. Shu Wei, full-time Vice Chairman and Secretary of the Secretariat of CAST, Wang Jinzhan, Secretary of the Secretariat of CAST, Song Li, Secretary of the Secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), Lu Shan, Vice-Governor of the People's Government of Zhejiang, Si Jianmin, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress of the Thirteenth Session, and Chairman of the Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology (CPST), Wu Xiaodong, Secretary of the Party Group and Vice Chairman of CPST, Zhang Zhenfeng, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee of Wenzhou, as well as four Nobel laureates of Hartmut Michel, Joseph H. Taylor, Jr., Konstantin Novoselov, nearly 800 experts including 36 academicians at home and abroad, global young scientists, representatives of the United Nations and the embassies and consulates of the countries concerned, and representatives of international scientific and technological organizations participated in the Summit.

The opening ceremony had three agendas of Welcome to Wenzhou, See The Beauty of Science, and Create the Road to the Future. It opened with the chorus of The Light of Science, the theme song of the 2023 WYSS. Wang Jinzhan served as the host of the first session of speeches.

Mr. Wan Gang said in his video speech that President Xi Jinping pointed out in his letter to the first WYSS in 2019 that "the future of science and technology lies in the young people" and earnestly encouraged young scientists around the world to "exchange ideas, learn from each other, build the cornerstone of friendship, and strengthen  bonds of cooperation". Over the past four years, the young scientists have always kept President Xi Jinping's high expectations in mind and have continued to fulfill them. They have gathered on this platform of the Summit from all over the world to realize their ambitions and dreams, have in-depth exchanges of ideas and thoughts, and have learned and inspired by each other, resulting in a series of consensuses and innovative and sustainable solutions to tackle global challenges, such as climate change and food security. He hoped that the young scientists could fight for what they believed in, be a dynamic force in science and technology innovation, adhere to the pursuit of truth and goodness, be a doer in the pursuit of righteousness and innovation, adhere to the spirits of teamwork and inclusiveness, be a forerunner in openness and innovation. He would like the young scientists to, with discussion, construction, and sharing on the platform of the Summit, pursue and fulfill their dreams on the promising land of China, and contribute their momentum as young people and scientific and technological wisdom for the construction of a common destiny of mankind.

Ms. Huang Lixin said, the Zhejiang government had been conscientiously implementing the spirit of President Xi Jinping's important exposition on talent and scientific and technological innovation, vigorously promoting innovation and deepening the reform and openness to improve scientific and technological innovation which had achieved remarkable results. At present, Zhejiang is studying and implementing President Xi Jinping’s important speech during his visit to Zhejiang. It would continue to promote the in-depth execution of the "Two Eights Strategies", be the forerunner bravely to write a new chapter in the new journey of modernization with Chinese characteristics. We should seize the opportunity brought by the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial change, strengthen collaboration, accelerate the enhancement of the scientific and technological innovation system to the next level, tackle major challenges, accelerate scientific and technological breakthroughs in cutting-edge fields, strengthen the attraction of talents, accelerate the creation of a new global scientific and technological talent high ground. She would like to welcome the world's outstanding young talents to Wenzhou, to see the beauty of science, and create the road to the future. They could achieve their dreams on this land. Zhejiang would strive to build a foundation for mutual learning, a better environment for innovation and entrepreneurship, and to be at the forefront in creating new advantages in development by scientific and technological innovation.

Mr. Zhang Zhenfeng welcomed everyone who met again in Wenzhou, a city of happiness and a port of a history of thousand years old. He said the innovative Wenzhou with a global perspective was honored by their presence. He said that over the past four years, the WYSS had set up a bridge of openness, trust, and cooperation between scientific and technological talents from all over the world. Wenzhou’s innovation exchange, innovation pattern, innovation talents, and innovation ecology had all greatly benefited by opportunities that came along with the Summit. Innovation has become the most distinctive logo of Wenzhou. Endeavoring a new journey, Wenzhou will deeply study and implement the important requirements of President Xi Jinping for Zhejiang "to be in the forefront in creating new advantages in development by scientific and technological innovation" and the earnest instructions for Wenzhou to " write a new chapter in the history of innovation", and to carry forward the Zhejiang entrepreneurs’ enterprising spirit and work together to attract more talents and accelerate the actions to build Wenzhou into an important regional talent hub and innovation high ground, to support high-quality development with a high level of STI. He also sincerely invited the participants to take the Summit as an opportunity to invest or start their own businesses in Wenzhou.

