Asia Visionary Summit

A gathering where Asia’s brightest minds meet to co-create the future. Hosted in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

On this auspicious Coronation Day, the Asia Visionary Summit joins the people of Bhutan and well-wishers from across the world in offering heartfelt prayers and deepest reverence to His Majesty The King.

May His Majesty be blessed with long life, enduring health and strength as he continues to guide our nation with wisdom, compassion and visionary leadership.

As lights illuminate our skies, may they symbolise our enduring gratitude, loyalty and collective aspirations under His Majesty’s reign.

Long Live His Majesty The King!

Happy Coronation Day. 🇧🇹

#Bhutan #GMC #108Stupa #AVS2026

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

Speaker Announcement: Dr. Christopher Nguyen

We are honoured to welcome Dr. Christopher Nguyen to the stage at the Asia Visionary Summit.

Dr. Christopher Nguyen is a technology innovator and entrepreneur bringing artificial intelligence into the physical world. As Co-founder and CEO of Aitomatic, he develops AI systems that capture the knowledge and judgement of industry experts, making their expertise accessible to solve complex real-world challenges.

He also serves as Chief Architect of Project Tapestry, an AI Alliance initiative through which nations and institutions collaborate to develop open, sovereign frontier AI. Previously, he co-founded Arimo, which was acquired by Panasonic, and served as an engineering director at Google. He holds a PhD from Stanford University and a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Visionaries from across Asia and beyond will gather in Bhutan, inspired by the nation and anchored in its values.

#ChristopherNguyen #AVS2026 #Visionary #AsiaVisionarySummit2026 #GMC

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

Leven Kali is joining us at the Asia Visionary Summit

Dutch-born and Los Angeles-based, Leven Kali is a singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist whose work bridges the soul of classic music with boundary-pushing experimentation. His early mixtapes, Low Tide (2019) and HIGHTIDE (2020), featured collaborations with Syd, Smino, Topaz Jones and Ty Dolla $ign. Beyond his solo work, he has written and produced music for artists including Drake, Teddy Swims and Playboi Carti.

A four-time GRAMMY nominee for his contributions to Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Cowboy Carter, Leven continues to explore new musical directions through solo work blending spiritual jazz, intimate R&B and live instrumentation. Drawing inspiration from Quincy Jones and George Clinton, his music looks to the past while helping shape the future of sound.

Visionaries from across Asia and beyond will gather in Bhutan, inspired by the nation and anchored in its values.

#LevenKali #AVS2026 #Visionary #AsiaVisionarySummit2026 #GMC

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

Speaker Announcement: Xu Tiantian

We are honoured to welcome Xu Tiantian to the stage at the Asia Visionary Summit.

Xu Tiantian is an architect and professor at the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University. She received her Bachelor of Architecture from Tsinghua University and her Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Her work has received international recognition, including the Swiss Architectural Award, the Berlin Art Prize, the Marcus Prize for Architecture and the UNESCO Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. In 2025, she received the Wolf Prize in Architecture, followed by the 2026 Charlotte Perriand Award.

In recent years, Xu has focused on revitalising rural regions in China through her approach of “architectural acupuncture” — small-scale, site-specific interventions that activate local culture, agriculture and tourism. In 2019, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) recognised her Songyang initiative as a global model for urban–rural integration.

Visionaries from across Asia and beyond will gather in Bhutan, inspired by the nation and anchored in its values.

#XuTiantian #AVS2026 #Visionary #AsiaVisionarySummit2026 #GMC

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

Speaker Announcement: Dr. Guruduth (Guru) Banavar

We are honoured to welcome Dr. Guruduth Banavar to the stage at the Asia Visionary Summit.

Dr. Guru Banavar is a technology innovator, entrepreneur and humanist applying artificial intelligence and deep science to address major global challenges. As the founding Chief Technology Officer of Viome and former head of IBM Watson AI Research, he has led pioneering work in precision health, AI that augments human expertise, and smarter, more sustainable cities.

A recognised global voice in technology and innovation, Guru has delivered the Turing Lecture and spoken at the Nobel Prize Dialogues. He has also received a National Innovation Award from the President of India in recognition of his contributions to innovation.

Visionaries from across Asia and beyond will gather in Bhutan, inspired by the nation and anchored in its values.

#GuruBanavar #AVS2026 #Visionary #AsiaVisionarySummit2026 #GMC

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

The sky is about to take centre stage.

