You are the Key to Change Speaker : Stanley C. Yen
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” – William Butler Yeats
In 2011, Stanley Yen, Chairman of The Alliance Cultural Foundation was invited by 25 overseas Chinese organizations in the United States to speak in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Houston. During this tour, Mr. Yen reached out to over 2,800 people and talked about his book “Education Should be Different” (教育應該不一樣) which addressed the underlying problems of Taiwan’s education system. Though its focus is on Taiwan, this is an issue shared by many others.
Mr. Yen talked about the importance of fostering creativity, rather than rote memorization; and emphasized nurturing individual talents and independent thinking. He encouraged schools and parents to take on the challenges of reforming the education system in Taiwan so that students can better fulfill their potentials. He also shared the story of his transformation from a businessman to a philanthropist and discussed his hopes for the next generation.
In the years following 2011, Mr. Yen has seen a steady erosion of Taiwan people’s confidence in the government’s ability to address social, economic, environmental, and educational issues. In conjunction with the release of his book “你就是改變的起點”, the “Make a Friend” speaking tour to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston and New York was organized in late July/early August 2014. His talk urged each of us to reflect on the basic values of life and to foster citizenship through education. Mr. Yen feels one should take full responsibility to safe guard Taiwan’s hard earned democracy, make decisions without being influenced or induced, identify the underlying cause of problems, and have the courage to insist on what is right and reject what is wrong. Many corners of the world face and share the same issues as Taiwan, Mr. Yen encourages each of us to roll up our sleeves and be the key to change for a better society.
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Date: 26 July 2014 (Saturday)
Time: 14:00pm – 17:00pm
Venue: Santa Clara Convention Center, Mission City Ballroom | Map
