FS Leadership for Good Fellowship Programme

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Leadership for Good Fellowship Programme The Victor and William Fung Foundation

The Victor and William Fung Foundation sponsored four Hong Kong Fung Scholars to join the Leadership for Good Fellowship Programme, an immersive 4-week course from 16th July – 11th August 2018 in Beijing, China. The programme was initiated by the Foundation alongside Philanthropy in Motion (PIM), which is intended to provide Fung Scholars with the perspective, skills, and experience to develop as socially responsible global leaders. As part of their social impact training and externship, participants took part in hands-on workshops related to improving their social imSDFW FDUHHU SODQQLQJ DQG VHOI UHÀHFWLYH VNLOOV )ROORZLQJ WKH WUDLQLQJ VHOHFWHG )XQJ 6FKRODUV WKHQ ZRUNHG IXOO WLPH DW LQQRYDWLYH VRFLDO HQWHUSULVHV QRQ SUR¿WV DQG IRXQGDWLRQV WR JDLQ H[SHULHQFH and apply their learning, all while designing a pro-bono project that enhances their organisation’s services. Throughout their externship placement, they received mentorship that focused on their professional goals and development as socially responsible leaders.

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My time with the programme taught me a lot about Beijing and social enterprise. The learning aspects of the programme have given me a deeper insight into China, including projects such as the Belt and Road Initiative which provide a solid demonstration of China’s prominence on a global stage. During the trip, I was given a great opportunity to communicate and exchange ideas with scholars from the mainland, enabling me to discover different viewpoints on China’s place in the world.

My internship was at MyH2O, which is a crowdsourcing network that aims to assess water quality in the region. During this internship, I experienced what it would be like as a full-time member of the organization, and was provided Second Left: Tess LEUNG (FS2011-12, The Education University of Hong Kong) with a wealth of resources that allowed me to learn and develop. MyH2O’s activities are or- As I discovered, work in a social enterprise reganized into a number of different areas, includ- quires me to be more entrepreneurial than other ing water testing across China’s many regions businesses. I used to think that my degree in edand providing water safety education for rural ucation meant I was not suitable to work in busiareas. In my first week, I was assigned to the ness; how wrong I was! My major has taught latter, being tasked with developing a teaching me to think on my feet, and this experience program about drinking clean water for the rural has taught me to embrace innovation and learn non-traditional methods of solving problems. areas of China.

For example, one of my tasks was to develop a Despite its broad scope, MyH2O is a three-per- volunteer performance evaluation system, which son company, and so everyone is called upon to was unlike anything I’d done before. My menwear many different hats as part of their work. tors showed me some examples of systems used In the second week, I was assigned to HR, by other social enterprises used, alongside refwhere I was entrusted to hire, manage, and train erence books, with which we designed our own new capable volunteers to join the team, while evaluation system. This hands-on learning has also learning how to manage the existing volun- helped me to think on my feet, and solve critiFDO SUREOHPV PRUH HI¿FLHQWO\ WKDQ HYHU EHIRUH teers.

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I learnt the strength of teamwork, and how great things can be accomplished when everyone is working in tandem.

I would say that it is worth joining the Leadership for Good Fellowship Programme because it provides a very good chance to develop our independence, and open our minds to new ideas. We need to leave our comfort zones, and accept the challenges we meet every day. This will then allow us WR ÂżQG RXW RXU KLGGHQ TXDOLWLHV ZKLFK ZLOO XQGRXEWHGO\ LPSURYH RXU HPSOR\DELOLW\ DQG SHUVRQDO development in an increasingly competitive work environment. It was truly an eye-opening experience, and I enjoyed it so much that I have decided to join MyH2O as a volunteer after completing my internship, where I hope that my growth will be accelerated further!

(Left to right) Tess KWAN (FS2015-16, Hong Kong Baptist University) and Steffany CHENG (FS2017-18, The University of Hong Kong)

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During the summer of 2018, I was honoured to be selected for the Leadership for Good Fellowship Programme in Beijing, sponsored by the Victor and William Fung Foundation alongside Philanthropy in Motion (PIM). I was assigned to an eyewear company called Mantra, something that would change my career mindset forever.

Mantra is a Beijing-based eyewear brand that adopts a “buy one, give one� business model to help Yunnan children with myopia. Following the example of TOMS Shoes, the innovative retailer aims to help the 30 million rural Chinese students who are currently affected by poor vision. Without clear eyesight, they cannot read from the blackboards used in schools, and this has greatly inhibited their academic and career prospects. As such, Mantra donates a pair of prescription glasses for each one sold, as well as contributing to eye examinations as well.

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I was genuinely moved by the determination of Mantra’s founder to help children, and he is not alone. China’s social entrepreneurship start-up ecosystem is vibrant, and I was fortunate enough to attend the Millennial Impact Summit to gain a deeper insight. It exhibited Beijing’s methods of re-matching supply and demand within the city as a part of its strong start-up atmosphere. I was fortunate to witness various entrepreneurs talking about their businesses, and how they are changing the unjust system step-by-step. New business ideas are highly encouraged by the local community and government, as shown by the frequent media coverage of social enterprises, which contrasted with my expectations. I had thought the Chinese government would impose tight restrictions on the growth of businesses, but these young companies seem to enjoy a considerable degree of freedom to implement their ideas.

This summer was an eye-opening experience, giving me the opportunity to meet a variety of passionate entrepreneurs in China, and in turn inspiring me to rethink my future career plans. As a business student, I had always aspired to live comfortably working for a bank, but this programme KDV PDGH PH UHÀHFW RQ WKH FRQQHFWLRQ EHWZHHQ P\ IXWXUH MRE DQG P\ FRQWULEXWLRQ WR RXU VRFLHW\ My ability to choose from multiple career options is a blessing, and I should not take it for granted, when there are many less fortunate people in China. I began to question myself: Do I deserve to enjoy this materialistic lifestyle, based on my circumstances? If not, then should I make an effort to redistribute my wealth to the equally hard working, but socially disadvantaged, people of the nation?

Or should I change the system causing this injustice itself? I have yet to answer these problems for myself. But what is certain is that the concept of my ideal career has expanded, from a narrow materialistic perspective to encompass the larger social context.

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