In collaboration with NOVA Sky Stories (@NovaSkyStories), Asia Visionary Summit brings Bhutan its first-ever drone light show, transforming the night sky above Thimphu into a spectacular canvas of light, movement and imagination.

Experience this extraordinary spectacle alongside an unforgettable evening of music and entertainment at the Raven Concert, on 8 November 2026.

🎟️ Get your concert : https://t.co/h9y2weAOXr

#AsiaVisionarySummit #RavenConcert #NOVASkyStories #DroneLightShow #Bhutan

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

Speaker Announcement: Teruhide Sato

We are honoured to welcome Teruhide Sato to the stage at the Asia Visionary Summit.

Teruhide Sato is the Founder and CEO of @beenextVC, a Singapore-based venture capital firm investing in the continued growth and development of Asia and supporting the next generation of technology entrepreneurs. Since 2015, BEENEXT has invested in 300 startups across Southeast Asia, India and Japan.

Before BEENEXT, Sato was a founding member of VeriTrans, one of Japan’s first online payment companies. He later co-founded and led BEENOS as CEO from 2000 to 2014, taking the company public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2004. He also serves in leadership roles across organisations including Silicon Valley Japan Platform, International House of Japan, Asia Leaders Fellowship and Endeavor Japan, and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2008.

Visionaries from across Asia and beyond will gather in Bhutan, inspired by the nation and anchored in its values.

#TeruhideSato #AVS2026 #Visionary #AsiaVisionarySummit2026 #GMC

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

Speaker Announcement: Cai Guo-Qiang

We are honoured to welcome Cai Guo-Qiang to the stage at the Asia Visionary Summit.

Cai Guo-Qiang (@CaiGuoQiang) is a world-renowned contemporary artist celebrated for his pioneering gunpowder art and a practice spanning painting, installation, video, and performance art, as well as new technologies including VR, AR, NFTs, blockchain, and AI. Born in Quanzhou, China, Cai trained in stage design at the Shanghai Theatre Academy before spending nearly nine years in Japan. He has lived and worked in New York since 1995.

His solo exhibitions at leading institutions include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, the Prado, the Uffizi Galleries, and the Palace Museum. He served as the Director of Visual Effects and Fireworks for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. His 2015 explosion event Sky Ladder was later featured in the eponymous Netflix documentary film.

Visionaries from across Asia and beyond will gather in Bhutan, inspired by the nation and anchored in its values.

#CaiGuoQiang #AVS2026 #Visionary #AsiaVisionarySummit2026 #GMC

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

Speaker Announcement: Lien-Hang T. Nguyen

We are honoured to welcome Lien-Hang T. Nguyen to the stage at the Asia Visionary Summit.

Lien-Hang T. Nguyen holds the Dorothy Borg Chair in the History of United States-East Asian Relations at Columbia University, where she serves as Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and founding director of Global Vietnam Studies. She also serves on the Board of Trustees at Fulbright University Vietnam and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

She is the author of Hanoi’s War: An International History of the War for Peace (2012), recipient of several book awards from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations and the Society for Military History.

She is General Editor of The Cambridge History of the Vietnam War (3 vols., 2025) and is currently working on a comprehensive history of the 1968 Tet Offensive, for which she earned a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar grant.

Visionaries from across Asia and beyond will gather in Bhutan, inspired by the nation and anchored in its values.

#LienHangNguyen #AVS2026 #Visionary #AsiaVisionarySummit2026 #GMC

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

Speaker Announcement: Shunmyo Masuno

We are honored to welcome Shunmyo Masuno to the stage at the Asia Visionary Summit.

Shunmyo Masuno is a Zen priest, Head Priest of Kenkohji Temple, and Emeritus Professor of Tama Art University.

He founded Japan Landscape Consultants in 1982, became a Professor of Tama Art University in 1998, and was appointed Head Priest of Kenkohji Temple in 2001, bringing together decades of experience in Zen practice, art, and landscape design.

His major works include the Japanese garden at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, the Japanese Garden in Berlin Marzahn, the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, and gardens in Singapore, Hong Kong, and across Japan.

He has received the National Grand Prize from the Japanese Institute of Landscape Architecture, the Minister’s Award from the Ministry of Education, the Meritorious Service Medal from the Canadian Government, and the Cross of the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany.

