Dear Bill,
Although I do not know you, and I do not know why you are willing to hand this sum of money to some young people (delegates from Asia) through some young people (Morgan and Ben) – I am very certain that you have created a new world for us:
in the past, youths at my place were always guided by a set agendum behind every scholarship, sponsorship or funding – although we are broadening our exposures, we are not empowered to be the frontiers in making changes; neither were we expected to shoulder the responsibility to decide on changes, as this was always prescribed by our Chinese adults.
Because of this, most of the youths in my generation became self-perceived victims, selfish elites, or puzzled youths without confidence – we have a strong sense of powerless, wasting valuable energy and passion in our prime time.
Going to GCI-U is an intensive and heavy experience to me: this experience brings me to another world where hundreds of real life examples come vis-à-vis to me, forcing me to admit that “being young is not an excuse” to avoid responsibility or to deny the youths’ power – we are now no longer shielded from the burden, but glad that we are empowered.
As our commitment, my partner Serena and I work as a team in Hong Kong Climate Change Coalition to create a “climate of change”. The most important agendum now is to create a paradigm shift – I am specialising in capacity building: externally I am lobbying decision making parties from the top to bottom level to open for conversation with each other; within the organisation, we are creating a norm of cultural diversity with respect, open mind, and empathy.
I hope that you can continue supporting the whole cause.
With gratitude and true respect,
Wing Ki FONG
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