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Toastmasters Announces Speakers for 2024 Convention

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ENGLEWOOD, Colo., July 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Toastmasters International announced an impressive lineup of speakers for its 2024 International Convention, to be held Aug. 14-17 in Anaheim, Calif. With seven inspiring speaking sessions, the 2024 International Convention will feature presenters from around the world. 

“We are delighted to offer an accomplished and inspiring group of speakers at this year’s International Convention,” says Radhi Spear, Toastmasters’ International President-Elect. “As we celebrate the organization’s centennial at the convention, the speakers taking the stage in Anaheim give highlights from the past 100 years as well as focus on relevant topics that will inspire and educate the audience.” 

The main-stage presenters include Shawn Ellis, who will deliver the keynote presentation during the Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, Aug. 14. Renowned as a motivational keynote speaker, dynamic storyteller, and modern-day philosopher, Ellis stands as a beacon for those seeking guidance and inspiration to navigate an ever-changing world. With over 20 years of leadership and entrepreneurial experience, Shawn expertly guides leaders and teams toward adaptability and resilience, offering insights rooted in mindfulness, neuroscience, and psychology.

Join Ellis for a dynamic and strategic approach to becoming more resilient in all facets of life—including in these times of centennial celebration! Drawing on over 20 years of leadership experience and his “Mastering the Moments” philosophy, he will offer practical strategies for resilience and adaptability in an ever-evolving world. He will also guide you towards using core values to shape future optimism and teach you how to grow forward with an appreciation for the past, all while combining humor, storytelling, and wisdom for a deeply impactful experience.

Lisa Sun is the recipient of Toastmasters’ 2024 Golden Gavel Award. Sun is an entrepreneur and national best-selling author of Gravitas: The 8 Strengths That Redefine Confidence. As a presenter exclusively represented by Leading Authorities, Sun encourages audience members to choose self-confidence, work to harness their “superpower,” and use gravitas to advance personally and professionally.

Sun founded Gravitas in 2012 with a mission to catalyze confidence. The company’s origin story dates back to her first professional review, where she was told that she “lacked gravitas,” and “should go buy a new dress, big jewelry, and great shoes.” With those words in mind, Sun filed for a global patent to build shapewear directly into dresses. Two months after launch, her first collection was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, People, and on Today all in the same month. Prior to founding Gravitas, Sun spent 11 years as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company.

Other education sessions:

Negotiating Conflicts Confidently: Join this engaging and insightful talk by Alice Shikina, host of the podcast, Negotiation with Alice, designed to equip you with the tools and mindset needed to navigate conflicts effectively. Delving into the intricacies of interpersonal dynamics, Alice will go over strategies for approaching conflicts with confidence, clarity, and empathy. You will learn to identify underlying interests, communicate assertively, and seek mutually beneficial solutions. By fostering a culture of constructive dialogue and understanding, you can empower yourself to transform conflicts into opportunities for growth and collaboration.

An Extraordinary History: Past Leaders Discuss 100 Years of Toastmasters: Join the prestigious panel of Past International Presidents, which includes Dilip Abayasekara, Ted Corcoran, Pat Johnson, and Tim Keck, as well as moderator Neil Wilkinson, as they guide you through Toastmasters International’s amazing heritage. Learn some of the behind-the-scenes details regarding how Ralph Smedley founded the organization, why significant changes were made along the way, and which major milestones culminated in this ‘100 Years’ anniversary.

From Likes to Leads: Build a Club Social Media Presence Amidst the Noise: In this session, Gia Abao, content creator and entrepreneur, will share her insights on how to craft a compelling brand that turns audiences into followers. She will help members unlock the power of data to grow their club and optimize their content strategy and teach members how to leverage analytics to formulate insights into audience behaviors and preferences.

From identifying trends to measuring content performance, this thought-provoking session will help members craft an approach and tailor content to reach their ideal audience, while adapting to diverse platforms and formats. Imagine creating videos that spark conversation, inspire action, and cultivate a loyal community of followers.

Onboarding and Mentoring Mastery: The Missing Piece to Club Growth/Longevity: Join Marty Dickinson, Toastmasters mentor, leader, entrepreneur, author, as he explores the transformative power of two essential skills. Attendees will learn to quickly integrate new members into their club, fostering a sense of belonging and community. Be able to identify solutions to the common challenges of finding dedicated mentors and onboarding partners. This session is an essential guide for Toastmasters members looking to enrich their club experience and extend their influence beyond the club environment. And you can even take the knowledge and insight into your company or business.

