The First Charity Education and Talent Development Summit Forum is held in Shanghai

In the contemporary China, not only the economy is making big strides, but also philanthropic spirits and deeds are becoming a driver to social advancement. That said, charity education, a cornerstone of charity, is lagging behind. The existing charity talent pool is far from being enough to meet the demand of the industry.

On Jul. 9, Mission and Responsibility: The First Charity Education and Talent Development Summit Forum, hosted by East China Normal University and Shanghai Zijiang Foundation, attracts practitioners and scholars in the charity circle and the education circle to gather in Shanghai and brainstorm new ideas on charity academic subject and talent development. The guests present probe into a number of topics, for example, The Status Quo and Future of Charity Education, Charity Education Practices and Development, and Charity Education and Talent Development, from macro, academic and industrial perspectives. 200-plus participants, including guests from the government, the academic circle and social organizations, and college students, are present at the forum.

On the spot

At 10:00 am, Xing Hexiang, General Secretary of East China Normal University Education Development Foundation (ECNUEDF), chairs and announces opening of the forum. ECNU Vice President Mei Bing delivers an opening speech. She points out that a top priority of the charity sector in China is to promote charity education and take charity management talent development to the next level. ECNU will leverage its academic subjects and faculty and align with Zijiang Foundation to support charity talent development while continuing to build ECNU Zijiang Charity Center.

Xing Hexiang, General Secretary of ECNUEDF, chairs the opening of the forum.

ECNU Vice President Mei Bing delivers a speech.

Ms. Jiang Rui, Deputy Director of Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau and Director of Shanghai Administration for Social Organizations, confers the Shanghai Charity Base nameplate to East China Normal University, marking its becoming a key member of the Shanghai Charity Base Development Program.

Ms. Jiang Rui confers the Shanghai Charity Base nameplate to East China Normal University.

Then, the kickoff of the summer program of ECNU Zijiang Charity Center is celebrated. First of all, Pursue Good Faith and Build Dreams, a video of interviews done by some students, is played. Students from different schools and departments at ECNU talk about their charity dreams and practices, as well as their expectation for charity courses and outlook for charity and life in the future. Professor Huang Chenxi, Vice Chairman of ECNU Zijiang Charity Center, introduces the goal of the charity talent development program. He believes that charity education, first and foremost, is about the cultivation of citizenship. The charity program the center will launch soon will focus on the cultivation of social responsibility and philanthropy in students, hoping to sow the seed of philanthropy in the heart of the young people.

Professor Huang Chenxi gives a speech.

Chen Lin, General Secretary of Zijiang Foundation, the funder, talks about the plan and directionof the program. She points out that the goal of ECNU and Zijiang Foundation is to deliver a training model of specialized and cross-disciplinary talents, who are competent for modern charity. The program is intended for college students mainly and is unique because of three fusions, fusion of china and the world; fusion of cutting-edge concepts and practices; and cross-sector fusion among the government, businesses, colleges and charitable organizations. The idea is to enable the younger generation to makebetter choices in both their career and life. Based on this strategic plan, ECNU Zijiang Charity Center has started from scratch and rolled out summer courses and autumn optional courses this year, as well as second major for the next year and on-job training in the future. A complete charity talent training system is taking shape.

General Secretary Chen Lin gives a speech.

Next, the guests turns on the light, signifying kickoff of the first summer program.

The lighting ceremony (from left to right): Xia Guang, Executive Vice General Manager of Zizhu National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Group) Co., Ltd; Chen Lin, General Secretary of Zijiang Foundation; Cheng Gang, Executive Vice President of Beijing Enjiu Nonprofit Organization Development and Research Center, and The China Foundation Center; and Professor Wen Jun, Dean of the School of Social Development, ECNU