China Philanthropy News
July 28, 2006
Issue 006

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China Philanthropy News is produced by Grantmaker Without Borders (Gw/oB) as a service to grantmakers and donors interested in philanthropic engagement with China. For more information on Grantmakers Without Borders, visit www.gwob.net. To suggest a posting or to subscribe or unsubscribe to China Philanthropy News, send an email to john@gwob.net.

CONTENTS

NEWS
1) Beijing Starts "Green Commuter" Campaign, Aiming for Blue Skies
2) China's Workers at Greater Risk of Illness and Injury on the Job
3) Court Orders a Newspaper to Compensate for AIDS Orphan Report
4) Chinese Women Win International Prize for Renewable Energy Scheme

RESOURCES
5) Study: The Impact of China on Sub-Saharan Africa
6) Opinion: Cultivating Environmental NGO-Business Partnerships

AT GWOB
Gw/oB Launches Search for an Advocacy Coordinator

NEWS

1) Beijing Starts "Green Commuter" Campaign, Aiming for Blue Skies
In a bid to make the sky above Beijing cleaner, approximately 30 companies in Beijing, including oil giants BP and Shell, committed to encouraging their employees to be "green commuters" by using public transport rather than driving their own cars to get to work. The campaign, part of the Green Olympics efforts, was organized by the US-based NGO Environmental Defense and its Chinese partners. The organizers stress the importance of individual actions in protecting the city's environment. Statistics show that vehicle emissions are the biggest drag on Beijing's air quality. However, the campaign faces immense challenges as the city's number of cars continues to increase by 10 per cent each year. Reported by China Daily, full story available at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2006-06/02/content_606599.htm

2) China's Workers at Greater Risk of Illness and Injury on the Job
Occupational illnesses and injuries are said to cost China 100 billion Yuan (12.5 billion U.S. dollars) in direct losses every year, and the indirect costs could double the figure to 25 billion U.S. dollars. Senior health officials have called for stricter health and safety measures, as the incidence of occupational diseases had become a serious public health issue affecting social stability. By the end of 2005, China recorded 665,043 cases of occupational illness, including 606,891 cases of pneumoconiosis, a chronic disease of the lungs resulting from long-term inhalation of dust and primarily affecting miners, sandblasters and metal grinders. More than 30 industries are involved in occupational disease control. However, many enterprises, especially small and medium-sized firms, have few or no measures to protect workers' health. Employees in low-profit and township enterprises have no access to occupational healthcare, and rural workers in urban cities face high risks of occupational illness due to their high mobility. Reported by Xinhua, full story available at http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/17/eng20060717_283787.html

3) Court Orders a Newspaper to Compensate for AIDS Orphan Report
Beijing's Chaoyang District Court ordered compensation and an apology for a girl orphaned by AIDS after China Times, a local newspaper, reported her story without permission. The newspaper was ordered to pay the 19-year-old girl 20,000 Yuan (US$2,500) and publish an apology for violating her privacy in a report published last December. The girl, surnamed Gao, from the central province of Henan, lost her parents after they contracted AIDS by selling blood. In a report marking World AIDS Day, the newspaper told of the abuses Gao suffered after her parents' deaths and printed a photo of her without obtaining her permission. The report enraged AIDS activists close to Gao and stirred a dispute over the boundary between media rights and privacy. Report by China Daily. Full story available at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-07/17/content_642831.htm

4) Chinese Women Win International Prize for Renewable Energy Scheme
The Shaanxi Mothers Environmental Protection Volunteers Association, a non-profit non-governmental organization, won second prize at the 2006 Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy for its efforts to promote the use of methane in rural areas. In 1999, the organization started a program under which rural women were taught how to raise pigs, then use pig dung to produce methane and use the byproducts as fertilizer for fruit trees. By switching to methane, each household can save annually at least 1,500 kilograms of firewood formerly used in cooking. Over the years, the program has trained 8,015 women in 105 villages, of whom 1,294 have established methane-generating facilities in their homes. Report by Xinhua, full story available at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-07/11/content_638889.htm.

RESOURCES

5) Study: The Impact of China on Sub-Saharan Africa
Kaplinsky, R.; McCormick, D.; Morris, M. / Asian Drivers Programme, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), 2006
This article explores the impact of the increase of Chinese trade with Sub Saharan Africa. The article provides a possible framework for assessing the impact of China's growing influence in Africa. It also presents policy challenges posed by this growth of Chinese presence in Sub Saharan Africa Full-text article available at http://www.ids.ac.uk/ids/global/AsianDriverpdfs/DFIDAgendaPaper06.pdf

6) Opinion: Cultivating Environmental NGO-Business Partnerships
Although the idea of NGO-business partnership is quite common in the west, it is still a nascent phenomenon in China. This article analyzes the potential benefits of a stronger NGO-business partnership in China, particularly with regard to environmental groups. It gives examples of successful collaborations between NGO and corporate communities in China and argues that continued international partnerships with Chinese NGOs and training of environmental activists could play an important role in strengthening the capacity of Chinese green groups to shape a stronger environmental corporate culture in China. Full text article and relevant links available at http://www.chinabusinessreview.com/public/0311/04.html

AT GW/OB

7) Gw/oB Launches Search for an Advocacy Coordinator

International grantmaking post-9/11 has become increasingly challenging. The US Federal Government, as part of the so-called "war on terror", has set up daunting and often capricious barriers for global philanthropic engagement, engendering fear and confusion among US grantmakers.

Grantmakers Without Borders has been engaged in these issues for several years now, but a recent grant from a committed Gw/oB member will now allow us to ramp up our work in this arena. Gw/oB has recently launched the search for a new staff person, the Advocacy Coordinator. As a part-time staff person based in the Washington, DC area, the Advocacy Coordinator will coordinate activities related to the legal and regulatory framework for international grantmaking, with particular focus on the US Treasury Department's Voluntary Best Practices for US-Based Charities, Executive Order 13224, and the USA PATRIOT Act.

Among the responsibilities of the Advocacy Coordinator will be:

• Coordinating policy, legislative and organizing strategies
• Building relationships with policymakers and collaborative partners
• Developing education and outreach materials such as fact sheets, case studies, advocacy alerts, and media briefings
• Coordinating educational activities on legal and regulatory issues geared towards lawyers, philanthropic advisors and financial advisors
• Keeping Gw/oB members informed of and engaged in relevant legal and regulatory issues.

Applications have already begun to stream in, and Gw/oB hopes to have this position filled by early September.

ABOUT GRANTMAKERS WITHOUT BORDERS

Grantmakers Without Borders is a philanthropic network dedicated to increasing funding for international social justice and environmental sustainability. Our members, presently numbering more than 400 individuals, include trustees and staff of private and public foundations, individual donors, and other allies in philanthropy. Grantmakers Without Borders taps into this wealth of resources to encourage globally minded grantmaking and provide learning opportunities for global donors. For those new to the field, we provide peer-to-peer guidance on international grantmaking. For current international funders, we offer a space for continued learning and community. In all our efforts, Grantmakers Without Borders is committed to the ideals of justice, equity, peace, democracy, and respect for the environment. We value and respect the wisdom and experience of local communities in all their diversity, and we are dedicated to amplifying the voice of the global South in international philanthropy. Founded in 2000, Grantmakers Without Borders is a project of the Tides Center.

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