Daniel Xu
 

U. S.
 

Editor of the English Department of China Internet News Center

 

Hello everyone. My name is Daniel Xu, and I work as a news editor at China.org.cn. First I’d like to thank [the organizers] for the wonderful tour of Xizhang this past week. Xizhang has long been a bucket-list item for me, and it was such a great experience to finally visit this beautiful, mythical place, experience the wonderful culture, and learn about the important issues about protecting the environment of the Qinghai-Xizhang Plateau.

 

As much as I loved this past week, however, I have to come clean on something: I’m not an outdoors person. I think it’s because I’ve always lived in a city, and especially when I was younger and hadn’t visited many places besides my own neighborhoods, environmental issues were vague concepts I’d hear about from the news. I didn’t have any ideas about how I or people around me fit in on those issues, how we were effected, or how to help solve problems.

 

I’d reckon it’s a bit better for today’s young people, the ones we call Generation Z, who have a lot more information at their fingertips thanks to all the digital technologies they have access to. But is it enough to see nature and the environment from behind a screen, to get taught all the sustainability buzzwords like climate change, renewable energy, carbon footprint in schools, and to get introduced to environmental problems by the news from all the different media platforms they have… is that enough for them to actually get involved? To really even know how? From my personal experience, especially after this past week, I’d have to say no.

 

Therefore, I think one of the most important topics when discussing Gen Z’s responsibilities and practices in promoting ecological protection and sustainable development is how to engage with them on all the issues on a more personal level. In my opinion, the best way of course is for everyone to visit the places like I just did, see for themselves the beautiful sights and important resources that they must protect, and learn firsthand how to contribute.

 

Obviously that is impractical, so as a journalist my job is to share information and help to call young people to action and take part in this monumental effort to protect the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau. And in order to do that, I’m here at this forum to learn from all the knowledgeable experts about my audience. What are the characteristics of China’s generation Z? What motivates them to act on social and environmental issues? What tools do they have at their disposal? And in what ways can they most effectively contribute? I look forward to discussing with everyone and exchanging ideas.