CDB Reports

Features

Original feature articles on the leading people and organizations in China’s NGO sector.

‘Going out’ to make a difference: Lucy Liu interview

While some Chinese social organizations (local term for NGOs) are trying to develop overseas, the stories of many Chinese individuals active in INGOs are equally remarkable. During the past seven years, China House, a social enterprise registered in mainland China,…

China’s NGOs not spending enough to tackle climate change

In August, China Environmental Protection Foundation (CEPF) joined hands with FAW-Volkswagen to launch the 3rd “Automotive Environmental Protection Innovation Leadership Plan”, funding projects that tackle key technology and engineering bottlenecks in the new energy vehicle industry, in order to support…

Maximizing charity: the power of effective altruism

Spend 1 million dollars to save one life or 180 lives, which would you choose? Yes, every life matters, but are you fully aware of the potential of your donation? In developed countries such as the US and UK, governments…

Pi Pi Shi: helping children build resilience

Pi Pi Shi was the brainchild of Ma Libo and Yang Ruixin. Operating as a social enterprise within a registered company, the organization provides schools with curriculums to support children’s social and emotional development, with the aim of making kids…

Wang Jingjing interview: clean skies and water are the goal

Most of the time, Wang Jingjing’s day is incomplete without snapping some photos of the diverse species around her — from a strange caterpillar to some blooming wildflowers — and uploading them to Blue Map, an app launched by the…

Li Jiete: empowering women through art

Li Jiete is the founder of Banying, an organization based in Beijing dedicated to empowering Chinese women through creative work. CDB recently spoke to Li about her work, women’s rights, and how art therapy can help people who’ve experienced trauma.…

From soldier to NGO practitioner: Chen Yang

May 29 is the International Day of UN Peacekeepers. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since China’s first participation in a UN peacekeeping mission in 1990, nearly 50,000 Chinese officers and soldiers have joined UN operations in more than…

JA China: working to improve financial literacy

In 2004 Liu Jingrong decided to make a career change from the business world to the NGO sector, only to find herself constantly cold calling school principals around Beijing from the newly founded Junior Achievement (JA) China’s Beijing representative office.…

Interview: Ji Hongbo, Asia Foundation

The Asia Foundation has been operating in China since 1979 and currently employs 10 full-time staff. Together with local partners it operates a range of programs covering areas such as disaster management and child welfare. CDB recently spoke with the…

Using the market to reduce emissions: Han Jin interview

In early March, at a village in Rwanda’s Southern Province, a borehole in a schoolyard was repaired after lying abandoned for many years. As the well water gushed out, people cheered, sang and danced in celebration with the realization that…

Better Together: Scarlet Hoy interview

Finding the questions at pub quizzes a little too male-centric, Scarlet Hoy decided to do something about it. Her frustration led to the creation of “Boobs & Brains”, a women’s quiz with questions targeted at a female audience. Hoy recently…

Helping women escape domestic abuse: Li Ying interview

From Fang Si-Qi’s First Love Paradise by Lin Yi-Han to Know My Name by Chanel Miller and Black Box by Japanese journalist Shiori Ito, Li Ying always prepared multiple copies of the same books on her shelf. “The extra copies…

Building up NGOs: interview with Zhang Jufang

In recent years, capacity building has become popular in the NGO sector. Various guidelines have been drafted and workshops designed to help organizations “obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time” (UNDP,…

27 Yard: the NGO helping senior citizens sort their trash

“120 points! Does it mean, I’ve correctly thrown 12 times? A good score, isn’t it?” “Wow, let me check. Yes, the third best score so far. Congratulations!” said Niu Ruixue, the founder of 27 Yard, encouraging a senior citizen playing…