On November 21, 2023, the Seminar on Social Organizations' Participation in Social Governance and the Launching Meeting of the Project on Promoting the Development of Social Organizations in the Field of Climate and Gender, supported by the European Union (EU) and co-sponsored by theChina Association for NGO Cooperation(CANGO), the SIP Lvse Jiangnan Public Environment Concerned Centre, and the Shaanxi Women and Children Development Foundation (SWCF), was held in Suzhou, with the participation of nearly 60 representatives of governmental departments, social organizations, think tanks, and enterprises.

                                                                                                                                The scene of the seminar

                                                                                                                                   Group photo of participants

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Wang Xiangyi, Vice President and Secretary General of China Association for NGO Cooperation(CANGO), and speeches were delivered by Mr. Huang Hao Ming, Honorary President of CNAF, Mr. Sun Weilin, Executive Vice President of China Association for the Non-Profit Organizations and former Director of the Civil Organizations Administration of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Mr. Jia Feng, Former Director of the CEEC and Ms. Jing Li, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice Chairwoman of the Shaanxi Women and Children Development Foundation (SWCF).

Forum Messages

Speech by Mr. Huang Hao Ming, Honorary Chairman of CANGO

In his speech, Mr. Huang Hao Ming, Honorary Chairman of CANGO, acknowledged and appreciated the cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary support for this model of project cooperation. He pointed out that digital public welfare is booming nowadays, social organizations have significant roles and functions in social development, and social organizations need to develop with high quality, stimulate vitality and play a role. Many social organizations are small in scale, lack the ability to provide professional services, and their ability to respond to climate change and environmental disasters is in urgent need of enhancement, the development of social organizations in the field of gender is unbalanced, and their ability to address community services is still insufficient, therefore, capacity building of social organizations is a very important topic.

In short, social organizations need to act in the process of social governance, mobilize the resources of all sectors of society at home and abroad, deal with the relationship between the government and society, and the relationship between the government and enterprises, so as to promote the harmonious development of society, and make new contributions to the realization of China's great goal of common prosperity.

Speech by Mr. Sun Weilin, Executive Vice President of China Association for the Non-Profit Organizations and former Director of the Civil Organizations Administration of the Ministry of Civil Affairs

Mr. Sun Weilin, Executive Vice President of China Association for the Non-Profit Organizations and former Director of the Civil Organizations Administration of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, recalled the long and friendly cooperation between CPSC and CNDC, and emphasized the role of CNDC as an incubator for social organizations in the process of "going out" and "coming in". Mr. Lin recalled the long and friendly cooperation between CPSC and CNAIC, emphasizing the role of CNAIC in "going out" and "coming in" of social organizations. While reviewing the past projects, he also pointed out that, thanks to the support of the European Union project, cadres at all levels of the registration authorities had the opportunity to learn and exchange ideas, renew their concepts, broaden their horizons and strengthen their capacities.

Speech by Mr. Jia Feng,  Former Director of the CEEC

Mr. Jia Feng, former Director of the CEEC, emphasized the importance of environmental organizations in China's environmental action. Mr. Jia pointed out that early environmental organizations, such as Chongqing Green Volunteer Federation, Friends of Nature, Beijing Global Village, etc., have made great contributions to environmental education and awareness-raising, etc. After the 21st century, with the continuous advancement of scientific pollution control and precise pollution control according to the law, the "four major" shifts have been realized from focusing on remediation to systematic governance, from passive response to proactive action, from participant in global governance to leader, and from practical exploration to scientific theoretical guidance. The "four major" shifts have been realized from focusing on remediation to systematic governance, from passive response to active action, from participant to leader in global governance, and from practical exploration to scientific theoretical guidance. Taking the example of environmental organizations such as IPE and Lvse Jiangnan, Jia Feng affirmed the efforts and achievements made by civil environmental organizations in addressing climate change and promoting the dual-carbon target. Finally, Mr. Jia said that China is now working towards the goal that by 2035, a green production and lifestyle will be widely formed, carbon emissions will reach their peak and decrease steadily, the ecological environment will be fundamentally improved, and the goal of a beautiful China will be basically achieved, and that China's environmental protection organizations can surely make a big difference in the process and play an important role.

