The WLA Forum, initiated by the World Laureates Association (WLA) in 2018, is an annual scientific conference held in Shanghai. It is one of the foremost scientific gatherings of prize winners worldwide. This event brings together laureates of prestigious accolades, including the Nobel Prize, the Turing Award, the Wolf Prize, the Lasker Award, the Breakthrough Prize, the Fields Medal, the WLA Prize, the MacArthur Fellowship, the Canada Gairdner Prize, the Kyoto Prize, the World Food Prize, the Eni Award, the Abel Prize and other top scientific awards. The Forum attracts also academicians, senior scientists, young scientists, science-minded students and other professionals across the globe.
The focus of the Forum is to explore the frontiers of basic research, showcase the latest scientific breakthroughs, address common challenges, identify opportunities in international cooperation, reform the talent training philosophy, develop research paradigms and strategies requiring significant change, and publish critical scientific achievements and theories. The Forum provides a crucial platform for laureates from around the world to connect and engage in meaningful discussions, particularly in response to current and foreseeable global challenges.
President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China conveyed a letter of congratulations to the 2nd WLA Forum in 2019 and addressed the 3rd WLA Forum through a video message in 2020.