All last week, the Amity Foundation- a Christian NGO in China- conducted a leadership training program for Mainland educators in Hong Kong in an effort to train them to lead their colleges in the future.

"The presence of Amity teachers in China is testimony to the concern of Christians – both Chinese Christians and Christians from other countries – for the people of China," stated the Amity Foundation. "Their presence calls attention to the desire of Chinese Christians to help their own nation."

On Dec. 4-9, 22 presidents and administrators from different institutions, and officials from the education bureaus in Guizhou, Gansu and Inner Mongolia convened in Hong Kong. The group visited the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University and the Hong Kong Open University.

According to Amity, they heard talks on higher education, all-around education, service learning and fundraising from professors at these universities and experts from the consulting firm Brakeley Fundraising & Management Consultants.

On Dec. 5, a researcher and a professor at Hong Kong Chinese University, Anthony Tong and Prof. Roger Cheng gave the group a lecture on "Future Education Trends of the World" and "All-round Education and Education Reform in Hong Kong," respectively.

Tong separated the challenges facing education in four different categories – high tech, intellectual society, globalization, and rapid changes in the world structure – showing participants the trends and difficulties surrounding education.

Meanwhile, Prof. Cheng's lecture addressed the modern society of Hong Kong in terms of education, and the current situation of mainland China and Hong Kong who are reforming their education systems.

Afterwards, the group listened to Loretta Pang, consultant from Brakeley Fundraising & Management Consultants, who spoke on school development social needs, and fundraising, which Amity said is a new idea for the educators.

Amity Foundation has a three-fold purpose to contribute to China's social development, while opening China up to the outside world, to let the Chinese people see the Christian involvement in the society, and to serve as a channel through which churches outside of China can show their concern for the Chinese people.