Ms. Julia Li, member of the party group and vice-chairwoman of the Shaanxi Women and Children Development Foundation (SWCF), delivered a speech

Ms. Li Jing, member of the party group and vice-chairwoman of the Shaanxi Women and Children Development Foundation (SWCF), pointed out the important role played by women's federation organizations in the process of social governance, introduced the work and experience gained by social organizations such as the Shaanxi Women and Children Development Foundation (SWCF), under the guidance of the Shaanxi Provincial Women's Federation, in cooperating with domestic and foreign projects and promoting the development of issues, and also put forward her expectations of the Shaanxi women's and children's social organizations in promoting the development of issues and projects.

Briefing on the background of project funding by Mr. Tao Ran, Representative of the Delegation of the European Union to China

Mr. Tao Ran, representative of the Delegation of the European Union to China, delivered a speech, introducing the ultimate goals and values of the European Union to the audience, listing the lessons learned in cooperation with social organizations and pointing out the many challenges faced globally. It is expected that Chinese social organizations will take the initiative to participate in social governance, contribute to the country's inclusiveness and participation, and promote exchanges and dialogues between different stakeholders and social organizations. The EU hopes to establish and strengthen cooperative relationships with local social organizations in partner countries to understand the local situation and provide financial support. Mr. Tao Ran said the project should give voice to and express concerns for vulnerable groups and contribute to gender equality and the environment. Although the overall size of social organizations is booming, the number of social organizations focusing on gender equality and climate change issues is relatively small. He concluded by reiterating the need for action on this issue and expressing confidence in the success of the new project.

Ms. Wang Xiangyi, Vice-President and Secretary-General, CANGO

Ms. Wang Xiangyi, Vice President and Secretary General of CANGO, delivered a speech at the launching ceremony, in which she shared the reasons for choosing the areas of climate change and gender equality for this project from both the international and domestic perspectives. The implementation of this project will not only enhance the capacity of social organizations in issue advocacy and international communication, and promote their effective participation in social governance, but also build a communication and dialogue platform for multi-stakeholders such as government departments, enterprises, think tanks, media and social organizations, and play the role of social organizations as a bridge. Through this exchange and seminar, it is expected to promote the development of social organizations themselves, cultivate professionals and facilitate their effective participation in social governance. Finally, she expressed her gratitude to the project's funders, the EU Delegation to China, the project partners, Lvse Jiangnan and Shaanxi Women and Children Development Foundation (SWCF), and announced the official launch of the project.

Group photo of representatives of organizations at the launch event

Keynote speech

Keynote Speech by Mr. Wang Xingzui, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zhonghe Rural Development Promotion Center

In the keynote speech, Mr. Wang Xingmian, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zhonghe Rural Development Promotion Center, shared his views on "Rural Revitalization, Empowering Collective Economy, and Helping Common Wealth", pointing out that the biggest national conditions of China's rural areas are the fragile small farmer economy and weak collective economy, and that strengthening the rural collective economy is a powerful hand to realize rural revitalization! In order to strengthen the rural collective economy, it is necessary to take measures such as building a platform for effective governance of rural collective economic organizations, empowering key talents, and promoting the development of rural industries, as well as paying attention to the improvement of rural ecological and human habitats, and solving the problem of rural pensions. He also shared the results of the pilot project on new rural collective economic reform launched by Zhonghe Rural Development Promotion Centre in four provinces, namely, Guangdong, Hebei, Inner Mongolia and Sichuan, starting from 2021, which reflects the value of social organizations in the theoretical research and practice of rural revitalization.

Keynote Speech by Mr. Deng Guosheng, Director of 21st Century Development Research Institute and Director of Digital Public Good Research Center, School of Public Administration, Tsinghua University

Mr. Deng Guosheng, Director of 21st Century Development Research Institute of Tsinghua University and Director of Digital Public Welfare Research Center of School of Public Administration, shared his views on the "Path of High-Quality Development of Social Organizations in the New Era". He said that the country needs high-quality development of social organizations in the context of socialism with Chinese characteristics entering into a new era after China has achieved its first hundred-year goal. The path of high-quality development of social organizations mainly includes five measures: first, strengthening party building work to promote the high-quality development of social organizations; second, optimizing the structure of social organizations through the registration system; third, implementing the "capacity-building project" to improve the performance of social organizations; fourth, guiding the quality improvement of social organizations through three major incentives; and fifth, strengthening the quality of social organizations through three major constraint mechanisms. Through the three major constraint mechanisms, social organizations are forced to improve their quality.

