The fifth installment in the Freshwater Fellows interview series features Franki Cheung (張文華) and Yi-Fan Lee (李宜芳) of the Taiwan Rebels Culture Association (TRCM). TRCM seeks to enhance the social impact and sustainability of advocacy NGOs. In 2023, they launched a series of collaborative learning activities for NGO workers to help them grow and improve their knowledge and skills.
The employees of Tò-uat Books and Taiwan Rebels Culture Movement
Freshwater: Tell us about yourself. How did you start working in human rights?
Cheung: I’m a gay man, and I’ve always known that I was different from others. LGBT people were not really accepted in Hong Kong when I was growing up which is why I wanted to work on gender identity issues. After coming to Taiwan, I didn’t initially plan to enter the field of human rights. However, while studying Chinese Literature at Soochow University, I took courses related to human rights philosophy and transitional justice, and participated in clubs related to feminism. After returning to Hong Kong, I got involved in the movements to save the Star Ferry Pier and Queen’s Pier, both of which are closely linked to local consciousness and Hong Kong identity. So I guess you could say that my sexual orientation, exposure to human rights issues during university, and Hong Kong activism gradually pushed me into the field of human rights.
Lee: I studied journalism in college and went on to work in the media industry. As I started writing news reports, I realized that many things were not black and white. I discovered there was a lot I didn’t understand. Later I left the media industry to study in a graduate program for social enterprises.The curriculum there focused more on business innovation and sustainability, but it didn’t touch much on social issues. It wasn’t until I took courses in the Landscape Architecture department that I was exposed to social movements by the professors. While considering my career options after graduation, I felt that the media in Taiwan couldn’t provide fundamental solutions to social issues. I wanted to see how people facing these issues try to solve them to broaden my own horizons. That’s why I chose to work in an NGO instead of viewing these issues through the filter of mainstream media.
Freshwater: Freshwater Institute is supporting civil society leaders to develop innovative human rights projects. Can you tell us how your project came about?
Lee: We want to create an NGO Charging Station to provide courses teaching knowledge and skills needed by NGO workers, as well as management skills such as organizational operations and financial planning.
Cheung: Taiwan’s NGO workers need a place to share and learn about new management, governance, and communication methods. The Charging Station embodies this concept, bringing together NGOs to co-create ideas that will allow new generations of NGOs to survive and exert influence.
This program extends from our original NGO School program, where after a year of courses, we encountered some limitations. We realized that attending courses alone might not solve problems. Although it facilitated communication between and coexistence of NGOs, we realized it was not enough to create deeper organizational change. Getting people to change their existing work methods, requires more than just their willingness to do so. They also need resources such as funding and a support system within the organization.
We thus developed the NGO Charging Station through the opportunity provided by Freshwater Institute’s Human Rights Accelerator program, linking the resources we have to see if we can provide more comprehensive resources for NGO workers, helping them grow and have a greater impact.
Lee: We spent a year piloting courses and now plan to develop a paid membership system to offer more diverse services, such as one-on-one consultations and tailor-made courses. In the future, we hope to develop customized courses tailored to the needs of our members. The new membership system will launch in March.
Cheung: As Lee mentioned, we are gradually organizing the courses. The course schedule for the first half of the year is almost done. Member benefits are also gradually increasing, and the consultants for one-on-one consultations are getting ready to sign contracts.
Inside of Tò-uat Bookstore
Freshwater: What are some of the challenges you face in this project and in your work in general?
Cheung: Funding is definitely a challenge. Like Freshwater, we also want the NGO workers we know to have more financial and market resources to implement their ideas. However, I feel that the changes created by our courses are hard to measure or to be seen immediately. A course might plant a seed in someone’s heart, but we’re not sure if it will truly facilitate changes in an organization. Sometimes we do have doubts in ourselves.
Finding resources is another difficulty, whether it’s financial, teaching resources, or networking. One example is finding instructors who can connect with both NGOs and business professionals.
