About the program

How do non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Europe and China impact ecological and social change? What challenges are they facing? What is the potential for cooperation in the field? Unlike the close exchange and numerous collaborations between European and Chinese universities and companies, the exchange between NGOs is still in the early stages. But global challenges require cross-border engagement, also, and especially, among civil society actors.

What are our goals?

The EU-China Twinning Program aims to foster trusting and sustainable relationships between European and Chinese NGOs. Working on joint projects, European and Chinese NGOs can expand their professional and intercultural expertise and develop best-practice solutions. Such partnerships strengthen the transfer of knowledge within civil society and the cooperation on developing solutions to issues of global importance. 

How does the project work?

The program gives NGOs from Europe and China the opportunity to shadow colleagues at a Chinese or European organization, respectively, for a period of four to eight weeks. Participants can learn more about their own area of interest and start to plan a shared project together with the organization they are visiting. To join the program, permanent employees of European and Chinese NGOs can apply, either individually or in a Sino-European tandem, for 12 twinning positions a year. The mutual job shadowing is complemented by preparatory workshops in the home country, topic-specific seminars, and networking opportunities in the partner country. The working language is English.

Where is the project run?

Every year, new locations in Europe and China are chosen for the program.

Who organizes the project?

The EU-China NGO Twinning Program is a project of Stiftung Asienhaus, a foundation and network of Asia-focused NGOs, in cooperation with the Chinese Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO) and the Climate Action Network Europe, and supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung and Stiftung Mercator.