Amid the cheers, applause and excitement of more than 1,000 young talents from 162 countries and regions, the 2019 UNLEASH Innovation Lab started in Shenzhen yesterday.

Shenzhen Vice Mayor Wang Lixin attended the ceremony.

The venue of Shenzhen Bay Tech-Eco Park became the home field for the talents at the launch ceremony yesterday. In the coming seven days, they will be tasked with coming up with solutions to the world’s problems under the U.N. 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with innovative and creative ideas and through teamwork. They will go through a facilitated innovation process by exploring the real-life challenges in Shenzhen under eight themes, including health, education, water, energy and infrastructure, before offering their solutions.

“Shenzhen is one of the world’s most tech-savvy cities. Being a headquarters for many high-tech companies, an attractive place for startups, and a city dedicated to sustainable development, Shenzhen is the first choice for UNLEASH 2019,” said Flemming Besenbacher, chairman of UNLEASH, Carlsberg Group the Carlsberg Foundation.

 “Shenzhen Speed denotes the ambition of youth and its extraordinary growth story,” said Besenbacher, hoping that young talents will experience Shenzhen Speed and display this speed while helping to create a better and more sustainable world.

In the speech, Vice Mayor Wang said hosting UNLEASH in China shows world recognition of China’s implementation of the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, helps people from different countries better understand China’s development path, and enhances friendship among all countries.