Keynote Speech by Associate Prof. Feng Hao, Department of Social Work, Capital University of Economics and Business

Mr. Feng Hao, Associate Professor of the Department of Social Work of Capital University of Economics and Business, gave a keynote speech on "Talent Cultivation of Social Organizations in the Context of Social Governance", in which he emphasized the importance of the "perpetuation of talents" in social organizations and proposed a new paradigm for talent cultivation of social organizations --He emphasized the importance of "talent sustainability" for social organizations and proposed a new paradigm of talent training for social organizations, which is action research, i.e. integrating research, education and practice. Talent development is equally important to the capacity building of individual participants, which can be improved through training to stimulate the capacity of the participants and implementing the values of professional services in concrete actions.

Case Sharing

Case sharing by Ms. Li Xiulan, Technical Director of Sustainability, British Standards Institution

In the case sharing session, Ms. Li Xiulan, Technical Director of Sustainability of the British Standards Institution, shared "Corporate ESG Practices: How to Support Climate Change and Gender Equality", pointing out that corporate ESG management to address climate change has been practiced in the four aspects of governance, strategy, risk management as well as indicators and targets, and introducing the climate practice actions of Master Kong in detail. She pointed out that corporate ESG management in response to climate change is practiced in four aspects: governance, strategy, risk management, and indicators and targets, and introduced in detail the climate practice actions of Master Kong. And gender equality action is a good start to realize the practice of DEI (Diversity, Equality, Inclusion) in enterprises, and shared the examples of Tencent and Mary Kay China. Finally, she pointed out that women are not only victims of climate change, but also effective actors and promoters of climate change, and are a force to be reckoned with in mitigation and adaptation, and they should be allowed to participate and contribute equally to climate change action through public welfare investment, capacity building, and product and service design.

Case sharing by Mr. Yin Lun, Executive Vice President of Yunnan Green Environment Development Foundation and Researcher at the School of Geography and Ecotourism, Southwest Forestry University

Mr. Yin Lun, Executive Vice-President of the Yunnan Green Environment Development Foundation and researcher at the School of Geography and Ecotourism of Southwest Forestry University, shared his views on "Gender-based community-led action research on ethno-ecological knowledge to address climate change". Mr. Yin Lun said that the combination of culture and gender causes women's vulnerability to climate change and its disasters. He also elaborated on the concrete actions and results achieved in response to climate change with examples of gender and climate action in rural Tibetan villages in Yunnan Province, which emphasized the role of women and their traditional knowledge, and the Naga Nyi tribe in Kenya. The "Gender, Ethnic Ecological Knowledge and Biodiversity Conservation Project" and the "Gender, Ethnic Ecological Knowledge and Climate Change Response Project" were selected for the 2nd and 3rd Paris Peace Forums, respectively, and were deeply reported by China Daily, China Focus, and CCTV News. ", and have been recognized by the international community.

Round-table Forum

Roundtable session

Moderated by Ms. Yin Ying, Associate Professor of the School of Politics and Public Administration of Soochow University, Ms. Chen Xiaojiang, Vice President of the Shaanxi Association for the Promotion of International Exchanges of Social Organizations and former second-level inspector of the Shaanxi Women's Federation, Ms. Fang Yingjun, Director of Lvse Jiangnan, Mr. Ni Huan, Founder of the Green Light Years Service Center of Suzhou Industrial Park, Mr. Zhou Yicheng, Director of the Programs of the Shaanxi Foundation for Women's and Children's Development, and Ms. Ma Lan, General Manager of Austin Environmental Science and Technology Company Limited, were the guests of honor, who discussed the theme of "Climate Change Response and the Exploration of Gender Equality".

In September 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations formally adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development, of which Goal 5 is to achieve gender equality and safeguard the rights of all women and girls, and Goal 13 is to take urgent action to address climate change and its impacts.The first Gender Action Plan (GAP) was adopted in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at the 23rd Conference of Parties in 2017, to support Gender Action Plan for gender-responsive climate action, which integrates gender equality and the promotion of women's rights and capabilities into climate change discussions and actions. The process of advancing and integrating climate change and gender equality is undoubtedly long, difficult and undulating, so we need to unite all the forces we can, so that more people will recognize and understand the two topics of climate change and gender equality, and personally participate in the process, contributing their own share to the sustainable development of society.