2019-20 Social Impact Award

Qing Gu is the Programme Officer at Ford Foundation. She is responsible for connecting with Chinese foundations and philanthropy Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), exploring opportunities for mutual learning and cooperation. 

Qing studied in the UK as a Chevening Scholar. While receiving education there, she served at the Centre for Criminology at Oxford University’s Faculty of Law. Qing hopes that her experiences in study and work will inspire the younger generation to express themselves courageously.

Weiwei Kou works for Ant Financial Services Group, as Director of Enterprise Development. She is responsible for managing the enterprises invested in by Ant Financial. In January 2018, Ant Financial completed a strategic investment in Tianjin Climate Exchange (TCX). In April of the same year, Weiwei was appointed CEO to TCX.

Her experience in the UK considerably improved Weiwei’s knowledge in the global sustainable development sector and helped her to become a leader in this field. 

Jin Zhang  started her career in finance in Hong Kong. In 2012, she left a well-paid job and returned to her hometown, Sanmen, Taizhou, where she set up Youwei Library, the first privately funded non-profit library in Zhejiang Province. 

Studying in the UK exposed Jin to social entrepreneurship and she learnt much through on-site visits to community libraries in the UK, which together laid a solid foundation for the establishment of Youwei Library.