HANGZHOU -- Nearly 800 scientists from 71 countries and regions as well as 63 international sci-tech organizations attended the 2024 World Young Scientist Summit (WYSS) held in the city of Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang province.

Addressing the plenary session of WYSS on Sunday, Wan Gang, president of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), said the wave of informatization, digitization and intelligence accelerates a profound change in research paradigm and helps young people acquire knowledge and information more widely, deeply and conveniently, thus helping young scientists achieve leaps and breakthroughs by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Tshilidzi Marwala, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University, said young scientists play an important role in advancing frontier science, creating regional innovation ecosystems, and fostering international cooperation, especially in tackling climate change and health and inequality issues.

Four young scientists from the United States, Britain, France and China won the second Young Scientist Sustainable Development Goals Award.

The WYSS is jointly sponsored by the CAST and the Zhejiang provincial government. Since its inauguration in 2019, the summit has set up an open platform for scientists from more than 100 countries and built cooperation relations with more than 200 international sci-tech organizations and universities.