GIES??Digital Transition for People and Society

Li, L. M.^1*  Li, C. Y.²

1. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China??

2. Geographical Society of China, Beijing 100101, China

Key words: GIES; digital transition; new year fair; 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3974/geodp.2024.03.09

CSTR: https://cstr.escience.org.cn/CSTR:20146.99.2024.03.09

On January 3, 2024, the opening ceremony of the 3^rd GIES New Year Fair and the theme forum of GIES??Digital Transition for People and Society were held in Beijing (Figure 1), sponsored by the Geographical Society of China, co-organized by the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGSNRR-CAS), GIES Expert Team of Innovation China of Chinese Association on Science and Technology (CAST), Big Data Working Committee of the Geographical Society of China. More than 200 partners from research institutes, universities, local governments, the business community, technology associations, consumers, and media joined the event. The

Figure 1  Opening ceremony venue of GIES New Year Fair

opening ceremony was monitored by Professor Zhang, Guoyou (Figure 2), Vice President and Secretary General of the  Geographical Society of China. Professor Chen, Fahu, President of the Geographical Society of China, Liao, Xiaohan, Director of Big Data Working Committee of GSC, Professor Tong, Qingxi, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences addressed the opening ceremony. Professor Liu, Chuang, Chief Scientist and Director of GIES working group and co-chair of CODATA task group on GIES, vice chair of organizing group of FAO ??One Country One Priority Product?? initiative in Asia and the Pacific region delivered the keynote speech.

The 3^rd GIES New Year Fair was themed as GIES??Digital Transition for People and    Society. Compared with the previous two editions in 2022 and 2023, the highlight of this year??s goods fair is the official opening and operation of the online mall of GIES products. The products from 17 GIES cases in 11 provinces were honered to come to the unique mall. These products are from Ningxia, Yunnan, Jilin, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, and Guangxi. In addition, case studies from Qin County in Shanxi Province, Zhenba in Shaanxi Province, Luoning in Henan Province, Guangfeng in Jiangxi Province, Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province, and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province are actively being involved in the New Year Fair.

President Chen, Fahu (Figure 3) stated that Lucid waters and lush mountains are      invaluable assets is an important component of national ecological civilization ideology. In order to implement the development concept, promote the achievement of sustainable development goals, and give full play to the role of scientific data academic journals in safeguarding the integrated development of digital economy and real economy, the Geographical Society of China, together with IGSNRR-CAS and partners, has conducted a series of GIES cases since 2021. In the past three years, the program had been solidly promoted, with the number of cases increasing to 17, achieving significant economic and social benefits, and had been welcomed by localities, enterprises, researchers, public decision makers, and stakeholders. At the same time, in order to promote the implementation and effectiveness of the project results, events such as the GIES New Year Fair, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, domestic and international science and technology forums, and the   capacity building in universities, farmers on big data applications had been successfully  organized. FAO credited it as a pioneer for balancing environment and sustainability. Chen, Fahu also pointed out that for many years, geography and Chinese geographers have played a significant role in national and local economic and social development, providing     important technological support for government decision-making. However, many results are mostly conceptual and technical planning schemes that are ??high-end??, and there are few research results that can be directly implemented. The case study of GIES and the series of activities such as the annual New Year Fair have made up for this deficiency. He believes that through everyone??s joint efforts, geography can not only guide social practice and people??s lives with its theories, ideas, and technical methods, but also benefit society and the people through its engineering practice or the integration of industry and academia.

Professor Liao, Xiaohan (Figure 4) indicated that the New Year Fair is an event combining technology, socio-economic development, and benefiting people. It deeply integrates digital technology with the real economy through the application of geographic big data, making  digital driving force for economic development.

Academician Tong, Qingxi (Figure 5) expressed in his speech that he was very pleased and honored to witness the continuous improvement of the New Year Fair and the GIES products. ??Although the road is long, it is approaching; although the task is difficult, it must be done.??

Professor Liu, Chuang (Figure 6) gave a keynote speech titled on GIES??Digital Welfare for People and the Planet: Science, Technology, Engineering, Management and Culture. She pointed out that it was a good way that government officials, business representatives, scientists, and relevant management personnel gathered together to discuss the implementation of SDGs. The Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository (GCdataPR) was a platform consisted of the Digital Journal of Global Change Data Repository and the Journal of Global Change Data & Discovery, has laid a solid foundation for regional high-quality and sustainable development through its GIES solution, digital-physical welfare for the people action, and high-quality geographic products for domestic and international trade. This fundamental work integrates open geographic science and effective digital technology into the entire product chain of high-quality geographic products (geographic indication products, geographic characteristic products, geographic traditional products), promoting the integration of ??variety, quality, appearance, brand, conduct, and taste??, and ensuring that geographic technology is always present in the product chain.

