Talk to the Founders of NGOCN (I)
【专栏】| Conlumists >超越平凡的生活
By Jasmine, Jointing.Media, in Hong Kong, 2011-10-15
A bee and a fish, one flying in the air and the other swimming in the water. What happens when these two creatures meet?
The answer is NGOCN.
NGOCN is short for NGO Development and Communication Network. In 2003, SecondBee (screen names) and NotFish (screen names), who are almost ten years apart in age, met through a public welfare project. The following year they founded NGOCN together, and their friendship continues to this day because of this common cause.
Public service is a serious hobby
“Some people have not met the right moment and the right thing – the moment to change and the thing to be,” says TwoBees.
NGOCN is what he is destined to do in his 30-39 years, and it is the starting point of his growth in this period.
SecondBee met me at a Japanese restaurant not far from my hotel to take care of my unfamiliar place. He was of medium build, wore a light-coloured short-sleeved shirt and spoke in Mandarin with a Hong Kong accent, not too fast. He had just returned to Hong Kong from a business trip and looked a little haggard and tired.
SecondBee currently works as an environmental and social responsibility consultant, and NGOCN is one of his hobbies in his spare time. Not to break up the old life,” he says, “is an important limit to doing charity work in your spare time. According to him, charity work is different from sports and leisure activities, and is a serious hobby.
He grew up in Hong Kong, and after graduating from high school, he went to university to study agricultural economics. His parents were very open-minded and did not force him to study engineering or economics, which were popular at the time, but told him: ‘You can choose whatever you want.
Why did you choose agricultural economics? I asked.
“It just felt different,” He said.
Curious about the origin of his screen name ‘SecondBee’. No particular symbolism. When I was at college there was a popular dance song called Bumblebee and I was the second child in the family, so the combination of the two was SecondBee.
SecondBee was a music youth, playing guitar and bass at university.. This hobby continues to this day. He now performs occasionally in Hong Kong to entertain himself and his friends. Ask him about his ‘masterpiece’.
“I can’t think of my favourite song, but I was more satisfied with this performance in 2009,” says he, “I’m in a band and I have to work together.
He co-founded NGOCN with NotFish in 2004, when he was in his early 30s and working for an international NGO. Although the platform of this internationally renowned NGO was large, many of his personal ideas could not be realised. NGOCN was a way of balancing his ideals with his work. For NotFish, public welfare seems to be a combination of his work and his hobby.
NotFish is from Guangdong. Described as ‘post-80s’, he worked at the Centre for Citizenship and Social Development at Sun Yat-sen University and began to focus on public welfare in 2000, and a trip to northwest China in 2001 left a deep impression on the mountainous regions. Before founding NGOCN, NotFish, like most people, fulfilled his desire for public welfare by helping students. By chance, he became a full-time publicist.
JM: What are your hobbies? Which one are you most passionate about?
NotFish: Music, reading, meditation.
JM: Is public service more of a hobby or a career for you?
NotFish: What is public interest? If it refers to all public interests in general, then it is a career for me. If it refers only to
what I’m doing at the moment, then it can only be described as ‘Phased undertaking + hobby’.
Translated by DeepL
Edited by Wind
Lanxuan Home, a new force in the elderly care market
By Eco Zhang Xiaomei Ji，Jointing.Media，in Beijing，2011-04-28
The path of a market pioneer is not a smooth one. Lanxuan House has chosen to try a new field and be a “pioneer” in the elderly care market. This choice is a growth experience for individuals and organisations, and a driving force for the development of the industry.
In 2010, Chen Yanqiong’s team participated in the Tencent Social Entrepreneurship Business Competition (SEBC) with the Lanxuan Care Plan and won the second prize. After the competition, they founded Beijing Lanxuan House Elderly Care Service Co., Ltd (Lanxuan House), which mainly focuses on elderly care, elderly personnel services and home care services.
Chen Yanqiong is one of the few people who have continued her project and stuck to it. She believes that there are many opportunities in the elderly care market, and that improving service quality and cultivating talent in the industry are the current problems facing the industry. Lanxuan Home hopes to improve the overall service quality of the industry by improving the professional status and treatment of caregivers.
