Institute of Philanthropy exclusively sponsors “Palace Museum Dreamscapes” Charity Summer Camp 2025 to promote understanding of Chinese culture among students

A launch ceremony for the “Palace Museum Dreamscapes” Charity Summer Camp 2025 was held at the Palace Museum in Beijing today (5 August). It marks the start of a five-day cultural exchange programme for primary and secondary school students from underprivileged schools in Hong Kong and the Mainland. The programme is designed to deepen students’ understanding of traditional Chinese culture as epitomised by the Forbidden City, strengthening social ties and promoting appreciation of Chinese culture more broadly. As in 2024, this year’s camp is sponsored exclusively by the Institute of Philanthropy (IoP) and jointly organised by the Palace Museum and The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation. The Hong Kong Palace Museum collaborated as co-organiser supporting the recruitment of Hong Kong students for the programme.

Attending the launch ceremony of the “Palace Museum Dreamscapes” Charity Summer Camp 2025 were Wang Xudong, Member, Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the Palace Museum (back row, 4th right); Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (back row, 2nd right); Lou Wei, Executive Deputy Director of the Palace Museum (back row, 6th right); Li Xiaocheng, Chairman of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation (back row, 1st right). They were joined by teachers and students who participated in the camp.

Attending today’s launch ceremony were Wang Xudong, Member, Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the Palace Museum; Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust; Lou Wei, Executive Deputy Director of the Palace Museum; and Li Xiaocheng, Chairman of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation. They were joined by more than 100 primary and secondary school students from Hong Kong, Sichuan, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Fujian, Tibet and Xinjiang.

Over 100 students from Hong Kong and the Mainland joined the “Palace Museum Dreamscapes” Charity Summer Camp 2025. (Photo credit: The Palace Museum)

The five-day camp will see students and teachers visit the Palace Museum to learn about its history and culture, explore the Peking University, attend workshops on Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum and visit the Olympic Games venues such as the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) and the National Aquatics Center (Water Cube). It will enable the students to interact and forge friendships while learning about Mainland history.

Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, delivers a speech at the launch ceremony.

Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, said the Palace Museum in Beijing was not only a treasure of Chinese civilisation but also a valuable platform for young people to explore Chinese culture. The camp is an initiative under a five-year collaboration between IoP and the Palace Museum designed to promote Chinese culture and values and nurture arts-tech talent. Huang said he hoped young people would seize this opportunity to take part in activities and engagements to broaden their horizons and improve their understanding and cultural awareness.

Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, delivers a speech at the launch ceremony.

Lou Wei, Executive Deputy Director of the Palace Museum, said that the mission of the Palace Museum is to promote traditional Chinese culture and to enhance young people’s cultural awareness by educating them about the history and wisdom of Chinese culture. The “Palace Museum Dreamscapes” charitable programme is designed to immerse young from the Mainland in the history of the Palace Museum. This year marks the Palace Museum's centennial, and more than 130 students and teachers from different areas of the Mainland have been invited to join the programme. He added that the Palace Museum would continue to promote traditional Chinese culture by nurturing young people’s knowledge of Chinese history and fostering their cultural awareness so as to build national pride and confidence and advance national rejuvenation.

Over 100 students from Hong Kong and the Mainland joined the “Palace Museum Dreamscapes” Charity Summer Camp 2025. (Photo credit: The Palace Museum)

Established in 2023 as an independent “think-fund-do” tank for China, Asia and beyond through a seed grant from The Hong Kong Jockey Club and its Charities Trust, IoP aims to provide a platform that brings philanthropic stakeholders together to promote the betterment of societies. Under a five-year collaboration between IoP and the Palace Museum, the “Palace Museum Dreamscapes” Charity Summer Camp is a charitable project that has been run by the Palace Museum. Since 2011, the project offers educational experiences such as historical story-telling sessions, traditional craft workshops and exploration of cultural relics to enable young people from different backgrounds to learn about traditional Chinese culture. The camp is also designed to promote the development of arts-tech talent, as outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan to transform Hong Kong into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.

The Institute of Philanthropy (IoP) and the China Philanthropy Research Institute (CPRI) at Beijing Normal University are launching a three-year research initiative to better understand philanthropic innovations and identify opportunities for social service cooperation in the Greater Bay Area (GBA).The research is supported by the Beijing Normal University Education Foundation (BNUEF) and will promote resource sharing, policy innovation and social governance capacity improvement in the region.

Funded by a RMB 9.1 million donation from IoP, this research will ultimately inform the integration of social resources to enhance the effectiveness of services across the GBA, including Hong Kong, Macao and nine cities in Guangdong Province. The study will include analysis of the current philanthropic landscape in the GBA, while combining joint research, multi-stakeholder engagement and policy dialogue to explore effective mechanisms for cooperation in key areas such as elderly care, child development, health, emergency response and sustainable development.

Professor Wang Zhenyao, Founding Dean of CPRI, will lead the research team, supported by a multidisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners.

The research team will conduct an in-depth analysis of the GBA — one of China’s most economically dynamic regions — examining its diverse legal systems, funding channels and regulatory frameworks. Drawing on lessons from different philanthropic models, the initiative seeks to lay a solid foundation for high-quality, coordinated development of philanthropy and policy innovation in the region.

“This partnership reflects our commitment to building knowledge and capacity for philanthropy in one of Asia’s most vibrant regions,” said Lester Huang, Chairman of the Institute of Philanthropy. “As the GBA continues to grow in strategic importance, it is essential to understand how collaborative philanthropy can contribute to shared social progress. This research will help unlock new models of cooperation and strengthen the region’s leading role in shaping the future of philanthropy.”

Professor Wang Zhenyao, Founding Dean of the China Philanthropy Research Institute (CPRI) and Professor Xu Xiaoxin, the current Dean, will jointly lead the research team, supported by a multidisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners. “The Greater Bay Area is a laboratory for collaborative actions,” said Professor Wang. “Through this cooperation, we hope to refine the effective mechanisms, partnerships and policy innovations that can help philanthropy play a more effective role in regional development.”

The collaboration builds on IoP’s broader strategy to commission action-oriented research with leading Chinese Mainland institutions to advance thought leadership in philanthropy.