Lee：As Cheung mentioned, finding instructors with both NGO and business experience who can bring new insights to NGOs is challenging. Those working in the corporate sector may not fully understand the challenges faced by NGOs and thus may not be able to adapt their teaching knowledge into suitable teaching content to make it relevant to NGOs.
Conversely, NGOs need to be open to new possibilities. Some NGOs prefer instructors to provide immediately usable tools and lack the patience to explore unfamiliar concepts, such as commonly used business management practices. Often, despite their willingness, they stick to old ways especially when they lack the resources or capacity to try new approaches.
NGO Charging station
Freshwater: How has Freshwater Institute’s Human Rights Accelerator Program been helpful to you?
Lee: The accelerator program has directly helped us clarify our work structure, such as the relationships between different tasks, where resources should come from, and how to set future plans. The program started right when we wanted to develop a membership system, so we obtained great tools to help us organize these aspects. Before joining the program, I didn’t know how to systematically organize different opinions and feedback. With these tools, we can now better organize information, helping us focus and making it easier to report to our colleagues. This gives everyone a sense of a common goal, which is very important for an NGO.
Freshwater: If there is one thing you wish people could know about the issue you work on, what would that be?
Lee: We would like everyone to know that the rights they currently enjoy didn’t just fall from the sky. Instead, they were fought for by those who came before us. We need to realize that the good life and the freedom we have now exist because of these NGOs. That’s why we want to offer these courses to expand the space for civic groups.
Freshwater: What keeps you motivated?
Lee: I consider my job as a way to explore stuff in life. No matter how bad things get, there’s always something to gain. I try to view things from a broader perspective, looking at why the NGO sector emerged, the interplay of various interests in this capitalist society, the current difficulties NGOs face, and how to solve them. Every challenge is a learning opportunity, and once you’ve learned something new, you can keep moving forward.
Cheung: I have benefited a lot from the NGO community. When I first joined, I carried a certain anger, hoping to pursue justice and fairness. Now, I have received intellectual support from people who want to make society better, helping me grow and giving me space to contribute. These are all the results of the slow accumulation of those who came before us. If I can bring about changes in the NGO space, I would find it very worthwhile. Another motivation is curiosity about new things. New perspectives and concepts are always coming into the NGO field, such as NGO commercialization, the sustainability of NGOs, ESG, etc. I want to know how NGOs can keep up with modern trends, allowing Taiwanese and international NGOs more opportunities to connect. There are many issues in Taiwan that I care about and I hope to do more so that Taiwan can have more influence internationally.
Freshwater: What is something you do for fun or to relax?
Lee: I enjoy playing games on my phone and participating in social activities outside of work to engage with people outside the NGO sector, which provides me with more inspiration.
Cheung: I mainly exercise. I’m a yoga instructor and also do weight training. I also like to work on personal side projects outside of my main job to understand what frontline workers are thinking and to collaborate with other NGOs.
Freshwater: Thinking of the human rights issue you are working on, what would success feel like to you? What would make you feel like it was all worth it?
Lee: Receiving positive feedback from NGOs makes it all worthwhile. Some organizations that have participated in our courses have expressed gratitude or mentioned that they had the opportunity to connect or collaborate with other organizations because of our courses. These are small achievements for me.
Cheung: I really don’t think about this much now. A plan might help us achieve a short-term goal, but I believe the true goal will never be fully accomplished. If we simply make improving NGOs our goal, it seems strange, as if we are building our happiness on the happiness of others. To me, it’s just an ongoing process.