Visionaries like Shunmyo Masuno from across Asia and beyond will gather in Bhutan, inspired by the nation and anchored in its values.

#ShunmyoMasuno #AVS2026 #Visionary #AsiaVisionarySummit2026 #GMC #InnerFrontier #Zen #LandscapeArchitecture

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

Speaker Announcement: Min-Liang Tan 

We are honored to welcome Min-Liang Tan (@minliangtan) to the stage at the Asia Visionary Summit.

Min-Liang Tan is the co-founder and CEO of Razer (@Razer), the world's leading lifestyle brand for gamers. Under his leadership, Razer grew from a two-man start-up into a global unicorn and the world's largest integrated gaming ecosystem, encompassing hardware, software, and services.

As a community-driven business leader, Min personally oversees the design of all Razer products, forging one of the world's largest and closest-knit gaming communities while spearheading the company's ten-year climate action plan to make sustainability endemic to gaming. Min is also leading Razer's foray into AI in gaming, with innovations integrated across its ecosystem.

Visionaries like Min-Liang Tan from across Asia and beyond will gather in Bhutan, inspired by the nation and anchored in its values.

#MinLiangTan #AVS2026 #Visionary #AsiaVisionarySummit2026 #GMC

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

📸 THE AIR WE SHARE | ASIA YOUTH PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION 2026

The World Food Forum Bhutan Chapter invites all young people across Asia to tell their stories through this photography competition.

We extend our sincere appreciation to all chapters, youth networks, organizations and representatives who participated in the consultation and contributed their perspectives and ideas in shaping this initiative.

Under the theme “The Air We Share,” capture the connections between air, agrifood systems, communities and climate through real places, experiences and perspectives.

📷 Who can participate?
Youth aged 18–35 years across Asia

📤 Submission:
One original photograph + a story of up to 300 words

🏆 Recognition & Awards
1st Prize – Sponsored opportunity to attend the Asia Visionary Summit 2026 in Bhutan
2nd Prize – Summit participation support
Top 10 – Featured exhibition at the Summit

⚠️ Only the first 50 eligible submissions will be accepted. Apply early!!!

📅 Deadline: 10 September 2026, or once 50 eligible submissions are received, whichever comes first.

📖 Please read the Competition Handbook before applying.
🔗 Competition Handbook & Application Form: Scan or Link in bio

📧 Any Questions: [email protected]

One photograph. One story. Your perspective. 📸

#TheAirWeShare #AsiaYouthPhotographyCompetition #worldfoodforum #wffbhutan #asiavisionarysummit

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

A nation where ancient traditions, environmental leadership, and forward-thinking innovation exist in harmony. As the world’s first carbon-negative country, Bhutan offers a remarkable setting for meaningful conversations on sustainability, culture, and the future.

We’re honoured to spotlight our host nation and look forward to welcoming attendees to experience everything Bhutan has to offer.

What excites you most about visiting Bhutan?

@NatGeo @TIME @CNTraveler @guardian — Bhutan’s story continues to inspire the world.

Photographs by Anna-Luisa Ballauf (@anna04423375811)

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

For centuries, Bhutan's dzongs served as the heart of governance and spiritual life. They were fortresses (and monasteries) that held both power and prayer.

Dungkar Dzong (@dungkarestate) continues that legacy, but reimagined for our time. Built as the first dzong of the 21st century, it honors what came before while creating space for what comes next.

This November, it becomes the gathering place for the Asia Visionary Summit, where the world's most consequential leaders will ask the questions that shape our future.

A fortress (dzong) built not just for defense, but for dialogue.

#avs2026 #bhutan #asia #dungkardzong #asiavisionarysummit

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

The number 108 is among the most sacred in Buddhism, representing the complete teachings of the Buddha, the 108 beads of a rosary, and the 108 afflictions a human being must overcome on the path to peace.

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

The Asia Visionary Summit would like to request well-wishers across the world to join the people of Bhutan in supporting this visionary initiative of His Majesty The King of Bhutan.

A landmark initiative to create 108 stupas in Gelephu Mindfulness City in one single day.

[Asia Visionary Summit @asiavisionary]

All 108 structures, raised in a single day, by 40,000 volunteers working together across every site at the same time.

The Jangchub Chorten, the Stupa of Enlightenment, marks the moment the Buddha attained full liberation.