One of CGTN's Bridge Builders – noted for their roles in bringing China and Europe together – has been made the first female chair of a leading building forum.  

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) inaugurated Wei Yang as chair for a two-year term of office starting with immediate effect. Yang is not just the CIC's first female chair, but also the first to have been born outside the British Isles.

Beijing-born Yang took her bachelor's degree in urban planning at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, before moving to Europe to study her master's at Sheffield, in northern England. Now an internationally renowned town planner and urban designer, she is an influential thought leader and a powerful advocate for climate actions, nature-based solutions, health and wellbeing, and social equality.

READ MORE Bridge Builder: Wei Yang

Interviewed by CGTN for the Bridge Builders series, Yang was passionate about the potential for improvement in planning. 

"I believe the fundamental objective of the planning profession is to create a balanced system for people, nature and society to coexist in harmony," she said. "A modernized planning profession is a profession for hope, and the future is the faith in our ability to act together."

On her new role at the CIC, Yang said: "I am delighted to have become the first female chair of CIC – a forum for built environment professionals to share our best practices without professional boundaries. Our living environment has a direct influence on our daily activities, health, and wellbeing. 

"The responsibility of our sector is not just building physical objects; we are here to create places embodied with empathy, inclusivity, and creativity.

"Through my role at CIC, I will dedicate my efforts to strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations between built and natural environment professionals to stimulate mindset changes within the sector for a better future."

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