思流學院人權加速器參與者系列專訪：左轉文化協會辦公室主任張文華及執行秘書李宜芳
在這個系列專訪中，我們將介紹思流學院2023-24人權加速器計劃參與者，這九位人權領袖與思流學院合作，為東亞人權倡議活動開發新型態收入來源。我們想了解他們如何開始從事人權工作、他們所面臨的挑戰，以及他們如何放鬆身心並保持樂觀。
本系列第五組專訪對象為左轉文化協會辦公室主任張文華（以下簡稱張）及執行秘書李宜芳（以下簡稱李），左轉文化協會希望能提升倡議型NGO的社會影響力跟永續生存能力，從2023年開始推出NGO共學活動以來，陪伴NGO工作者成長、精進自己的知能和技能。
左轉文化協會及左轉有書員工合照
- 可不可以和我們聊聊，你們是如何開始從事人權工作的？
張：我是男同志，從小就清楚自己和別人不一樣。香港在我生長的年代對LGBT族群並不是很包容，我因此想從性別認同議題出發，希望可以多做一點事。來到臺灣之後，本來沒有特別想進入人權領域，但就讀東吳大學中國文學系時，接觸到人權學程開設的人權哲學和轉型正義相關課程，課外社團也參加女性主義相關的社團。回香港後又碰到保衛天星碼頭、皇后碼頭的運動，這兩個碼頭與香港本土意識或香港人身份密切相關。總歸而言，自身性向、本土意識及大學時接觸到的人權議題，逐漸推動我踏入人權領域。
李：我大學讀新聞系，畢業後到媒體業工作，開始寫新聞後接觸到各式各樣的議題，寫報導必須從某個觀點和角度切入，但報導越深入就會發現很多事情並非如此絕對，也發現自己不懂的事情很多，好像沒有資格去評斷對錯。因此，我從媒體業辭職去念社會企業研究所，但社會企業研究所的課程比較著重在企業如何創新，或企業怎麼面對永續的趨勢，幾乎沒談到社會問題的根源如何生成，直到去景觀系修課，那裡的老師才帶我接觸到社會運動。在思考畢業後的出路時，我覺得現今的臺灣媒體無法對社會議題提出根源性的解決方法，而我想要看到真正面對這些議題的人如何嘗試解決問題，也想拓展自己的眼界，所以選擇到NGO工作，而不是透過大眾媒體的濾鏡觀看這些議題。
- 思流學院旨在協助公民社會領袖發展創新的人權加速器計畫，請介紹一下你的計畫並聊聊你的進度。
李：我們想做NGO 充電站，內容包含一名NGO工作者所需的知能和技能，以及管理者所需的組織營運、財務規劃等管理技巧。
張：臺灣NGO工作者可能會需要交流、激盪出新的經營、治理方式或傳播媒介。左轉文化協會的成立就是帶著這樣的理念，希望集結不同NGO一起思考，新世代的NGO怎麼存活下來並發揮影響力，循著這個理念發展出宜芳提到的 NGO 充電站。這是從原本的NGO School延伸出來的計劃，我們辦了一年的課程後遇到了一點瓶頸，發現只有上課可能沒辦法解決問題，雖然達到了交流、共處的效果，但想促成組織的改變好像需要更深入的方法，也會需要資源、資金以及組織內的支持。因此，藉由思流學院人權加速器計劃的機會發展出了NGO充電站，把我們手邊有的資源連結起來，看看有沒有機會為NGO工作者提供更全面的資源，讓他們成長並發揮更多影響力。
李：我們已經花了一年試辦課程，現在想發展成付費會員制，提供更多元的服務，例如：一對一諮詢以及客製化課程，以NGO可能需要的資訊為出發點。未來還希望能夠幫NGO開發客製化課程，讓會員制更貼合各個組織的需求，課程內容更專業、廣泛，另外也還有許多想開發的課程，新型會員制會在三月上線。
張：如同宜芳所說，課程都慢慢在安排，上半年的課程大致抵定，會員福利也逐漸增加，一對一諮詢的顧問也準備要簽合約。
左轉有書內部一景
- 請說說你在這個計畫和工作裡遇到的一些困難
