The graduation of Duke Kunshan University’s 12 Millennium Fellows was capped off with one of their number delivering the closing student speech to the global leadership program’s 2022 commencement ceremony.
Hongyi Zou, from Duke Kunshan’s Class of 2023, called on the 3,000-plus graduating fellows to take what they have learned from the United Nations-backed initiative and recruit other young people to the cause of improving humanity.
Dr. Jennifer Francis, Duke University’s executive vice provost and chair of Duke Kunshan’s Board of Trustees, also spoke at the high-profile event, paying tribute to the fellows for their dedication to making the world a better place.
Hosted by the U.N. Academic Impact initiative and Millennium Campus Network, the Millennium Fellowship this year brought together students from campuses across 37 countries to work toward advancing the U.N.’s sustainable development goals and academic impact principles.
Ten sessions held virtually were designed to equip them with the skills to address poverty, discrimination, climate change and other urgent global issues.
Hongyi Zou was one of only four fellows from the entire program invited to speak at the Nov. 18 ceremony.
“As Generation Z, I hope that through our actions we can encourage more young generations, from not only China but also the global community, to participate in global governance and contribute to the prospects of humanity as a whole,” the senior student told the online ceremony.
Hongyi Zou was given the further honor of introducing the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus, one of the keynote speakers.
The other Duke Kunshan students graduating from the program were: Faith Ho, Siran Luo, Shen Shen, Yanming Shen, Yutong Shi, Xinyue Wang, Ziyang Wang, Tianyu Wu, Zixuan Wu, Tianyi Zou, and Hongyi Zou’s twin brother Hongji Zou. They were led by Dr. Meifang Chen, assistant professor of health policy at Duke Kunshan.
During the sessions, the DKU fellows focused on issues including cancer prevention, female empowerment, countering climate change and educational inequality.
They received academic and practical training on how to approach these and other big issues. Integral to the program was collaborating with their peers from across the globe.
Francis congratulated all of this year’s Millennium Fellows and wished them success in their future humanitarian efforts.
“Your commitment and dedication to tackling the world’s greatest challenges are inspirational and critical to the future of our planet,” she told them.
Speaking of her pride at the achievements of the 12 DKU students, she added, “These students, through their dedication, hard work and humanity are fulfilling the most fundamental goal of our very young Duke Kunshan University to prepare the next generation of leaders by providing them with the skills and motivation to address disease, poverty, discrimination, climate change and other urgent global issues.”
