2020: ACTAsia’s year in review

Here’s a reminder of what we achieved with the help of our valuable supporters.

January: Best charity figure

In a flying start to the year, CEO Pei Su was awarded an accolade for Caring for Life Education. “To stand on the stage at the 9th China Charity Festival alongside such influential individuals is an honour for us,” said Pei Su. It’s a great achievement that our work is recognised in China. Read more.

February: Ground zero

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across China and lockdown tightened, we were the first NGO to tell the world about the loophole in the ban of wildlife consumption in China. We joined 200 organisations in petitioning lawmakers at the Nation People’s Congress to ban the use of wildlife for all purposes, including fur. Our petition gained nearly 50,000 signatures.

March: Media exposure

We published a Q&A on COVID-19, and raised awareness of the immense scale of intensively farmed wild animals in China through global social media. Journalists approached us for the truth, including the BBC and New York Times. As podcast interviews and webinars became the ‘new-normal’, our CEO was in demand.

 

 

April: COVID-19 think-tank webinars

We hosted a series of Five think-tank webinars, broadcast through iCARE in collaboration with One Health, bringing a unique Chinese perspective to a global challenge. Leading professionals in epidemiology, medical science, biology, zoology and education examined the risks of commercial wildlife farming.

May: Pioneer schools teach CFL

We strengthened our network of pioneer schools, to focus on developing a quality model for wider use through China’s education system. Inquiry-led learning, culture shifts, responsible behaviour such as recycling, gardening and anti-bullying are key messages in CFL. Our pioneer school in Guangzhou held a poster competition: Say no to wildlife consumption. Another school introduced Empathy Day, when children and parents swapped roles for the day.

June: Animal welfare for vets

Following a successful webinar with our network of vets to refresh WSAVA’s Pain Recognition and Assessment Guidelines, we launched a new series of monthly online animal welfare training over lockdown. Veterinary CPD: Improving animal welfare focuses on treating the most common issues that vets face, including trauma and dog bites, chronic kidney disease in cats and end of life care for all pets. 

July: CFL accredited for uni-students

Two years in the making, it was a proud moment when July marked the recognition of our Caring for Life course as an official component of teacher training at Suzhou University of Science and Technology (SUST). We also added two new enrichment lesson plans to CFL for children, highlighting UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the significance of biodiversity and environmental protection in the wake of COVID-19.

August: Children reach for SDGs

Caring for Life tackled environmental awareness, interconnectedness, global citizenship and road safety among classes of truckers’ children in China. Striking a chord with the UN’s SDGs, the summer camp was welcomed in Jiangxi Province where a population of 44 million urgently need to find alternatives to environmentally damaging behaviours.

 

September: Stella McCartney endorses us!

Stella McCartney spoke out about our pivotal fashion forum: Sustainability begins with fur free, held in Shanghai at Fashion Zoo expo. On an unprecedented fur-free opening day for exhibitors and guests, we addressed a live audience of 500 and reached out to an additional 24,000 online. McCartney opened the evening celebrations with a catwalk show, and a total of 15 voices for fur-free fashion also spoke out for compassion in fashion.

October: A fur-free future for fashion

We launched a pilot for fashion institutes in China – our bespoke curriculum for students – in partnership with London College of Fashion (LCF). It teaches the need for compassionate fashion, by reducing consumption of natural materials to a sustainable rate, using cruelty-free alternatives to real fur, limiting waste created by fast fashion and promoting sustainable supply chains. You can hear what co-author John Lau, an Associate Dean at LCF has to say.

November: Future without pandemics

We joined forces with the End Pandemics alliance, supported by 128 experts backing the One Health concept. Together, we challenged China’s top law-making body with a case against breeding and farming wild animalsfor any purpose. We continue to work through education to increase understanding of the risks around farming wild animals, and reduce demand for wild animal products.

December: Giving Tuesday

On Giving Tuesday, our supporters did us proud! We tripled the target of our first big international fundraiser, taking our message to a wider audience. At the end of a very difficult year, when nearly all charities and their causes suffered huge losses, we were grateful for all the support so generously given, which helped us just about keep our heads above water.

ACTAsia in numbers 2020

Children’s education

Taught 7,000 children in person and reached 100,000 children in total.
Brought CFL Education to our 69th school.

Consumer education

Reached nearly 40 million people through our Fur Free Fashion Festival and 800 people came in person.
Reached nearly 3.5 million people through social media with our fur-free message.

Professional education

Certified another 7 veterinary trainers to a total of 24.
Trainers trained another 150 vets to a total of 1,600.
134 vets took part in CPD workshops.

Your support makes all the difference

None of our achievements would be possible without you. Thank you to everyone who supported us in 2020, your generosity enabled us to reach thousands of children, millions of consumers and professionals to share the message of respect for all species.

Our goal in 2021 is to inspire significantly greater numbers of people to show compassion towards people, animals and our world.

Please help us to continue our vital work for a kinder world.