As Inspiring Asia continues to deepen its regional network across Asia, Li Foundation visited Harmony Community Foundation in Guangzhou for an in-depth exchange on community-based philanthropy, grassroots nonprofit development, and future collaboration for Inspiring Asia in China.
Representing the Inspiring Asia Committee, Dr. Ada Zhang and Candy Goh visited Harmony Foundation’s main base in Guangzhou, as well as community projects supported by the Foundation. The visit offered a closer look at how Harmony Foundation works with local actors who respond directly to the needs and realities of their communities.
Harmony Community Foundation is one of Inspiring Asia’s key regional partners in China. Based in the Pearl River Delta, the Foundation is “Committed to support emerging community-based nonprofit organisations and individuals.” Its work focuses on identifying and nurturing local changemakers, strengthening grassroots capacity, and enabling community-led responses to social needs.
During the visit, Ms Li Miaoting, Secretary-General of Harmony Community Foundation, introduced the Foundation’s history, key areas of focus, and representative projects. Her sharing highlighted Harmony Foundation’s continued efforts to strengthen community participation, support local nonprofit capacity, and foster a more vibrant and resilient community philanthropy ecosystem.
The Inspiring Asia team also visited Guangzhou Philanthropy Academy (also known as the Chinese School of Philanthropy @ Guangzhou), an initiative supported by Harmony Foundation. Established in June 2014, it is China’s first academy dedicated to philanthropy education and cultural research. It focuses on philanthropy talent development, foundational research, and the promotion of philanthropic culture, contributing to the long-term professionalisation and development of China’s social sector.
The visit marked the first face-to-face meeting between the Inspiring Asia team and Harmony Foundation. Both sides exchanged views on the development of Inspiring Asia in China, including how meaningful stories from grassroots communities can be discovered and shared with a wider regional audience.
The partnership is also strengthened through shared regional networks. Alice Liu, Co-founder and Chairperson of Harmony Community Foundation, is also a member of Asia Philanthropy Circle, creating an important bridge between community-based action in China and broader philanthropic collaboration across Asia.
For Li Foundation, the visit reaffirmed the importance of trusted local partnerships in building a meaningful regional platform for impact storytelling. Inspiring Asia is not only about presenting stories, but also about understanding the people, organisations, and communities behind them. Through partners such as Harmony Community Foundation, Inspiring Asia is better positioned to discover grounded stories emerging from local communities.
Li Foundation looks forward to seeing outstanding films and community projects emerge from China this year through Inspiring Asia, bringing more meaningful stories from China’s vibrant social impact landscape to the regional stage.
The book showcases how the participants challenged their limits and conquered the World Marathon Challenge and North Pole Marathon to inspire people to challenge their own limits and pursue their dreams boldly.
The book tells the stories behind the event which saw the largest number of people in history running 1045km round Taiwan in 19 days.