The World Design Capital Conference 2025 (WDCC 2025) officially opened in Shanghai on September 26, 2025. The event is jointly organized by the Shanghai Municipal Government and UNESCO, with management support from institutions including the Shanghai Center of China Media Group (CMG). Kung Zheng, Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Shanghai, and Xing Po, Deputy Director of CMG, attended the opening ceremony and delivered keynote remarks.
Under the theme “Design Unlimited, Life Abundant,” this year’s conference aims to create a global platform for design innovation and collaboration. The opening ceremony also unveiled the “15th Anniversary Collection of Shanghai as a Design Capital.” Since being recognized as a “Design City” in UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in 2010, Shanghai’s design industry has grown to over 1.6 trillion yuan, offering valuable experiences and solutions as a model for the global Creative Cities Network.
The results of the 2025 “Shanghai Design 100+” global competition were announced at the opening. The annual design awards are presented in four categories: AI Innovation (Design Tools), AI Innovation (Industrial Application), Cultural Creativity, and Green Sustainability. Over 2,600 outstanding projects from 17 countries, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, participated. Among the winners in the AI Innovation (Industrial Application) category were the “CMG Listener Media Large Language Model” co-developed by CMG and Shanghai AI Lab, the AI Sports Technical Analysis System, and the Yushu AR1 Humanoid Robot.
The conference will run through September 28, featuring more than 40 professional forums, including the International Design Century Forum and the Global Creative Cities Design Forum. Thousands of experts, corporate representatives, and designers from around the world will gather to discuss the future trends of design innovation and collaborative opportunities.
Source: Svarna-Hashim-Lily, China Media Group