Earlier this month, Tim Wu and I had the opportunity to do some strategic planning for a family foundation in Hong Kong (!). It was my first time traveling to HK and I was excited to see a city where my father spent some of his childhood. Additionally, HK underwent a huge change when the territory reverted back to Chinese control and has been part of China's huge economic growth.

Naturally, anytime an economy expands that quickly and creates so much new wealth, two phenomenons also emerge: 1. the rise of a middle class and upper-middle class where discretionary income becomes a reality and 2. the need for a "third" sector or nonprofit sector grows. Since China has grown so fast, everyone, including private and public entities, are scrambling to adjust fast enough. In the example of this family foundation, a significant portion of their resources (financial and otherwise) are derived from their apparel manufacturing company. The foundation was initially created because of the lack of resources in the communities where their workers lived - there was a focus on building schools and providing basic infrastructure improvements in extremely rural parts of China.

Fast forward a few years and while they are still investing in basic infrastructure, some of their programs now include what they call, "non-academic learning". As readers may know, the academic system in Asia has long emphasized very structured and disciplined learning and testing. As an addition to a student's typical coursework, these programs encourage collaborative learning and the introduction that learning can be fun (what a concept!).

The staff members were particularly interested in ZeroDivide's investment in youth media organizations. Over the past 10+ years, many nonprofits in the U.S. have led the development of the youth media field, especially in underserved communities. Technology provided a way to engage students and build in useful skills like project management, leadership, and media literacy. Now, both the product and process of youth media are providing our youth with a competitive edge in today's media-rich environment. Whereas the basics were reading, writing, and arithmetic, there's now an emerging understanding that the ability to think critically about media that comes from many different sources is equally important. The fluidity of media and technology doesn't always fit into the rigid confines of traditional learning. From a civic engagement standpoint, youth media can also have powerful ramifications - in China, where media is still highly influenced by the government, critical thinking skills are huge! (Yes, I realized that one could make the same statement in America)

I left HK thinking that the Chinese economy will continue to morph at a breakneck speed and the importance of nonprofits will continue to grow. In my opinion, U.S. nonprofits still lead the field in the development of youth media curriculum. Over the next few years, there will be even more opportunity for foundations to look into youth media as a way to invest in education abroad and more importantly, a way to invest in healthier societies.