Keep ‘Em Coming Back: In this age of influencers, there are four that greatly affect the value and success of each Toastmaster, according to Sravanthi Vallampati, Distinguished Toastmaster. Join her to explore what they are and how you can leverage them to elevate the Toastmasters experience for all who seek it. From inquisitiveness to inspiration through information, the full breadth and depth of the journey awaits members through her value analysis and engagement approach.

To learn more about Toastmasters’ 2024 International Convention, Aug. 14-17, and obtain a complete schedule of events, including the Opening Ceremonies, Education Sessions, and the World Championship of Public Speaking®, visit toastmasters.org/Convention.  The International Convention will be a hybrid event and the public is invited to attend in person or online.

About Toastmasters International
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that builds confidence and teaches public speaking skills through a worldwide network of clubs that meet online and in person. In a supportive community or corporate environment, members prepare and deliver speeches, respond to impromptu questions, and give and receive constructive feedback. It is through this regular practice that members are empowered to meet personal and professional communication goals. Founded in 1924, the organization is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado with approximately 270,000 members in more than 14,200 clubs in 148 countries. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit toastmasters.org. Follow @Toastmasters on X (formerly Twitter).

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SOURCE Toastmasters International

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Trip.com Group Sincerely Accepts Administrative Penalty Decision Issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China

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SINGAPORE, July 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Trip.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: TCOM; HKEX: 9961) today announced that it has received the administrative penalty decision issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People’s Republic of China.

Trip.com Group sincerely accepts the decision and will adopt rectification measures in accordance with applicable laws and regulations to implement the decision’s requirements. The Company will strengthen its long-term governance mechanisms and strive to contribute to the sustainable development of the travel industry.

Trip.com Group’s management team will host a conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on July 27, 2026 (or 8:00 PM Hong Kong Time on July 27, 2026).

The conference call will be available on Webcast live at: http://investors.trip.com.

All participants must pre-register to join this conference call using the participant registration link below:
https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIb78e08d8f18340c4882a7e4ab961906b.

Upon registration, each participant will receive details for this conference call, including dial-in numbers and a unique access PIN. To join the conference, please dial the number provided, enter your PIN, and you will join the conference instantly.

For further information, please contact:
Investor Relations
Trip.com Group Limited
Email: iremail@trip.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tripcom-group-sincerely-accepts-administrative-penalty-decision-issued-by-the-state-administration-for-market-regulation-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china-302834599.html

SOURCE Trip.com Group Limited

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NAVER Partners with Brookfield and NVIDIA to Expand Korea’s National AI Factory Infrastructure Buildout

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SAN FRANCISCO, July 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — NAVER, Brookfield and NVIDIA announced an expansion of Korea’s sovereign AI factory infrastructure. New investments will increase the initial NVIDIA DSX™ AI factory deployment from 55 megawatts to 200 megawatts.

Announced during Korea President Jae Myung Lee’s AI Summit visit to San Francisco, the planned 200-megawatt expansion will be built with the NVIDIA DSX platform at NAVER’s GAK Sejong hyperscale data center in Sejong, South Korea. The expanded infrastructure will provide Korea- and U.S.- based AI innovators with access to production-scale AI compute for building next-generation models, agents and AI-powered services.

Under the terms of the agreements, Brookfield will fund up to $9 billion as the exclusive capital partner, NVIDIA will invest $1 billion and NAVER will fund the remaining amount to finance the $10 billion project.

This builds on NAVER’s June announcement to extend its GAK Sejong data center with NVIDIA DSX, with a long-term path to gigawatt-scale sovereign AI infrastructure serving Korea’s enterprises, industries, government organizations and global AI cloud customers. Combining Brookfield’s capital with NVIDIA’s computing platform, the investment supports NAVER’s AI factory deployment.

“NVIDIA’s strategic investment and our infrastructure supply agreement with Brookfield have propelled NAVER’s vision for the AI Factory business into a robust execution phase,” said Haejin Lee, Founder and Chairman of NAVER. “Leveraging the solid partnerships with our global partners, we will drive technological innovation, foster a sovereign AI ecosystem, and spearhead efforts to strengthen South Korea’s AI competitiveness.” 