Encounters with philanthropy
Chen Yanqiong came to Tsinghua University in 2008 to study for her MBA, but before that she had sponsored some students, but it was after she joined the Sunshine Charity Club of Tsinghua University that she focused on charity work. After the 5-12″ earthquake, she and her fellow members went to Mianzhu, Sichuan Province, to provide psychological counselling to senior high school students before their exams, and donated a library to Mianzhu Middle School. …… For her positive contribution to public welfare activities, Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management awarded her the title of ‘Pioneer of Public Welfare’ in 2011. At that time, she was very concerned about China’s elderly care market.
She was very concerned about China’s elderly care market at the time and often discussed it with her friends. During the Spring Festival in 2010, Chen Yanqiong and her classmates produced a DV film about the daily lives of the elderly and their caregivers in nursing homes, using the song “Beijing Welcomes You” as background music. They finished the film on the first day of the Chinese New Year and sent it to the nursing home as a special gift. On that day, the family members were very happy to see the daily life of their elderly relatives and caregivers reflected in the video. Chen Yanqiong said that seeing them so happy made her happy, even though it was hard work.
In the same year, Chen Yanqiong heard about SEBC and signed up for the first competition with like-minded people under the Lanxuan Care Programme. For Chen Yanqiong’s team members, participating in SEBC was not only a team exercise, but also a catalyst for the project to take shape. They seized the opportunity to participate in the competition to systematically organize the project. Talking about the benefits of participating in the competition, Chen Yanqiong recalls the joy of growth.
The elderly have a special temperament
It is often said that ‘there is no filial son before a sick bed’. Even when caring for a parent who is semi-nursing or has lost the ability to care for himself, it is difficult for a child to maintain patience for a long time, let alone care for someone else’s parent who needs more love, patience and responsibility.
People who care for the elderly have a special temperament. Chen Yanqiong said that their special temperament is not only reflected in their professional attitude, but also in their dedication and affection. Managers of elderly care organisations work long hours, which makes it difficult for them to be with their families. No matter how tired they are themselves, they have to keep a smile on their faces and a neat appearance in order to serve each elderly person with a full spirit.
It is very hard work to look after the elderly. Chen Yanqiong feels this very deeply. 2010 Spring Festival, Chen Yanqiong has been working as a volunteer at Qianhe Residential Home for the Elderly for more than half a year. During the Spring Festival, there is a “shortage of nannies”. The director wakes up at six o’clock every day to look after the elderly who cannot look after themselves.
According to the data, China’s ageing trend will intensify in the next ten years, and the pressure on young people to support their parents will increase. Although the elderly market is huge, it is still in the cultivation stage and needs to integrate resources from all sides. Chen Yanqiong believes that only with strong support from the government and private investment from the community can the elderly care sector provide diversified and high-quality services.
Making elderly care a respected profession
Grassroots caregivers and nannies in the elderly care sector belong to the vulnerable group. They belong to the ‘three lows’: low professional status, low treatment and low skills. Only by improving the professional status of caregivers and creating favourable working conditions and treatment for caregivers can we attract more high-quality talents, including young people, to work in the elderly care industry. Chen Yanqiong believes that if the hardware (working environment) and software (system and culture) are good, staff will naturally want to stay. In her words, ‘this is the engine for the development of the elderly care industry’.
For the elderly to receive better services, it is necessary to improve the quality and status of caregivers. Everyone grows old slowly, and “we should take care of our own elderly as well as those of others”. Elderly care workers are doing their filial duty to their children, and this is a profession that deserves the respect of society as a whole. Chen Yanqiong believes that as the population ages, not only will “respecting and loving the elderly” become a trend, but the culture of respecting and caring for caregivers will also gradually take shape. It is an inevitable trend that the value of human capital will be upgraded with social and economic development, and the treatment of elderly caregivers will also be gradually upgraded.
For more than a year, Lanxuan House has gone from providing human resources services (recruiting, training and dispatching personnel) for nursing institutions to exploring the establishment of a long-term training base. On the basis of human resources training, Lanxuan Home provides professional nursing services and home services for suitable groups; it combines modern technological means with traditional nursing care and seeks breakthroughs in the content and management of nursing services; it trains nursing staff and improves the quality of services so that the elderly can receive better services. This is the social value of Lanxuan Home.