This year's WYSS launched the first Young Scientist Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Award initiated by the Executive Committee of WYSS, aiming at recognizing young scientists who have made significant innovative achievements and outstanding contributions to the implementation of one or more of the SDGs through natural science research or significant applied engineering support. The inaugural Young Scientist SDGs Award attracted 80 applications from 35 countries and regions.

Prof. Henry Snaith of the University of Oxford, Prof. Xiongwen (David) Lou of the City University of Hong Kong, and Prof. Zhang Qiang of Tsinghua University were awarded the first Young Scientist SDGs Award for their outstanding contributions to the fields of global PSCs, nanostructured materials synthesis and applications, lithium-sulfur batteries, and high-performance energy materials.

Nobel laureates Hartmut Michel, Joseph H. Taylor, Jr., Shu Wei, and Lu Shan presented the awards to the winners.

During the session of keynote speeches and interviews, Prof. Konstantin Novoselov, a leading scientist in the field of new materials and a Nobel laureate, Prof. Xiongwen (David) Lou, and Yin Ye, CEO of BGI Group and Vice Chairman of BGI, delivered keynote speeches respectively.

Around the topic of "How to Apply Brain-computer Interface Technology to Clinical Medical Treatment?", Wang Guan, the host of the opening ceremony and the host of CGTN of CCTV, and Prof. Joseph H. Taylor Jr., Prof. Andrew James Greenshaw, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Mr. Yang Jiawei, the Founder and Chairman of Nanochap Electronics. Ms. He Xiyujin, Partner and Senior Vice President of BrainCo, and Mr. Bao Min, Researcher/PI of Oujiang Laboratory, conducted had interviews between personnel of the medical and industrial sectors.

On the topic of "Youth and Sustainable Development", Prof. Hartmut Michel, Prof. Dou Shixue, member of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and Director of the Institute of Energy and Materials Research at Shanghai Institute of Technology, Ms. Gabriela Ivan, Membership Development Officer at ISC, Professor Lu Chaoyang, Chair Professor at the University of Science and Technology of China and Executive Director of the Shanghai Research Institute, Professor Zhang Qiang of Tsinghua University and Dr. Bai Rui, Associate Researcher at Westlake University, discussed how youth could help shape a sustainable future.

This year's WYSS also launched the "WYSS Metaverse" for the first time, where you can scan a QR code to experience various WYSS elements in the virtual world.

The WYSS is a summit co-sponsored and co-hosted by the China Association for Science and Technology and the Zhejiang Provincial Government for young and outstanding talents from all over the world. This year’s WYSS is the fifth consecutive event since 2019. It has become one of the most important international events in the field of science and technology, as well as an important brand of China's youth scientific and technological diplomacy, an important window of Zhejiang's opening to the outside world, and an important platform for the host city of Wenzhou to link up with global resources.

This year's WYSS continues to focus on the theme of "Converging the world's talents, creating a better future" as well as the topic of the year "youth’s innovation to boost sustainable development". There will be three major types of activities: the main forum of the summit, overseas special sessions, and daily sub-forums, with a total of 41 events throughout the year.

During the opening ceremony, WYSS also organized the Forum for Women Scientists, the 3rd International Summit on Brain Health, Energy Materials 2023, the China-Nordic International Cooperation Forum on Sustainable Development, the 2nd Energy Storage Forum of the Hundred Outstanding Young Scholars, the Youth Action Forum on Climate Sustainability 2023, the Medical Device Innovation and Cooperation Conference on the BRI 2023, and the 12th Medical Device Innovation and Cooperation Conference on the "One Belt and One Road" 2023. The main forums include the 2023 Youth Action Forum on Climate Sustainability, the 2023 "Belt and Road" Medical Device Innovation and Cooperation Conference, and the 12th Admiring Curiosity Science Award, and for the first time there will be a closing ceremony.