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World Trade Centers Association's First Ever Virtual General Assembly Attracts More Than 1,000 ParticipantsNew Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Powered Matchmaking Platform Connected 160+ World Trade Centers and a Record 570+ B2B Delegates from 70 Countries NEW YORK, May 6, 2021 /CNW/ -- The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) — an international trade organization connecting more than 300 World Trade Centers (WTCs) in nearly 100 countries — gathered more than 1,000 participants from 70 countries at its 2021 General Assembly (GA) and Business Week from April 26-30. Celebrating "The Power of Our Community," the first ever virtual GA brought together 169 Member WTCs and more than 570 B2B Delegates from their global business networks consisting of leaders from business, government, academia, media and international organizations, reflecting the WTCA's diverse global footprint. Attendees participated in three days of livestream sessions featuring prominent keynote speakers and a full week of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered B2B matchmaking opportunities across all time zones. "The COVID-19 pandemic provided us with a unique opportunity to reimagine our association's premier global annual event and enhance its value to our members and their networks. We utilized advanced technology to enable attendees to learn from leading experts and easily connect with potential business matches around the world," stated John E. Drew, WTCA Chair, Board of Directors. "The success of this year's virtual GA provides a glimpse of the future of the conference and exhibition industry, and how important a global organization like the WTCA is to strengthen connections and collaborate in international trade." The business conference offered a series of informative fireside chats, panel discussions and presentations on topics to help attendees navigate today's changing environment. Robin van Puyenbroeck, WTCA Executive Director-Business Development, moderated the engaging conversations with keynote speakers Feike Sijbesma, Honorary Chairman of Royal DSM, on the importance of purpose-driven leadership in a time of economic turbulence; "We firmly put the WTCA on the map as an important voice on international trade, driving the conversation on the role of companies as purpose-driven social actors who need a voice in the debate on creating a more inclusive global trade infrastructure. With our tremendous global network, we are well-positioned to continue to lead critical conversations on this topic," stated Robin van Puyenbroeck. "Using AI technology, we successfully introduced a new virtual platform for facilitating business matchmaking on a global level, across industries and sectors. With this event, we demonstrated the true power and potential of our global WTCA community and provided many tangible benefits to our members and their networks." Further, attendees were introduced to WTCA partners of the Global Trade Helpdesk — an initiative by the WTO, UNCTAD and ITC — that simplifies market research by bringing together key trade information from across 11 different organizations in a single search. Lastly, John E. Drew and Robin van Puyenbroeck announced the launch of the WTCA "Trade Wins" Podcast and the 2022 WTCA GA, to be hosted by World Trade Center Accra, Ghana. To view the recordings of the livestream sessions from the 2021 WTCA General Assembly (April 28 and 29), please visit https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOmmsIBGK-4QGO2-BBFEGg7Qs8hCM0UyF. MEDIA CONTACT: About World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/world-trade-centers-associations-first-ever-virtual-general-assembly-attracts-more-than-1-000-participants-301286199.html SOURCE World Trade Centers Association |