The WPC Youth Forums

The potential of the youth of today in terms of innovation, sensitivities to sustainable development and commitment to ethics and good corporate governance practices are vitally important to the future of the global hydrocarbon industry.

With this realization, the WPC created a dedicated Working Group on Youth and Gender committed to working with the youth and engaging with it actively to sensitize it to current issues and to equip them with the wherewithal needed for taking up leadership positions as industry leaders tomorrow.

As part of this mandate, the I^st WPC Youth Forum was held in Beijing from 17^th-20^th October 2004, with the theme: “Youth and Innovation - the Future of the Petroleum Industry”. Over 540 young delegates from 40 countries participated in the Forum’s programme. The programme included a spectacular opening ceremony, plenary sessions, technical sessions, poster sessions, an exhibition on the achievement of young people’s innovations in science and technology development, technical visits, Beijing city tours and a farewell party.

The Forum provided a platform for young people worldwide to demonstrate their skills whilst creating an opportunity for petroleum industry management to find and select industry professionals of the future. Most importantly, young people from all over the world came together in Beijing and built a foundation for international exchange and cooperation in the future.

The foundation laid down in Beijing will be further strengthened in the 2^nd Youth Forum to be held in Paris from the 18^th - 20^th November 2009 with the theme “EnergiseYour Future”. It will provide a unique platform to engage in a trans-generational dialogue with current leaders and experts to determine a roadmap towards a truly sustainable future. Close to 1,000 participants - young professionals, students, academics, international experts and NGO’s - will debate the following key themes:

• A reality check on tomorrow's energy landscape
• An ethical and sustainable industry: Making it happen
• Tomorrow's leadership, matching our skills to the challenges

In this Forum, delegates and think-tanks from all five continents of the world will enjoy three levels of discussions: keynote plenary sessions for strategic thinking, workshops for a deep-dive into the overall themes for generating new ideas and resolutions.

The 3^rd in the WPC Youth Forum series is scheduled in Delhi from Nov 1^st – 3^rd November 2010 in association with PETROTECH - 2010, India’s largest Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition.