Friday, 26 January 2007Applications begin for second YLP project in ChinaYoung Leaders Programme, Pingzhang project, China
The villagers of a poor rural community in far-western China are poised to take the first steps in taking control of their own future – and they will be doing so with the help of business executives taking part in a unique leadership training programme, the Young Leaders Programme (YLP).
A Pingzhang farmer and his daughter outside their home. Photo: Gideon SoThe villagers of Pingzhang Administrative Village in Yunnan province’s Baoshan prefecture are to be the focus of the programme scheduled in June. The Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT), which designs and runs the YLP, is now accepting applications from businesses to take part in this June programme.
GIFT is a Hong Kong-based organisation that explores ways of understanding and addresses critical leadership needs in Asia that are a consequence of globalisation. One of the aims of the YLP is to help people who want to help themselves to take hold of their own future and retain dignity – and at the same time recognising the importance of ecological balance and self-sufficiency.
The China programme is to be the third such project in a continuing series of executive and leadership training programmes that aims to change the way business executives think by giving them a life-changing experience.
The programme operates on a two-module basis. The first takes business executives who are among the leaders of the future through a rigorous academic MBA-style classroom component. Module 1 familiarises participants with topics of globalisation, civil society, the role of government, business ethics, diversity and corporate social responsibility through debate and discussion.
The second module takes participants to an on-site project to work with a local community to develop a business-based plan for sustainable growth and self-sufficiency. In June, Young Leaders will spend ten days with Pingzhang villagers – their life-changing experience.
No charity
An important aspect of the YLP is that it does not involve charity. A community may, however, need a financial investment to “kick-start” its road to self-reliance. Participating companies may choose to develop a long-term relationship with Pingzhang, either by providing investment money that may be needed for aspects of the business plan, or through other avenues.Many of Pingzhang’s 1500 or so villagers are of the Yi ethnic minority. The village is amongst one of the poorest in Yunnan with limited income sources: farming, animal husbandry, and forestry. The villagers’ main farm products are medicinal plants, vegetables, edible and industrial oils, dried and fresh fruits, spices, livestock feed and some animal fibres.
Young Leaders will be working with and learning from the villagers about values, customs, needs, and concerns about wanting to become more self-sufficient and prosperous. They will have the help and support of local NGOs – the Center for Mountain Ecosystems Studies, which is an applied research and development institution managed jointly by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the Kunming Institute for Botany, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
For an application form and more information on the Pingzhang project and the YLP in general, click on the links in the right-hand navigational bar.
The Pingzhang YLP project runs in June 2007
Center for Mountain Ecosystems Studies
URL:
