CANGO Visionary Education Program

Our Mission:

To foster Chinese and international civil society collaboration for sustainable global development. 

History & Leadership:

China Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO) is a non-profit, membership social organization operating nationwide. CANGO was founded with the approval of the former Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade (today the Ministry of Commerce) in 1992 and registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 1994. Since its establishment, CANGO has actively participated in cooperation with international and domestic NGOs and maintained sound partnerships with bilateral and multilateral organizations. 

By the end of 2021, CANGO had 125 domestic members and had developed project cooperation with 198 foreign NGOs. CANGO’s projects cover areas such as rural and community development, gender equality, climate change and environmental protection, hygiene and health, CSO development and support, civil society research and advocacy, benefiting up to 9.66 million people. 

Awards and Recognition:

In 2007, CANGO won the Best NGO Award of the 4th China’s Best Corporate Citizenship Award. 

After the outbreak of the earthquake in Wenchuan on May 12th, 2008, CANGO established an emergency response team to actively carry out disaster relief work and won the honorary certificate issued by the Ministry of Commerce. 

In 2010, CANGO was honored with the title of National Advanced Social Organization by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. 

In 2016 and 2022, CANGO was rated as a Grade 4A national public welfare association in the China Social Organization Evaluation organized by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. 

Current Needs:

The revitalization of rural areas ultimately depends on talent, and the cultivation of talent depends on education. The target groups of this project are all primary and secondary school principals and students from underdeveloped regions in China, most of whom come from remote rural areas in China. Generally, some rural areas suffer from the harsh ecological environment and have deficient natural resources and limited transportation. Their regressive economy hinders the exchange and cooperation between rural areas and other regions, making rural education closed and undeveloped. There is a lack of communication between rural schools and talents and a narrow channel for information sharing. This impedes the absorption of multi-cultural topics and negatively impacts school education philosophy, teaching methods, and rural students’ horizons. 

Our Solution:

This program plans to carry out 3 main activities: 

1. “Global Leadership Fellowship for Headmasters in Mountainous Regions”: this project will annually recruit 18 outstanding rural principals through online channels across the country and provide them with training on personal leadership and global vision to help them broaden their horizons and drive the development of the school’s educational methods and concepts.
2. It plans to hold an International Leadership Forum for China’s Rural Educators to provide a platform for them to exchange ideas with overseas educational experts, encourage them to express their education visions and explore more possibilities of rural education in China.
3. This program will also annually recruit a rural school nationwide and organize college student volunteers and social volunteers to carry out an educational camp for the local students, delivering art inspiration, STEM education courses, and so on, to help them increase their knowledge and cultivate their ability to actively think and solve practical problems. 

Our Progress:

Visionary Education Program was launched in 2008, over nearly 15 years, 219 outstanding rural school principals from 22 provinces, such as Qinghai, Anhui, Henan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Heilongjiang, Hunan, etc., received training on leadership and international vision, indirectly benefiting tens of thousands of students. Over 100 international and Chinese scholars and specialists have delivered professional lessons to these principals. In the meantime, the educational camps were also delivered to over 10 rural schools, benefiting approximately 2000 rural students directly. 

Your Impact:

With the support of the donations, there will be more rural principals in China to broaden their vision and become more effective in their work through receiving leadership training. Also, more rural students will be able to join educational camps to improve their learning and thinking abilities. 

Donation Services and Outcomes:

• $8,000 will support 10 rural principals to participate in the International Leadership Forum for China’s Rural Educators. 
• $12,000 will support 300 students to join educational camps and receive inspired courses. 
• $18,000 will support leadership training for 18 rural principals. 

Success Stories:

Rural principals joined the leadership training.

The team building activity for the project volunteers.