At present, Lanxuan Home is establishing a wide range of cooperation with the elderly service vocational school, nursing school, health school, etc., cooperating with the relatively poor area, establishing the personnel transfer channel, paying attention to humanistic care, improving the treatment of staff in the process, and building the Lanxuan brand with great care. Only the staff who feel comfortable working here will stay, slowly forming a stable service team. Chen Yanqiong said.
Social enterprise is also a way to meet social needs
Chen Yanqiong understands the concept of “social enterprise” as “achieving the goal of social value through the idea and method of business operation”. In her view, there are different levels and types of needs among the elderly. Diversified needs should be met by marketable products and services. As an entrepreneurial company, Lanxuan Home has innovative advantages in business model and team.
At present, LanXuanHome has summed up a series of business model after continuous adjustment: expanding middle and high-end customers, providing cost-effective services, and continuously cultivating and reserving talents. Although LanXuanHome has not yet reached the balance of income and expenses, Chen Yanqiong is still firmly optimistic about this direction. She said optimistically, “Everything is from small to big. The retirement industry is a sunrise industry. The business model of any sunrise industry must be constantly explored, repeatedly changed in practice, and timely adjusted to the market.
She believes that entrepreneurship requires a strong will and attitude. When faced with difficulties at work, it is not difficult to get encouragement from colleagues and friends. When people face difficulties, they have to keep going. If you give up, you will only fail. If you do not give up, you will have the possibility of success, you will have more opportunities.
The path of a market pioneer cannot be smooth. Lanxuan Home chose to try a new field, chose to be the “pioneer” of the retirement market. This kind of choice is a growth experience for individuals and organisations, and it is also a driving force for the development of the industry.
Translated by DeepL
Edited by Jas
CUMBA CSR Conference
http://cumbacsr.baf.cuhk.edu.hk
The CUMBA CSR Conference as one of the leading CSR initiatives in Asia is the annual highlight event of The Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School since 2007. Our goals are to create awareness of corporate social responsibility among decision makers and professionals, to provide a platform for manag- ers and employees to share and discuss best practices in CSR, and to foster future business leaders in Asia about value creation and sustainability through CSR initiatives.
Source:CUHK MBA
More>>
Rockefeller Foundation
【公益词典】| Lexicon
http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/
The Rockefeller Foundation aims to achieve equitable growth by expanding opportunity for more people in more places worldwide, and to build resilience by helping them prepare for, withstand, and emerge stronger from acute shocks and chronic stresses. Throughout its 100 year history, the Rockefeller Foundation has enhanced the impact of innovative thinkers and actors working to change the world by providing the resources, networks, convening power, and technologies to move them from idea to impact. In today’s dynamic and interconnected world, The Rockefeller Foundation has a unique ability to address the emerging challenges facing humankind through innovation, intervention and influence in order to shape agendas and inform decision-making.
The 2013 Centennial Innovation Challenge: challenge.rockefellerfoundation.org
Source: Yifan
More>> The Rockefeller Foundation Launches the 2013 Centennial Innovation Challenge
ECSEL
ECSEL is a fully-subsidized incubation program for entrepreneurs looking to build or expand a social business in greater China.
Through the course of our year-long, part-time program, participants receive two international training trips (one in the United States, one in mainland China), customized mentorship, and investment opportunities.
Source: ECSEL
The Story of Nangchukja (III)
【专栏】| Conlumists >微公益 | MicroCharity
By Yibai, Jointing.Media, in Shanghai 2011-07-10
The localization of public welfare service and its sustainable development
Only locals know the place in actual and are well aware of people’s need and relevant obstacles. Nangchukja mentioned: “we only help those who are most in need of help regardless of nationality and religions.”
JM: What’s your favorite project?
N: My favorite was a water project in my village. Before water pipes were connected to our houses, we had to travel four to ten kilometers carrying water on our backs. Many other places have similar problems and many still live with these difficulties.
