Hangzhou, China, March 8, 2022: As far as Hangzhou is concerned, the Asian Games this September are about much more than sport.
Government officials in Hangzhou city and Zhejiang province also feel that, by hosting the Asian Games, they can promote philanthropy throughout the community and leave a legacy of social harmony and wellbeing in society.
Hangzhou 2022 is on the road to this noble goal with the introduction of a pioneering “Asian Games Philanthropy Model” that combines sport with online and offline public welfare projects. In short, giving is gold.
So far, the Asian Games Philanthropy Model has attracted 700 million participants through a variety of public welfare activities, thereby raising the awareness of the Asian Games brand and also bringing people together for the good of the community at large.
One such avenue is through donations, by way of financial, material, technical and services support. Not only do donations make people feel part of the event and the community, they also reduce the costs for the organisers and enable smooth preparations.
Another is through marketing and sponsorship, and Hangzhou 2022 has offered four tiers of support in order to involve a wide range of companies.
Hangzhou launched the “2022 Asian Games Aspirations” campaign in December 2019 with the aim of collecting 2,022 dreams and aspirations from across the world that best capture the spirit and vision of the Asian Games. So far, the programme has attracted over 200,000 submissions from China, Japan, Malaysia and other countries and regions.
This campaign followed the success of the Asian Games Football Dream in which Hangzhou provides support to 2,022 schools all over Asia through the donation of sports equipment, training, summer camps and friendlies.
The one-year countdown celebration last September also involved wide participation from the community, with 3,000 primary and middle school children and dancers taking part in two shows - Painting Asian Games Dreams and Dancing for Hangzhou 2022 - in front of the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on the banks of the Qiantang River.
Asian Games Philanthropy also helps Zhejiang province’s efforts to develop into an example for achieving the country’s goal of common prosperity. The Chinese government has given Zhejiang a grand mission: to become a role model of common prosperity.
Yuan Jiajun, Secretary of CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, stated: “To fulfill the mission, the province must attain affluence shared by everyone both in material and cultural terms. Culture plays a decisive role in turning Zhejiang into a quality demonstration zone for achieving common prosperity. And it is the most appealing and distinguishable part of an advanced society.”
Source: HAGOC
