Meng-Hui Lin (she/her)

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities? Tell us about your EE work and impact.

As a leader, I promote a sustainable future via creativity and implementation. I believe that achieving sustainability requires a common social consensus rather than imposed constraints. My method includes sharing sustainability concepts with various groups fostering partnerships, and learning about their future visions. I promote new ways of thinking and living while focusing on everyday issues, recognizing problems, clarifying situations, brainstorming solutions, and making practical goals.  Policy discussions become relevant when addressing limitations, requiring everyone's active attention for a sustainable society.

In a recent collaboration with the Youth Development Administration of the Ministry of Education, I led a talent development program on deliberative democracy to advance Taiwan's 2050 net-zero strategy. I assisted over 200 diverse youngsters in developing "good questions" for follow-up public talks. We moved from general ideas to specific sub-themes relevant to net-zero emissions, such as low-carbon diets and the effects of carbon prices. I helped them discover relevant concerns and investigate specific problem areas within net-zero aims. Trained participants will later engage in face-to-face talks with government agencies to better understand Taiwanese young ambitions for a net-zero future, thereby increasing resilience in the face of a fast transition.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today. What inspired you? What has your path been like?

I started receiving environmental education in junior high school; I held my first environmental action in high school, planning an environmental education summer camp for elementary school students with my classmates. I studied environment-related departments at National Taiwan University to cultivate professional knowledge for supporting the implementation. Besides, I also participated in the environmental student club affiliated with Dr. Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots Project, and actively implemented circular economy projects on our university campus. In order to expand our understanding of sustainability, my partners and I proposed the establishment of the Department of Sustainability under the NTU student association, which successfully promoted the first environmental department under the student autonomous organization in East Asia.

Following subsequent assistance to NTU in the implementation of responsible investment, the campus has stopped investment in high-pollution and high-carbon emission companies and announced that carbon neutrality will be achieved by 2048. At the same time, I was nominated to the Executive Yuan as a young advisory member to contribute to national climate policies and environmental governance. I aspire to be a university professor of climate change research. I believe that more scientific information is required to serve as the foundation for change and to empower people through education when responding to climate change. Knowledge and action are mutually beneficial and important.

A Little More About Me

If you could be any animal or plant, what would you be and why?

Answer: As a Gardenia, I would deliver an enticing perfume, attracting pollinators and contributing to the ecosystem's vitality. Gardenias inspire admiration for nature's designs while also reminding us of the need to care for and protect the natural environment.

What makes you most excited to be an EE30U30 awardee?

Answer: Being honored as an EE30U30 awardee would broaden my perspective on global environmental education, expand my influence and collaboration opportunities, and provide a platform to inspire positive change within the realm of environmental education.

What is your superpower?

Answer: I leverage collective knowledge, resources, and experience to handle environmental concerns more effectively by developing strong networks and collaborations.

What’s a passion project of yours outside of your work?

Reading a book while patting my cat.