It’s the same with the solar lighting project. Many herders used oil lamps in their tents. Solar power is very environmentally friendly and solved their problems. Many locals pray for us continually because we introduced this convenience into their lives.
The Story of Nangchukja (II)
【专栏】| Conlumists >微公益 | MicroCharity
By Yibai, Jointing.Media, in Shanghai 2011-07-05
Where there is a big dream, there is a big arena
Nangchukja has completed three similar projects in nearby villages. Every time he improved the living conditions in one place, he found more places in need of similar projects, and more requests from local people for him to find ways to help their communities. Nangchukja has completed more than 30 projects with funds totaling around 2 million RMB
JM: How do you target what local people need?
N: It’s easy for me to communicate with locals because I myself am a local. The easiest way is to live with them for some time. It’s a good way to get to know them and their difficulties. For example, soon after my graduation in 2009, we were implementing a project that required us to visit 15 villages and record details of people’s living conditions. We stayed in these villages for about a month doing interviews and questionnaires. Based on this experience and the eleven-page questionnaire we made, we were better able to choose appropriate projects for each village and specific plans for realizing them.
The Story of Nangchukja (I)
【专栏】| Conlumists >微公益 | MicroCharity
By Yibai, Jointing.Media, in Shanghai 2011-07-01
Lead:
Five years ago, a seventeen-year-old Tibetan managed to stay in school thanks to a charitable donation. Since graduation from college, he has been busy raising funds to improve the living conditions of those in his home area. The strangers who gave him the opportunity to continue his education unconsciously sowed the seed of philanthropy, and it has since grown into a flourishing tree. Over the years, this young Tibetan man has founded primary school libraries, implemented solar energy projects, done running water projects for intensely impoverished rural communities desperately in need of drinking water, completed irrigation projects, and founded inexpensive village medical clinics. His many projects have given him confidence and his dreams have grown.
He founded the locally based public welfare organization, Friendship Charity Association (FCA), in Qinghai Province in 2008 with help from many people.
This is the story of Nangchukja, a young man who never stops striving to realize his dreams.
Seed of philanthropy
The proverb “A single seed can change a whole world” epitomizes Nangchukja’s story.
Gov 2.0 Revisited: Social Media Strategies in the Public Sector
By Ines Mergel, in Syracuse, 2011-05-10
Photo: The Dolomites, by SQM@JM
This article is part of a Special Section on Web 2.0 and Social Media that ran in the Summer issue of PA TIMES. See the end of this article for links to others from the Special Section.
Government 2.0–or the use of social media in the public sector–has become a hot topic. Agencies and departments on all levels of government are adding Facebook, Twitter or YouTube buttons to their otherwise static–infrequently updated–websites. It is still not clear how successful and useful social media is in the public sector and how agencies can design their own social media strategies.
The term Government 2.0 was coined by Eggers in 2005 as the way that “Unhyped and therefore unnoticed, technology is altering the behavior and mission of city halls, statehouses, schools and federal agencies across America.” He goes on, describing Government 2.0 as “A form of digital revolution that transforms government.” Only with the successful Internet campaign and use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter of the then presidential candidate Obama the term was picked up again and is now widely used to describe the use of new forms of technology such as free and open social networking services in government (sometimes called social media or new media).
President Obama’s so-called Open Government memo from January 21, 2009 called for a more transparent, participatory and collaborative government and directed “Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public.”
Today, Government 2.0 is the “hyped” form of the use of social media in government and by its diverse stakeholders that transforms the way that government interacts with citizens in a participatory, transparent and collaborative way. The use of social media and the actual participation of all federal departments and agencies were reinforced by the Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag’s executive directive giving agencies a 60-day deadline to publish their open government plans and upload their first datasets to a dedicated website called data.gov.
[Recruiting 2011] Jointing.Media
By Methanol@HR, Jointing.Media 2010-12-26
Jointing.Media, an independent online news organization, aims to connect the citizen worldwide via joint effects between media organizations, business communities and Non-profit organizations. Providing extensive news, comment and analysis, Jointing.Media pursues quality, accuracy and integrity, and promotes Chinese citizens to take an active part in social work, to accomplish the forming of a Global Civil Society.
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