Gloria Chang Wan-ki is campaign manager for Greenpeace China. She is responsible for leading the non-governmental organisation's (NGO) climate change campaign in Hong Kong. Chang was formerly president of the Hong Kong University's (HKU) Students' Union.
Tell us about your advocacy career
It started in my first year at university, when I was chairperson of the student association of the department in which I was studying. This was 1997 and we organised many public policy forums, and published material about what was going on in Hong Kong politically and socially. I became very aware of the social and political issues at the time, and became well acquainted with many university students' union officials.
I was asked to join the university's students' union cabinet in my third year. It was a difficult decision. I had been actively involved in student-association activities and I wanted to focus on my studies. But I decided to rise to the challenge. After graduating from HKU, I enrolled for a master's degree in development studies at the London School of Economics, before working for an NGO called Hong Kong Democratic Development Network. I joined Greenpeace in 2003.
Was your family supportive?
While my parents opposed my decision to join the students' union, they trusted me and tried to understand things from my point of view. I told them that I would prove that [the decision] would be a good learning experience. [The process] helped strengthen my relationship with my parents. They understood that they could not shape me into an accountant or a civil servant that they wanted me to be. I would need to pursue my own path.
What is it like to work for an NGO?