AI Factory Expansion and Open Model Collaboration to Fuel AI Innovators

NAVER, as an NVIDIA Cloud Partner, provides deep expertise in operating hyperscale infrastructure powered by the full-stack NVIDIA AI platform. The 200-megawatt AI factory, featuring NVIDIA Vera Rubin and Blackwell platforms, will establish a dedicated resource pool for emerging AI companies, providing the compute, software and support needed to develop and deploy competitive AI models and applications at scale.

This expanded infrastructure also builds on NAVER and NVIDIA’s collaboration on open model development for agentic and physical AI. NAVER is advancing its HyperCLOVA X models to be based on NVIDIA Nemotron™ 3 Ultra open models with its proprietary data and training expertise. NAVER is also the first Korean company to join the NVIDIA Nemotron Coalition, contributing to open model development across pretraining, post-training and reinforcement learning.

NAVER plans to launch an AI agent platform in Korea in the second half of the year, powered by NVIDIA Agent Toolkit software including NVIDIA NemoClaw™ blueprints. NAVER is also developing a Seoul World Model using proprietary urban street-view and spatial modeling data, built on NVIDIA Cosmos™ world foundation models.

About NAVER

Founded in 1999, NAVER is Korea’s largest Internet company and one of the world’s top tech companies. Leading cutting-edge technologies, NAVER operates the No.1 search engine in Korea and holds various business portfolios encompassing commerce, fintech, cloud, AI and robotics.

NAVER recorded sales of KRW 12.04 trillion (USD 8.18 billion) in 2025. TEAM NAVER continues to enhance its business portfolio and expand its global presence across Japan, North America, and Europe, while pursuing innovation through continuous research and development in future technologies.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/naver-partners-with-brookfield-and-nvidia-to-expand-koreas-national-ai-factory-infrastructure-buildout-302834577.html

SOURCE NAVER

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Beijing Review: Walking Through Time: China and U.S. Youths Explore Dali’s Past and Future

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BEIJING, July 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On July 17, a China-U.S. youth delegation came to Dali of Yunnan Province. By examining how Dali’s rich history intersects with modern development, the delegates explored new pathways for rural development.

They visited Dali Old Town, tried their hand at making the Bai people’s Three-Course Tea and also explored the ancient town of Xizhou, where they learned how modern tourism and indigenous life coexist.

In Yunnanyi Village, they explored its history as a stop along the Tea Horse Road and learned about the role it played during the Second World War (WWII).

Tyler James Smith

“I think it’s a very underappreciated part of World War II history. Hearing these stories of different countries working together despite cultural differences is incredibly inspiring.

I also think there are many stories like these that haven’t been widely told, simply because World War II is such a complex period in history. That’s why I think it’s so meaningful to visit museums like this and experience these stories firsthand.”

At Xiangyun Economic and Technological Development Zone, they visited a local new energy company to see how green, low-carbon development is driving regional growth.

Valerie Marie

“I recently started studying energy transitions. I know China has been really big in the renewable energy sector. So actually getting to hear more about [China’s] 2060 [pledge], learning more about carbon neutrality [goals], as well as other zero-carbon goals, was cool.”

During their stay in Dali, they also strolled along the Erhai Lake Ecological Corridor.

Bai Yiwen

“I’d describe this journey as “to be continued,” because my own connection with Yunnan is far from over. For the U.S. delegates, this was only their first visit, so they’ve only had a glimpse of what Yunnan has to offer. I hope they will have more opportunities to come back to China, explore other cities in Yunnan, and discover even more of its people, culture and traditions.”

After Dali, the delegates will visit Beijing for more tours and exchanges. The event was co-hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG) Center for the Americas and the U.S.-based International Student Conferences.

https://x.com/beijingreview/status/2080104404552663067?s=46&t=yfVMVdMyE2zKAFrYaLoV-g

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EtGCCKzy4/?mibextid=wwXIfr

https://www.tiktok.com/@cachinachic/video/7665536913532587294?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7227134149436605995

https://youtu.be/jGONWTqwduc?is=KfL-Zn3HyVYE-KEm

Contact: Jiaweibellapeng@163.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/beijing-review-walking-through-time-china-and-us-youths-explore-dalis-past-and-future-302834587.html

SOURCE Beijing Review

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