Invitation | COP29 – The Challenges of Climate Change

Speaker: Hans d‘Orville

Born in Dinkelsbuehl, Germany – studied economics at University of Konstanz, Germany – obtained MA and PhD in economics.
Joined UN Secretariat in New York in 1975, transferred 1983 to UN Development Programme (UNDP) and joined UNESCO in Paris in 2000 as Assistant Director-General and as Deputy Director-General.

Retired in 2015. Since then Honorary Professor at South China University of Technology, Guangzhou; Guangdong University for Foreign Studies; Shandong University for Arts and Design. Also Chair of Advisory Committee to International Center for Creativity and Sustainable Development (ICCSD) under auspices of UNESCO in Beijing. Vice-Chair of Shenzhen-Qianhai MAH – Global Cultural Consulting Co., Ltd.

Speaker: Mehri Madarshahi

For 26 years, at the United Nations Secretariat in New York, Mehri retired as Senior Economist.

In Paris, she became the European Correspondent of Maxims News and the United Nations Diplomatic (UNDIP) newspapers and was elected as a Member of the Supervisory Board of the AMFIE credit union bank in Luxemburg.

In her association with UNESCO, she established the “Melody for Dialogue among Civilizations” Association, with branches in France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and New York. The Association has organized and produced mega multi-cultural concerts for advocacy and awareness on sustainable development, educational and social issues working closely with UNESCO, UNEP, HABITAT, CERN and academia, such as Northeastern University in Boston, New York University and American University in Paris.

For her innovative approach to international dialogue through arts and music, in 2006, she received Anniversary medal of UNESCO at 60. In 2007 she obtained an award from the Marrakesh Environment Group; In 2010, she was bestowed an award certificate from the City of Guangzhou. in 2012, the Aspen Institute for Diplomacy (US) selected her and the former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, as the two recipients of the “Cultural Diplomacy Award”.

To promote a new global role for creative culture as a soft power for diplomacy and to promote environmental policies in urban settings, in 2013 she founded “Global Cultural Networks (GCN)”, and soon after the Shenzhen-Qianhai Global Cultural Consulting company (MAH). She was appointed as a Visiting Professor at three Chinese universities namely, South China University for Technology, Guangzhou University on Foreign Studies, and Jinan University. She serves as a Vice–Chair of the Asia-Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation; a member of the International Advisory Council of the Guiyang Eco-Forum and as a member of the Board of the UNESCO- ICCSD in Beijing, Recently she is appointed as a Non-Residence Senior Fellow at the Center for China and Globalization (CCG).

Mehri has contributed to several academic publications and authored continuously articles and research essays on environmental sustainability, circular economy and urban reconstructions, technological innovations and SDGs, and Outer-space scientific developments.

Speaker: Frank Chen

Frank Chen has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in business administration.

Frank Chen has been devoted himself to the foreign economic and cultural exchange and cooperation for more than 10 years, and has been helping to bridge the expats circle to the local community.

In 2018, he founded Bao’an Foreign Languages Association (BAFLA), which has been functioning to serve the above mentioned purpose.

He was nominated the Chief Representative to German Office (Frankfurt) of Bao’an District Government in 2019.

In 2023, Bay Area International Exchange Service Center was established by Bao’an Government to help serve expats, and is now offering 100 free services, including business registration, visa, work permit, green card application, legal consultation…etc. He’s the executive director for this center.

Frank Chen creates Bay Area TEA Talk as a platform for international experts, scholars, and professionals to share their opinions, ideas, achievements of their studies concerning technology, business, and culture.

Frank Chen is Bao’an’s industrial policy lecturer, enterprise mentor, and now resides and works in Bao’an.