YAPM is an exciting new international volunteer organization led by students from China and the US that is focused on minority culture preservation in rural China. YAPM is a subsidiary of TECC, allowing it to leverage the more established resources, contacts, and volunteer pool available to TECC. Though affiliated with TECC, YAPM distinguishes itself from existing projects with its focus on minority cultures. YAPM recently received seed funding from the Goldman Sachs Foundation.

Project Overview

Uniting education and technology in an innovative program, YAPM aims to promote greater awareness and understanding of China’s national minorities by empowering local minority youth. YAPM believes that the key to preserve the disappearing Chinese national minorities’ culture is to evoke self-awareness and a sense of responsibility among ethnic minority youth because they are the only ones who can keep their culture alive for future generations. The YAPM project will empower local youth to become global ambassadors of their unique traditions through a 10-day summer institute and subsequent online forum. With access to technology for the local youth and through the collaborative efforts of students from top universities in both China and the United States, YAPM hopes to promote the importance of cultural diversity preservation on an international scale. The project also intends to raise local governments’ attention concerning the necessity of incorporating ethnic culture into local school curricula by campaigning for an ethnic culture course in the schools. With its bottom-up rather than top-down approach, YAPM’s potential lies in utilizing local initiative and resources rather than relying on outside parties to be effective. The localized structure can be mirrored in other minority regions, giving YAPM the potential to spread to broader areas without diluting the power of its program in any particular locale.

• Read the full project description and results here

Dong Shu Xi Song Book Drive (2004-present) ›

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