Fellow-led nonprofit launches economics education campaign in Asia amidst the pandemic

The Global Association of Economics Education (GAEE)-a nonprofit led by Le Dong Hai "DoHa" Nguyen FRSA--recently announced its flagship campaign '#GAEEforAsia,' a spinoff of the highly acclaimed 'GAEE's Silk Road Plan' launched last year.

The campaign has been "carefully designed to fit with the landscape of economics education in the post-pandemic climate of Asia," according to Mr Nguyen. Founded in 2017, GAEE is a US-based multi-chapter student-led organisation with the aim of promoting economics education, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship incubation for students in over ten countries.

Despite the shift to virtual recruitment events, thanks to platforms like GAEE’s partner AIESEC, the nonprofit has experienced a record number of applications to join its campaign. "With the pandemic, students are working and studying from home. Many are utilising this time to gain real-world knowledge," said Mansha Gadi, a student at the University of Delhi and co-head of GAEE North India. "Bridging the gap between theory and real-world is indeed a skill that would be highly sought after in the post-pandemic world. And GAEE managed to do so with a very interactive and personalised approach," said Dr Shailu Singh, an economics professor at Hansraj College and a key advisor of GAEE in India. "In addition to over thirty colleges from across the country, the National Council of Educational Research and Training--India’s primary governmental body on education--has expressed interest in joining our initiative," said the professor.

"The focus has shifted from in-person network-wide activities into smaller chapter-based initiatives and virtual events," said Mr Nguyen. Last month, GAEE partnered with the PPE Society at Oxford University to host renowned figures like Tim Hartford and Rupal Bhansali on its Facebook Live page.

The organisation also organises a case contest on the e-sports industry, in which winners would be granted an internship at Korea's leading e-sports company ROX Gaming. "In times like this, students need an opportunity to hone and demonstrate their knowledge and skills. ''We plan on having more unique opportunities like this in times to come," said Ashen Shin, co-head of GAEE Seoul.

The campaign was also recognized by the United Nations as an official Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and listed as #SDGAction36897 on the official agenda of the UN-DESA