Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit Delegates to discuss global financial crisis and scarcity of vital resources

Tokyo, Japan (November 11, 2008) /China Newswire/ — Danny Levinson, CEO of China-based direct marketing and media company BDL Media Ltd, has been selected as one of 160 emerging leaders from 30 countries in the Asia-Pacific region who will gather at the Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo for the Asia Society's Third Annual Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit.

Chosen from among nearly a thousand nominees, Danny Levinson will join leaders from diverse backgrounds and expertise such as business, government, academia, media, civil society, and the arts to explore the most challenging issues facing the region and to develop new collaborative proposals for how these challenges can addressed at a time both of global economic uncertainty and reorientation of the international political order toward the East.

The Summit is part of the larger Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative – the pre-eminent gathering of Asia's most dynamic young leaders from the Asia-Pacific region. At the Summit, young leaders will explore possibilities for using values-based leadership to develop equitable and sustainable solutions to shared challenges posed to the Asia-Pacific community. Discussions will center on the global financial crisis and the increasing scarcity of vital resources. Delegates will also develop proposals for group public service projects. In addition to a keynote speech, break-out sessions, group discussions, and a debate, the Summit will feature lively cultural performances.

Danny Levinson, 34, is American and has lived in China for almost 12 years working in the Internet, advertising, media, and direct marketing sectors. He brings to the Summit a unique perspective on the interactions between corporations and non-governmental organizations working in China to foster stronger ties and better social interaction. BDL Media, where Levinson serves as CEO, owns among its businesses in China those that focus on the intersections between NGOs and corporations. In addition, Levinson serves as a board member on China-based software businesses.

"The young leaders meeting in Tokyo this week represent the future of the Asia-Pacific community," says Asia Society Executive Vice President Jamie Metzl, who spearheads the Asia 21 Initiative. "These leaders will need to know each other, share ideas, and learn to work together to make this Asia-Pacific century as peaceful, prosperous, just, sustainable and secure as it can be. We at the Asia Society are proud to be working with our many partners around the region and the young leaders themselves to help collectively build a better future for the region."

The Summit is supported by founding international sponsor Merrill Lynch, as well as Shinsei Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Marubeni, Mitsui OSK Lines, Heidrick & Struggles, ANA, Mori Building, Orix, Yomiuri, Ashoka Innovators for the Public, Hitotsubashi University, Keizai Doyukai, Cosmo and the Government of Japan

"These challenging times demand collaboration across borders and sectors in order to generate innovative, fresh solutions," said Jason Brand, President of Merrill Lynch Pacific Rim. "The Asia 21 Young Leaders can demonstrate their leadership by using this powerful network to create economic, political, and environmental change. Merrill Lynch looks forward to working with them to balance the demands of the marketplace with the desire to benefit the region at large."

This year's delegates include the New Zealand ambassador to South and North Korea, a Malaysian Member of Parliament, a Bangladesh Supreme Court lawyer, and some of the region's leading social entrepreneurs, journalists, artists, politicians and business leaders with compelling backgrounds and diverse expertise.

The Summit aims to prepare tomorrow's leaders for the challenges and responsibilities of global citizenship, to generate creative, cross-sectoral approaches to leadership and problem solving, to build networks of trust across geographic boundaries, and to educate each other in the highest ideals of values-based leadership.

The Summit participants will join Asia 21's network of 400 past delegates and fellows in 30 countries.

For more information about Asia Society's Asia 21 initiative, including details about previous conferences and Fellows, please visit www.AsiaSociety.org/Asia21

Asia Society

The Asia Society is an international organization dedicated to strengthening relationships and deepening understanding among the peoples of Asia and the United States.  We seek to increase knowledge and enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts, and culture.

Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, the Society reaches audiences around the world through its headquarters in New York and regional centers in Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Hong Kong, Seoul, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai and Shanghai.The Asia Society is supported by contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Asia Society is on the web at www.asiasociety.org.

Merrill Lynch

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies, with offices in 40 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately $ 1.6 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Merrill Lynch owns just under half of BlackRock, one of the world's largest publicly traded investment management companies with approximately $ 1.4 trillion in assets under management. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Abby Pacquing abbyp@asiasoc.org
  Miwako Tezuka miwakot@asiasoc.org