Internships

Chenyu Zheng ’12

I interned in Beijing first as a Communications intern at Environmental Education Media Project for China (EEMP) for three weeks. But due to the organization’s obligation to go to Mongolia for a World Bank film on energy sector, I got transferred to work as the Director of TEDxPedition, a countrywide expedition(Sept. 4th to 20th) with multiple regional conferences under the official license of TED). While at Earth’s Hope, my responsibilities included researching and writing letters to potential sponsors for a new film Earth’s Hope, compiling film distributor list, publicizing EEMP documentaries in Ghana, preparing for EEMP’s North Korea trip to promote sustainable building as well as translating sponsor letters and key documents into Chinese.

These tasks have given me a good scope into a start-up NGO and allowed me to  better understand the urgency and challenges in communicating sustainability in China and around the World. In the later phase of my internship, I assisted Leon Chen of Oxford to organize TEDxPedition in China, including four conferences in Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu and Beijing. This green expedition involves visits to sustainable initiatives and case studies around China, such as the Loess Plateau Rehabilitation Project(also the main work of EEMP) and green business giant, Broad Airconditioning in Changsha. Our expedition goes across 9 provinces and extends over 2000 miles.

In addition, the conferences focus on climate change, sustainability and social entrepreneurship. In Beijing, our conference themed around climate change: its challenges, solutions and opportunities. We engaged speakers such as Maurice Strong, former UN vice secretary and founder of UNEP and attracted participants from top universities in China and abroad. Organizing this event has showed a different yet effective way to communicate sustainability and to engage young minds to discuss and care about environmental problems.