Innovation and Initiation
CT: How can the public be encouraged to take part in charitable works?
Liu: Based on social requirements, public interest organizations should constantly innovate in their calls for greater public participation by launching new projects. If the mechanisms in place fail to mobilize sufficient social forces, new mechanisms, new methods and new channels should be formulated in efforts to establish a platform for social organizations.
In recent years, NGOs have explored ways of involving more people in promoting public welfare, a mindset evident in “Public Advocacy.” Rather than sending money and goods to the poor, Public Advocacy commits to popularizing the concept of public welfare through public fundraising activities, such as the global ice bucket challenge.
A tutor demonstrates online selling skills to villagers from Matou Town in Shandong Province.
Regarding innovative development, the CFPA has also looked into ways of encouraging more people to become involved in public welfare. They include using mobile Internet to set up online donation platforms via WeChat and Alipay, effective new methods, such as charity walks and 24-hour fasts, and drawing on the experience of popular charity models to create forms of poverty alleviation that resonate with the public.
CT: Might some of the public welfare activities you mention, such as the ice bucket challenge and 24-hour fasts, be perceived as superficial, or simply publicity stunts?
Liu: Self-experience can lighten a heavy topic and bring it closer to home. China has a huge number of registered volunteers and voluntary organizations. Judging from previous public welfare advocacy projects, people are becoming more aware of and receptive to charity. This implies the huge potential of public welfare projects. In the past it was traditionally assumed that only celebrities were capable of successful charitable activities. But the advent of Public Advocacy has made it accessible to people from all walks of life.