200 Years of Illinois

G1x5: Illinois, USA
Illinois ranks fifth in GDP among USA states, and is positioned at the 1×5 slot within the G8x8. In 2016, it achieved a GDP of 791.6 billion $ and a share of 4.3 percent of the national total. Its GDP was slightly lower than that of Turkey and higher than the Netherlands.

Illinois became the 21st state of the United States of America on 3 December 1818. Governor Bruce Rauner authorized by executive order a year-long celebration to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the event, with a multimedia campain at its center. Motto: Every day in Illinois, amazing things are being born, built and grown. Citizens are encouraged to participate in the celebration by visiting the website www.illinois200.com. Partners, event and project managers planning and implementing activities between 3 December 2017 and 3 December 2018 are encouraged to be endorsed as official parts of the Illinois Bicentennial.

Points of Pride

The twitter hashtag #IllinoisProud lists reasons for citizens to be proud:

  • Illinois is where the nation’s greatest rivers meet (Illinois and Mississippi rivers).
  • It’s where the largest Native American city once thrived.
  • Where the most trains cross and daily flights soar.
  • Where automobiles and hard roads got a start.
  • Where sound movies began.
  • Where a nuclear chain reaction was first controlled.
  • Where the first transistor gave rise to the computer age.
  • Where the theory of superconductivity was born.
  • Where the biggest fair in the nation’s history was held.
  • Where the mail-order catalog and the warehouse of goods behind it got its start.
  • Where the Blues echo and comedy is king.
  • Where more than a quarter million men volunteered to fight to end slavery and save the Union.
  • Where the nation’s biggest plant helped make the world safe for democracy.
  • Where the biggest restaurant company, biggest makers of mining equipment, aircraft, and tractors are based and where hundreds of start-up companies each year keep the engine humming.

Image source: Visit Alton, information source: www.illinois200.com

World Internet Conference in Zhejiang

The fourth World Internet Conference, also known as the “Wuzhen Summit”, concluded Tuesday, 5 December 2017, in Wuzhen town of Zhejiang province after three days of discussions and exhibitions of cutting-edge internet products.

The World Internet Conference in Wuzhen is an annual gathering of internet officials and internet company executives as well as administrators from developing countries. The previous three conferences in 2014, 2015 and 2016 were not attended by top US tech executives, but this year, leaders of IBM, Oracle, and Google participated in the event, along with the CEOs of well-known Chinese internet giants such as Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei and Xiaomi.

The conference was also addressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Apple CEO Tim Cook. In his written congratulatory address, Xi said that online developments were raising many new challenges to sovereignty and security, and China was “willing to work with the international community to respect cyberspace sovereignty and promote partnerships”. Apple chief executive Cook’s presence indicated the importance of the Chinese market for the iPhone maker, even though Apple’s market share of China’s smartphone market is shrinking.

Will Google Return to China?

Google’s India-born CEO Sundar Pichai made a strong case for the search giant’s return to China, saying it is already helping Chinese companies gain global access. Google was shut down in China in 2010 following a showdown with the government over censor policies. Since then Google, Gmail, Youtube and its other products are banned in the world’s second largest economy. “A lot of work Google does is to help Chinese companies”, the 45-year-old Google CEO, who has a BTech degree from IIT Kharagpur, said at the conference.

“Many small and medium-sized businesses in China take advantage of Google to get their products to many other countries outside of China,” Pichai told the meeting, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. After the ban, Google subsequently shifted its operations to Hong Kong. In its absence, Chinese firms like Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com emerged most powerful players in China and abroad. Google and its products can be accessed in China through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) over which Beijing has stepped up a crackdown in recent times. Apple this year agreed to the Chinese government’s requests to remove dozens of virtual private network (VPN) apps services that allow Chinese users to access blocked websites from its local App Store. Skype, the calling app, was removed from its mainland App Store this autumn. Pichai’s attendance at the state sponsored internet meeting came after China recently lifted the ban on Google translation services.

Besides Google, a number of global social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter remain banned in China over fears that their presence would open-up to millions of China’s social media users marginalising the official media. In his address, Cook said “the theme of this conference – developing a digital economy for openness and shared benefits – is a vision we at Apple share”, adding that Apple “is proud to have worked alongside many of our partners in China to help build a community that will join a common future in cyberspace”.

Info source: The Tribune, Image source: World Internet Conference

Zhejiang ranks fourth in GDP among Chinese provinces, and is positioned at the 2×4 slot within the G8x8. In 2015, it achieved a GDP of 549.8 billion € and a share of 5.9 percent of the Chinese total. Its GDP was higher than that of Argentina and Sweden, but slightly lower than that of Saudi Arabia.

Paris Opens 5000 Seats Congress Hall

One of the largest halls in Europe with 5,200 seats was opened on 22 November 2017. It is part of the Paris Convention Center which was inaugurated in the presence of Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris. Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France Regional Council, and Michel Cadot, Prefect of Police for Paris also participated.

Didier Kling, Chair of the Paris Île-de-France Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Christophe Cuvillier, CEO & Chair of the Management Board of Unibail-Rodamco, Michel Dessolain CEO of Viparis and Jean Pistre, co-founder of the Valode & Pistre architectural firm highlighted the many advantages of this exceptional venue. The Centre is located within the Porte de Versailles exhibition complex, which is undergoing a ten-year renovation project (2015–2025). It is the result of an extraordinary architectural effort, and was designed to host the very biggest international conferences. With Europe’s largest conference center, Paris will stay at the forefront of the business tourism market and retain its position as the world’s top destination for international conferences.