張：資金一定是個挑戰，我們和思流學院一樣都想讓我們認識的NGO工作者擁有更多金錢或市場上的資源，以實踐他們的理念，但我覺得課程能夠產生的改變很難衡量或是馬上被看見，課程可能只是埋在某人心中的種子，我們不確定會不會真的促成組織的改變，所以我們有時候也會自我懷疑。
找資源也是另一個難題，不論是金錢、師資或人脈的資源，怎麼找到適合NGO的師資，怎麼找到懂NGO想法的企業人士都是挑戰。
李：如同文華所說，如何找到跨界的人才幫我們上課，帶給NGO一些新的刺激，這件事挺困難的，因為有NGO背景的人很少，在企業工作的人沒辦法理解NGO的處境，很可能沒辦法轉化成適合的教學內容。
反之， NGO本身也需要擁抱新的可能。有些NGO會希望老師直接提供馬上可以為他所用的工具，沒有耐心去研究陌生的東西，比如說商業常用的管理工具，但很多時候也是心有餘而力不足，只能回到自己慣用的方法，那創新的進程就會比較緩慢。
NGO 共學行動
- 加速器計畫如何幫助你面對眼前的挑戰？
李：加速器很直接地幫助左轉釐清工作的架構，例如：不同工作之間的關係、資源從哪裡來，或者未來的計劃該如何訂定。加速器開始的時間剛好碰上左轉想要發展會員制，所以我們得到很好的工具幫助我們整理這些東西。在接觸加速器之前，我不太知道該怎麼整理不同的意見和回饋，有了工具之後，能夠比較有系統地整理意見回饋和資訊，幫助我們聚焦，也比較容易向組織同仁報告，讓大家有一個共同目標的感覺，這對NGO也很重要。
- 就你關注的議題而言，如果你只能讓大眾知道一件事，那會是什麼？
李：我們會想讓大家知道你現在所擁有的權利並不是天上掉下來的，這些都是前人爭取來的，我們需要意識到我們現在擁有的美好生活、自由的空間，是因為有這些NGO的存在，所以我們才想辦這些課程來拓展公民團體的空間。
- 是什麼讓你保持動力？
李：我覺得是一種探索人生的感覺，不管遇到再糟糕的事，至少都會有所收穫。我會讓自己從比較宏觀的角度看事情，看看NGO這個部門為什麼會產生，以及在這個資本主義的社會下，各種利益是如何流動，思考NGO現在的困境為何以及怎麼解決，面臨到的困難都是學習，學習到了就可以繼續向前。
張：我在NGO圈受到的恩惠蠻多的，我剛進來時帶著某種憤怒，希望追求正義與公平，到了現在，因為這群想讓社會變得更好的人，給了我某種學識上的支持、幫助我成長，或者給我發揮的空間，這些都是前人慢慢累積下來的結果。如果我可以讓NGO空間有所改變，我會覺得蠻值得的。另一個動力是對新事物的好奇，新的觀點和概念不斷注入NGO圈，例如：NGO的商業化、NGO永續的可能性、ESG等，我想知道NGO可以如何跟著現代的潮流，讓臺灣甚至是國際的NGO有更多機會串連。除此之外，臺灣本身還有很多讓我在意的問題，我也希望自己能夠多做一點，讓臺灣在國際上可以發揮更多影響力。
左轉文化協會辦公室主任張文華於 NGO 共學行動
- 平時你都做些什麼事放鬆？
李：我喜歡玩一些療癒的手機遊戲，還有參加工作以外可以與人社交的活動，與 NGO 以外的人深度交流，藉此得到更多的啟發。
張：我基本上就是運動，我本身是瑜珈老師，也會去重訓，同時，我也喜歡在自己的正職之外做一些個人的小專案，去瞭解現在的前線工作者在想什麼，以個人的身份而非組織的身份與其他NGO合作。
- 面對你正在處理的人權問題，怎麼樣對你來說算是成功呢？怎麼樣會讓你覺得一切都是值得的？
李：能從NGO組織得到回饋就很值得了，曾經有參與課程的組織向我們表達感謝，或者表示因為參與過我們的課程，才有機會與其他組織搭上線或談合作，這對我來說都算小小的成就。
張：我現在不太會想這件事，計劃可能會讓我們達成一個短期的目標，但我認為真正的目標不會有完成的一天，如果只是把讓NGO變得更好變成我們的目標也有點奇怪，因為這樣好像是把我們的快樂建築在別人的快樂上而已。對我而言，這一切就是一個持續不斷的過程。