During the fair, experts, officers and private sectors jointly announced the official launch of the Online Mall of GIES Products (Figure 7). This was a first e-commerce platform in China that focuses on high-quality geographic products. All of its products are sourced from the GIES cases that have been peer-review procedure and had the quality control.

Two round table dialogues were arranged at the opening ceremony. Professor Song, Xianfang, moderated the dialogue between the government and scientists (Figure 8). Mr. Li, Xiaohong, from Zhangjiakou City, stated that Zhangjiakou has made plans to leverage   regional advantages, build regional brands, and accelerate the high-quality development of Zhangjiakou??s agriculture by focusing on characteristic and high-quality agricultural  products, and taking cooperation with scientists as an opportunity. Lu, Dadao (Figure 9), former President of the Geographical Society of China and academician of the CAS Member, said that with the economic and social development of China and people??s expectations for high-quality life, the public??s attention to food safety were increasing. He addressed to  establish a comprehensive food quality standard system in the future, made the various  indicators of products public, and give consumers more rights to know and choose. He indicated that it can guide China??s agricultural production towards a more sustainable and healthy direction by green and digital transforms.

Mr. Lu, Fei, Mayer of Fengxian County, stated that as a traditional agricultural county, in order to achieve high-quality development, the Fengxian government will try hard in willing to take on more responsibilities and playing a greater role in the GIES action initiative. Mr. Yan, Pengyun, Deputy Head of Qin County, stated that the high-quality geographical products of Qin County were due to natural conditions and planting methods, and the planting and cultural products of Qin County have also been passed down through history. Professor Li, Baoguo, Director of the Geographical Indication Product Research Center at China Agricultural University, emphasized the importance of resource diversity and advocated for scientists to conduct in-depth research and protect characteristic resources. Professor Yun, Wenju from the Technology Innovation Center of Land Engineering, emphasized the importance of high-quality products, using Dezhou Braised Chicken as an example. Professors Tan, Minghong and Fu, Jingying from IGSNRR-CAS also shared their experiences in case studies of GIES.

Mr. Fang, Jun, the leader of the enterprise group of the GIES, presided over the roundtable dialogue on ??Enterprises and Consumers?? (Figure 10). Mr. Yan, Ru, President of Beijing Elderly Culture Association, Mr. Xiong, Hongming, President of Guangxi Guipinyun Information Technology Company, Mr. Gao, Zhenlong, General Manager of Jilin Taize Industrial Co., Ltd., Mr. Wang, Chundong, General Manager of Yucheng Xirang Agricultural Products Trading Co., Ltd., and Mr. Yang, Xiaoben, Chairman of Luoning Mingyue

Shuifang Food and Beverage Co., Ltd. were invited to join the dialogue. As a consumer representative, Mrs. Yan, Ru expressed her greater enthusiasm to join the action. Mr. Wang, Chundong suggested that to establish a standardized ecosystem and to build a platform, with the participation of both enterprises and the public availability. Mr. Gao, Zhenlong, enterprise representative, emphasized that companies should take on environmental responsibility during their operations, while ensuring the product quality under the guidance of the   government and scientists. He suggested that companies should fully showcase their best side when producing products and provide safe and reassuring food for their families. Enterprises should strive to provide safe and reliable water for everyone to drink. Mr. Xiong, Hongming proposed to gather high-quality products from Guangxi on the GIES New Year Fair and promote them nationwide and even globally. Mr. Jiebulu (Figure 11), a representative of the Jino ethnic people from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, said that as

one of the 56 ethnic peoples with the smallest population in China, the Jino people have lived on the beautiful Jino Mountain for generations. The Jino people say hello to the people of Beijing. The tea on Jino Mountain and the traditional tea art of Jino ethnic group are also preparing to build a high-quality geographical product e-mall to let the people of the whole country share our Jino tea culture. Through this round table dialogues, all partners conducted in-depth discussions on geograp­hical indication product, which provided valuable direction for the development of the geographical industry.

Professor Zhang, Guoyou provided a brief summary of the event. He stated that the GIES New Year Fair has been held for three consecutive sessions and has become a brand event. The highlight of this fair is the official launch of the Online Mall of GIES Products. After three years of unremitting efforts, the GIES case study had reached a consensus among scientists, governments, businesses, consumers, and technology communities. Professor Zhang also called on geographers to pay attention to their hometown, actively participated in case studies, and used wisdom to give wings of technology to high-quality geographical products and make contributions to their hometowns.

Figure 12  GIES case exhibition

The GIES New Year Fair was founded in 2022 and has been successfully held twice. The fair starts every year from the New Year and ends on the 15th day of the first lunar month. This year??s fair will conclude on February 24th and last for 53 days. During this period, as part of this year??s New Year Fair, we will also participate in the Third Winter Fishing Festival in Panshi City, Jilin Province, and participate in the ASEAN International Trade New Year Goods Festival in Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

References

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