C100 Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Leadership Scholarship Program 百人會英才獎 in Shanghai

On October 20, 2015, the Committee of 100 celebrated the 10th Anniversary of its Leadership Scholarship Program (百人會英才獎), recognizing next generation leaders for their potential as global citizens and service to the community. Celebration activities were led and sponsored by LSP Committee Co-Chairs Carter Tseng, Richard Lee, Dazong Wang and Howard Li. The full day affair included an awards ceremony recognizing twenty-eight LSP scholars; break-out and mentoring sessions involving LSP co-chairs and other distinguished C-100 members Herman Li, Gareth Chang, Edmond Pi, and Linda Tsao Yang speaking on entrepreneurship and innovation as well as US-China relations; and a gala dinner at the Shanghai Ruijin Intercontinental Hotel. He Yafei, Vice Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and Former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and C-100 co-founders Shirley Young and Oscar Tang delivered the gala keynote addresses.

2015 LSP Awardees and C-100 Members

LEADERSHIP SCHOLARS AWARDS CEREMONY

The day kicked off with the LSP Awards Ceremony, with nearly 70 LSP alumni and awardees in attendance. Each 2015 scholarship recipient presented a video introduction and several awardees also ran for Class President for the class of 2015, allowing all participants and C-100 members a chance to vote on select individuals.

C-100 MEMBER BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Later in the afternoon, C-100 Acting Chair Herman Li and members Gareth Chang, Richard Lee, Howard Li, Edmond Pi, Linda Tsao Yang, Carter Tseng, and Dazong Wang led two break out sessions, covering the topics of US-China relations, and global innovation and entrepreneurship.

C-100 MEMBER MENTORING SESSIONS & BRAINSTORM

C-100 members also participated in a mentoring session, a signature feature of the Leadership Scholarship Program, with each member paired with a group of ten young leaders.

Subsequently, the “Godfather of LSP” Carter Tseng led a brainstorming session on the future plans for the LSP community. During the brainstorm, an executive committee consisting of LSP alumni was elected to help strengthen the alumni network and shape the future of the program.

Finally, C-100 hosted a cocktail reception & gala dinner in celebration of the 10th anniversary of LSP, emcee’d by a 2015 LSP awardee from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Ms. Liang Qingxue.

LSP 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY GALA DINNER

The gala dinner featured keynote remarks by He Yafei, Vice Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and Former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, thanking C-100 for its important efforts to strengthen relations between the United States and China and investing in next generation leaders and encouraging them to become global citizens.

C-100 cofounders Shirley Young and Oscar Tang also gave keynote speeches sharing their personal journeys and lessons learned after nearly eight decades of travels between the United States and China. Shirley opined the theme of “making a difference in the world” and Oscar Tang discussed his own motivations as a philanthropist and the sense of abundance that only giving back to society has given to his own life. Both speakers lamented the amazing opportunities that lied ahead for the future of young Chinese leaders.

The evening also featured inspiring musical performances by several next-generation Chinese artists arranged by Shirley Young. They included prodigy pianist Pengpeng Gong, and opera stars Huang Ying (soprano) and Wang Yunpeng (baritone). The night ended in high spirits with a lively dance performance by children of the “Dancing into the Future – I can too” program from Minhang District in Shanghai.

ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

The Committee of 100’s Leadership Scholarship Program (LSP) was launched in 2005 in partnership with over ten prominent Chinese universities to recognize and foster the global leadership potential of Chinese graduate students. Through a rigorous and competitive process, scholarship awardees are Chinese graduate students, selected based on dedication to social responsibility, academic distinction and community leadership. Partnering universities include Fudan University, Jilin University, Nanjing University, Nankai University, Peking University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Sichuan University, Sun Yat-Sen University, Tianjin University, Tsinghua University, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, University of Science and Technology of China, Wuhan University, and Zhejiang University. Since its inception, the program has recognized nearly 300 students for their outstanding achievements.