Paris Convention Center

The Convention Centre can accommodate very large national and international events. It is fully modular and its many amenities – including exhibition halls, meeting and conference rooms, permanent and mobile food stands, an event space, green roof and vast car park – means that it can be adapted to every imaginable situation. The airy and light-filled interior offers a view of the city. The plenary hall is the largest in Europe, and its glass roof means that conferences can be held in natural light. Every conference room is furnished with smart and adaptive speakers that offer high-quality sound and create an ideal acoustic environment for visitors. The Atrium conference rooms feature connected furniture and the latest audiovisual equipment.

“Paris Convention Centre will be a crown jewel in our efforts to boost the appeal of the region. The site has been renovated, reimagined and given a new identity to help the Greater Paris region at the top of the meetings and corporate events industry. This sector accounts for €5.5 billion in economic benefits for the region and more than €20 billion in turnover for exhibitors. With no public financing, Porte de Versailles will become the epicenter of the city’s ambitions in the field of conferences and trade shows,” said Didier Kling, Chair of the Paris Île-de-France Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Venues in Paris

Michel Dessolain, CEO of Viparis, explained: “We are especially proud to inaugurate Viparis’s newest venue, Paris Convention Centre. It is, quite simply, Europe’s largest conference centre. It is fitted with cutting-edge technology and its modularity means that it can fully customize any event. It also happens to be the only conference centre in the world with a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower. Paris, the top destination for conferences, will now be able to host the world’s largest gatherings.”

“Viparis is focused on introducing innovation and flexibility at our sites and bringing them into the digital age. We constantly strive to provide the best service per square meter. Our goal is to host 75 events at Paris Convention Centre over the next five years, including 55 conferences – 15 of which are already booked. This new venue will help bolster Paris’s influence and image on the world stage, and help the city retain its leading edge in the business tourism market.”

Info source: Paris Convention Centre, Viparis

Image source: e Turbo News

G8x8

Paris Île-de-France ranks first in GDP among top level territories of France, and is positioned at the 6×1 slot within the G8x8. In 2014, it achieved a GDP of 649.6 billion EUR and a share of 30.4 percent of the national total. If compared with entire countries, the GDP of Paris Île-de-France ranks between Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Education Plus in Jiangsu

Education Plus is the annual international summit and exhibition for vocational education. The 2017 fair was held in Jiangsu’s capital Nanjing from 19 to 21 October. Exhibition topics included

  • Information Communication Technology
  • Manufacturing and Engineering
  • Modern Agriculture
  • Modern Service Industry
  • Vocational Education Training Providers
  • School Pavilion

More information at http://en.educationplus.com.cn/

Jiangsu ranks second in GDP among Chinese provinces and takes position 2×2 on the G8x8 chess board. In 2015, the province produced 7,011.6 billion RMB worth of goods and services, contributing 9.7 percent to the total GDP of China. Depending on the exchange rate, this was almost as much as the GDP of Australia.

 

G7 Host City of 2017: Taormina, Sicilia

The historic town of Taormina, Sicilia, had the “honor” to host the G7 leaders for their annual meeting from 26 to 28 May 2017. The town was chosen to relaunch Sicily, known for high unemployment and brain drain.

This was the 6th summit under Italian presidency, with prime minister Mr. Paolo Gentiloni as the host. The other participants were Ms. Theresa May of the UK, Ms. Angela Merkel of Germany, Mr. Shinzo Abe of Japan, Mr. Emmanuel Macron of France, Mr. Justin Trudeau of Canada, Mr. Donald Trump of the USA, and two representatives of the European Union, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker and Mr. Donald Tusk.

Here is a link to the G7 Taormina Leaders’ Communiqué, which confirms a lack of consensus between the USA and all other participants on the Paris Agreement.

This dissensus was not too helpful to improve the international business climate image of Sicilia. The main business and investment promotion site on Sicilia is at http://www.sprintsicilia.it/en/. Their English section, however, has not been updated for some time.

Sicilia (Sicily) ranks 8th among Italian administrative regions, and takes the 8×8 slot within the G8x8. With their 86.8 billion € GDP of 2015, the territory contributed 5.3 percent to the total GDP of Italy.

 

G7 Summit at Bayern Schloss Elmau

The 41st G7 summit was held in Schloss Elmau, Bayern (Bavaria), Germany on 7 and 8 June 2015. The Leaders’ Declaration may be found at https://www.g7germany.de/.

Group photo of the G7:

  • Tusk (European Council President),
  • Abe (Japan),
  • Harper (Canada),
  • Obama (USA),
  • Merkel (Germany),
  • Hollande (France),
  • Cameron (UK),
  • Renzi (Italy) and
  • Juncker (European Commission).

Image Source: Bundesregierung/Gottschalk.

Bayern ranks second in GDP among the German states (Bundeslaender), placing it on the 4.2 field of the G8x8 chess board. Its 2016 GDP of 568.0 billion € was equivalent to 18.1 percent of the German total. This was more than the national GDP of Argentina or Sweden.