Global leaders who gathered last week in Dalian, China, for the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, Asia's premier global business forum, had a rare chance to hear Japanese high school and university students' firsthand experiences of the March disasters.
Seven students from disaster-hit areas in the Tohoku region were invited to the three-day "Summer Davos" organized by the World Economic Forum, where they recounted their stories. The forum is named after the WEF's more famous conference held in Davos, Switzerland, every January.
In addition to giving the students an opportunity to share their experiences of the catastrophe with global political and business leaders, attending the summit profoundly influenced them and helped define what roles they wish to play in the future.