Hudong CEO Pan Haidong Named Davos 'Young Global Leader'

BEIJING, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The Davos World Economics Forum recently announced the 2011 Global Youth Leaders, and Pan Haidong, founder and CEO of Hudong.com as well as a representative of China's "Recruitment of Global Experts," program, was among those honored. Other mainland Chinese who also appeared on the list this year included Zhou Xun, a famous young Chinese actress, and Annabelle Long, general manager of Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments.

The "Young Global Leaders" program, established by World Economics Forum director Klaus Schwab in 2004, is an important part of the Davos World Economics Forum. Each year, a shortlist is compiled which includes almost 5,000 candidates under 40 years of age who are from all industries and sectors and hail from all over the world. The selection committee, comprised of 34 world-renowned international media leaders, then narrows the list down to no more than 200 "Young Global Leaders." Young Global Leaders are selected based on their exceptional achievements in their respective industries and professions, wide influence and leadership experience, strong commitment to serving the wider community and shared dream of using their talents to solve some of the most challenging problems facing the world today. The award recognizes and rewards the professional accomplishments of the honored individuals as well as the potential they possess: their ability to work towards the greater good and change the world. Leaders come from a variety of fields, including commerce, politics, academia, the media, the non-profit sector, and culture and the arts.

Yao Ming, Jack Ma, Ding Lei, Charles Guowei Cao, and Jia Zhangke have all been named Young Global Leaders in years past. The 190 individuals who were named Young Global Leaders this year hail from 65 countries and regions, and of the 190 honorees, 11 are from mainland China.

Hudong.com's founder, Dr. Pan Haidong, received his master's degree from China's Tsinghua University and then traveled to America, where he earned a Ph.D. from Boston University. Upon completing his studies, he returned to China to start his own business. He established Hudong.com, which has been called China's Wikipedia, a website which aims to provide the site's several hundred million Chinese-language users with a platform for the sharing of knowledge that is free, open, and promotes interaction among equals. Hudong.com freely provides a vast number of netizens with a broad, comprehensive, and constantly-updated body of encyclopedic information and knowledge. Furthermore, Dr. Pan Haidong has led a team in developing the world's first free open-source code Chinese wiki website development system, HDWiki, which more than meets the needs of the millions of Chinese small- and medium-sized web developers, and which has been a powerful force in the development of wiki websites in China. A leader in China's wiki industry, Dr. Pan Haidong was awarded the "Zhongguancun 20th Anniversary Outstanding Contribution Award" in 2008, and was named to China's "Recruitment of Global Experts" List in 2009. In 2010, he was selected to participate in the NYC Venture Fellows Program and was recognized as a high-level foreign expert by the city of Beijing's Project to Attract Overseas Talent. Dr. Pan Haidong is widely recognized as a high-level leader in Beijing's technology and innovation district, Zhongguancun.

Upon being named a Young Global Leader by the World Economics Forum, Dr. Pan Haidong stated that he felt deeply honored to receive this international honor, and that it was a recognition not only of his efforts as an individual, but more importantly, it was also a recognition of the Chinese wiki industry's rapid development in recent years. In the near future, as this development continues, he stated that he would continue to strive to change the way the world's Chinese-language internet users share knowledge through supporting and pursuing innovation in internet technology, and would create a college without walls to drive the dissemination of Chinese knowledge and culture, promoting the continued growth and maturation of China's wiki industry.

SOURCE Hudong.com