Annual Review – ACTAsia in 2024

First Quarter:

• ACTAsia’s CEO, Pei, won an award for the Annual Public Welfare Personality at the 13th Philanthropy Festival, in Beijing for the second time! Pei shared the honour with Lang Lang the renowned pianist. Pei was thrilled that this award recognises ACTAsia’s education work for children, consumers and professionals alongside the many other awards that we have received since 2006. 

• ACTAsia’s Compassion in Fashion course is increasingly relevant for institutions and students as wearing fur hit the global news. In New York a woman was kicked out of a bar for wearing vintage fur and the debate over the use of real fur in bearskins in the UK was also making headlines. Such news highlights how fashion designers, brands and businesses can make more compassionate choices to promote fur free, sustainable fashion. 

• This quarter saw ‘Climate change’ being revealed as the ‘Children’s word of the year’. ACTAsia’s Caring for Life education for children encourages children to understand the human impact on the planet and care for our vital resources. Modules within the CFL curriculum are dedicated to climate change and how the next generation can make positive societal change. 

• ACTAsia supported over 100 volunteers in a Chongqing shopping mall, China, to handcraft sleeping mats for homeless animals to use in the harsh winter. The mats are donated to the Yuhua Animal Protection Base providing comfort and warmth for strays and homeless animals out in the cold. Engaging volunteers in our work helps spread our message of compassion for all living things.  

Third Quarter:

• Pei’s book The Life of Pei – the Battle for Compassion was launched! “I set up ACTAsia from nothing. It was simply my life experiences combined with a vision for a more compassionate world that has driven me to create a charity that is now recognised and endorsed by the United Nations”. As part of the launch Pei met Zoe Weil the Humane Education pioneer. The book was published by Lantern Publishing & Media and initially launched in the USA. Pei hosted a virtual book launch and a book signing in London. The book is available on Amazon and major book sale sites worldwide. Pei was also interviewed by ‘For Animals For Earth’ media and talked about her new book and the work that ACTAsia does in advocacy and education. Pei’s book is not only educating others but it is also helping others who are maybe searching for direction in their life.
   
• ACTAsia continues to participate in various United Nations events and attended the UN’s High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York to present our Caring for Life Education programme. ACTAsia’s links with the UN demonstrate the capacity we have to really make an impact with our educational reach. 

• The ACTAsia team visited Xi’an City, China to assess vets who’ve been learning about sentience, animal welfare, pain management & zoonosis. Vets were working towards the goal of becoming trainers for ACTAsia. Pei also attended the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) congress in Suzhou. ACTAsia and Vets For Change Trainers came together from across China to celebrate 15 years of veterinary training. ACTAsia is proud to be the official education partner of WSAVA in China. ACTAsia’s outreach to local veterinarians has a huge impact in helping improve animal welfare and combating zoonotic diseases such as rabies. 

• ACTAsia welcomed a new Pioneer School in Yiwu and 5 new pilot schools! These schools are all from rural areas where teaching resources are more limited and a greater number of children are from a disadvantaged background. The schools teach our Caring for Life (CFL) course throughout the academic year and join our growing educational family. ACTAsia’s CFL curriculum is helping children to develop a sense of compassion, responsibility and empathy towards people, animals and the environment. The results also overflow into the local community with a marked increase in prosocial behaviour.

The Pioneer network serves as a model for the government and decision makers to see the positive  results within students and schools so that the CFL curriculum can be adopted or integrated into the national curriculum. 

• This year marked ACTAsia’s third annual Plant Forward campaign in Asia and we are thrilled that our vision for a plant-based revolution in Asian countries is growing in popularity every year. This year’s numbers demonstrated the fantastic growth of the Plant Forward campaign.

Run in conjunction with our Compassionate Choices Network partners, Plant Forward is the only regional campaign of its kind. Every year member countries organise a wide variety of online and offline events to encourage consumers to explore the benefits of a plant-based diet, sustainable fashion and eco-friendly, cruelty-free living.