XI'AN (FIBA World Basketball Summit) - Following a welcome ceremony on Tuesday, the inaugural FIBA World Basketball Summit is set to take place on Wednesday-Thursday in Xi'an, China.

The two-day event is a gathering of stakeholders from across the globe setting out to build the sport's future.

It features a high-powered line-up of A-list speakers from the worlds of basketball, sports business and media including the likes of: Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner; Craig Zanon, Global Head of Basketball at Nike; Caitlyn Chen, Vice-President at Chinese digital media giant Tencent; Casey Wasserman, Founder and CEO of the Wasserman Media Group; Philippe Blatter, Infront President & CEO and President & Vice Chairman of Wanda Sports Group.

The Summit's agenda brings into sharp focus the key issues and opportunity that basketball faces worldwide and is built around seven subjects strands:

• Development - Growing basketball around the world
• Sponsorship - Enhancing the value of the relationship between brands and basketball
• Leagues and Clubs - Optimizing value and growing league and club brands
• Media - Maximizing engagement with the next generation of fans
• Basketball in Society - How the power of basketball changes lives
• China's Big Plan - Chinese basketball in the 5 trillion sports industry
• Basketball's Future

Panellists from around the world will share their knowledge and experience with an audience drawn from the Chinese and international basketball communities and the businesses and organisations which work alongside them to grow and develop the sport.

A wide range of the Summit's keynote speeches and conversations will be live-streamed on FIBA's YouTube channel. They are as follows (all times local/GMT +8):

Wednesday, October 3

10:00am-10:20am

Federations Keynote - the development of basketball globally and the role played by National Federations and FIBA in achieving growth - by Patrick Baumann, FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member

11:30am-11:50am

Brands Keynote - the win-win of sponsorship as a driver of brand-building and engagement not simply a revenue stream - by Craig Zanon, Global Head of Basketball at Nike

1:40pm-2:00pm

FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Keynote - Learn about the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China - by Burton Shipley, FIBA Oceania President and FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Coordination Commission Chairman

3:30pm-3:50pm

Leagues & Clubs Keynote Conversation - The NBA as supportive friend to global basketball - by Mark Tatum, NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer

4:30pm-5:00pm

Closing Keynote Conversation - The role of basketball in life and business in a fast-changing world - by Casey Wasserman, Founder and CEO of the Wasserman Media Group and Chairman of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Thursday, October 4

9:00am-10:00am

Opening Keynote - by Patrick Baumann, FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member; Yao Ming, Chinese Basketball Association President; Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner

10:00am-10:20am

Media Keynote - The role being played by fast-developing media and technologies in maximizing engagement with the fans and, consequently, the next generation of players - by Caitlyn Chen, Vice-President at Chinese digital media giant Tencent

11:15am-11:35am

Society Keynote - Keynote to embrace range of geographies and types of conflict (ethnic, warfare, gang violence, etc.) and demonstrate how the focus on basketball and sports-related activity contributes to healing and resolution as well as personal development as an educational tool - by Stephon Marbury, former NBA player, 2-time NBA All-Star, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist

11:35am-11:55am

Keynote Conversation - by Philippe Blatter, Infront President & CEO and President & Vice Chairman of Wanda Sports Group

12:50pm-1:10pm

Future Keynote - What the future holds for basketball globally, examining the challenges and opportunities and the factors and trends driving them - by Rae Lin D'Alie, FIBA 3x3 World Champion 2018 with Italy

For full information about the FIBA World Basketball Summit, go to worldsummit.basketball.

FIBA