About Us
Turning distributed high-quality resources into real, sustainable growth pathways for young people.
Asia-Pacific Youth Growth Center USA is the U.S. implementing organization of the UNESCO-supported Asia-Pacific Youth Growth Program (APYGP). Through project-based learning and verifiable international certificates, we connect the California K-12 system with educational resources across China and the U.S., serving youth ages 8–18 in the arts, sports, AI literacy, public speaking, sustainability, cultural heritage, volunteer service, financial literacy and research practice.
To every young person chasing the light
致每一位追光青年
A seed opens, the wind turns,
and the light always finds its way through the branches to every flower.
Growing up should never be defined as one correct answer,
but as the confidence to explore freely, to try bravely, and to keep growing.
The world is wide. May you grow into all of it.
“Enhancing the overall capabilities of young people across the Asia-Pacific and cultivating future talents for sustainable development is of critical importance.”
Three Core Directions
We are building a global platform for youth development founded on shared information, shared project-building and shared growth — connecting high-quality educational resources worldwide and co-creating programs with strong partner institutions.
Educational Innovation
教育创新
Connecting to leading international curricula to build learning capability for what comes next.
Social Practice
社会实践
Leaving the classroom to practise problem-solving in the real world.
Cross-cultural Exchange
跨文化交流
Opening a global perspective and building genuine cross-cultural understanding.
All of it serves one purpose: helping young people see further, walk steadier, and grow stronger.
We follow global developments closely and use that wider frame to help young people understand the world, take part in it, and shape it — from environmental protection to social responsibility, from technology to human concern.
On completing a project, students may apply for the UNESCO-supported Asia-Pacific Youth Growth Program certificate — not only a distinction, but an internationally recognized endorsement.
Why We Do This
A Changing Need
Today, more and more young people want to grow through real projects — to broaden their horizons, contribute to society, and build authentic experience for future university applications, academic exploration, and long-term personal development.
The Reality We Hope to Address
We aim to address the gap in both information and quality. Our purpose is not to place young people into activities passively, but to help them enter projects that truly matter — and through them, experience genuine growth.
Common Challenges in Reality
It can be difficult to find projects that are genuinely high-quality, trustworthy, and guided by clear standards.
Even when many opportunities are visible, it is often hard to tell which ones are truly suitable.
Even after joining a program, participants may lack structured guidance and struggle to turn the experience into meaningful outcomes.
Many institutions have strong resources and valuable content, yet lack common standards, youth-matching systems, and a framework for collaborative program design.
Programme Portfolio
From the handcraft club to field research in Kenya, from AI literacy to trans-Pacific dialogue — the projects the center runs and co-runs sit across culture, technology, public service and international practice.
青少年手工社团
Youth Handcraft Club
Creative crafting, upcycled materials and artistic expression build dexterity, focus and creativity, through eco-crafts, natural-material work, painting and cultural experience.
DetailsAI 青少年应用与实践项目
Youth AI Application & Practice
Built with the UK Turing AI examination board: a curriculum and certification system that helps young people become makers with AI rather than users of it.
Details青少年公众演讲与表达
Youth Public Speaking & Communication
Speech training, communication skills, group work and mock interviews strengthen confident expression, logic and articulation.
Details全球可持续发展领导力 · 肯尼亚
Global Sustainability Leadership · Kenya
Ecological survey and sustainability research inside a wildlife conservation area, working with international conservation bodies and specialists towards publishable outcomes.
Details青少年商业熏陶创业营
Youth Business & Venture Camp
A venture camp that takes young people through the first zero-to-one cycle of building something real.
Details中美青少年主题对话
China–U.S. Youth Dialogue
A bridge between young people in China and the U.S., built from dialogue and joint work so that difference becomes understanding.
Details国际志愿者项目
International Youth Volunteer Program
For students aged 13–18: training capable, responsible volunteers and placing them into real community service roles.
DetailsLeadership
Elodie Zeng
ELOP teacher, Irvine Unified School District; authorized by UNESCO Asia-Pacific Headquarters as the exclusive U.S. operator of APYGP.
Johnny Zhuang, PhD
Research fellow at Tsinghua University's Positive Psychology Research Center; specialist in cross-cultural psychology and youth development; founder of Stanvard Education.
Mary Yang
Serial entrepreneur, strategic investor and former global tech executive; focused on youth leadership and cross-cultural education.
Our Growth Philosophy
We believe growth cannot be staged into existence; it emerges through real participation. A young person learns responsibility through serving a community, communication through teamwork, thinking through problem-solving, perseverance through execution, and expression through presenting outcomes.
The meaning of a project goes beyond being noticed during application season. Its deeper value lies in helping young people become more capable, discerning, and responsible in the real world.
More Than a Project Platform
我们期待建立的，不只是一个项目平台
What we hope to build is a long-term, trusted, and open support system for youth development. Within it, young people can find direction, institutions can connect with the right participants, projects can be designed and delivered more effectively, and growth can be documented and recognized over time.
We do not pursue “more activities for the sake of more.” We care far more about whether each project is genuinely worth a young person's time and trust.
Our Boundaries Matter
We do not provide assembly-line style background packaging.
We do not encourage the accumulation of meaningless experiences simply for applications.
We do not reduce growth to a certificate or a résumé line.
Instead, we place greater value on authentic participation, project quality, structured support, and meaningful outcomes. We believe that growth of real value can stand the test of time and practice.
Expert Panel
Our review panel and mentors come from the California K-12 system and China–U.S. research teams: front-line educators, internationally certified trainers, psychology and social-science experts, and 100+ professional mentors from technology, education and the arts.
What “Asia-Pacific” covers
East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Oceania and the Pacific islands, plus Pacific-coast countries including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru — APYGP programs and certificates are recognized across the region.
Growing up was never a road walked alone.
It is a long journey towards the world, carried by what you love.
Here you will not only build ability —
you will find direction, confidence, and a light that is your own.
In closing
Asia-Pacific Youth Growth Center USA is building a platform for what comes next, so that every young person has the chance to be seen, the ability to explore, and the confidence to step into the world.