UTAR President Ir Prof Dato’ Dr Ewe Hong Tat was invited to present a keynote speech at the 2023 ESG Global Leaders Conference in Huangpu, Shanghai, China on 13 September 2023. The title of his keynote speech was “Growth Mindset and Empathy-driven Learning and Development” (成长思维与同理心主导的学习与发展).
Themed ‘Sustainable Economic Growth, Social Development and Environmental Protection’, the conference was organised by Sina Finance and CITIC Press Group, along with Lao Feng Xiang. It was supported by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, and the Shanghai Huangpu District People's Government.

In his keynote speech, Prof Ewe stressed that education is important for Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG). He said, “It is very important to nurture our students to have a sense of identity with ESG and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Human society has gone through the agricultural revolution, industrial revolution, and now we are in the midst of the digital revolution. Along with this, people’s attention and understanding of the earth and environment have weakened. Being in the digital world, we should return to the heart, that is, how to keep people learning, and be empathetic at the same time.”

He advised, “Everyone should become empathetic lifelong learners. We should not only follow technological advancements and learn new knowledge continuously, but also improve our empathic skills. When we have empathy for others, we are able to assume responsibilities and obligations consciously for the earth’s culture, the future of mankind, changes in social structure and communication between each other, in order to achieve sustainable global development.” 

By quoting the famous saying in “The Book of Changes” (《周易》), which says ‘As Heaven’s movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive along; as Earth is vast and grand, so a gentleman must embrace everything with virtue and tolerance’ (天行健，君子以自强不息；地势坤，君子以厚德载物), he also explained, “From the original intention of education, we have always emphasised the motivation for improving (向上) and performing good deeds (向善). We strive to help students to learn all kinds of knowledge, in order for them to learn and improve themselves continuously. Similarly, continuous improvement is needed for companies as well. From the perspective of the scope of ESG, what is more important is to perform good deeds. We have an obligation to the earth and responsibility to the community with a shared future for mankind, so that we can continue to make progress and perform good deeds.”

“I am glad that everyone has a very strong sense of identification with ESG and is willing to support it. Only in this way, we can bring better development to human society and the earth in the long run. When we emphasise education and sustainable development, we should also pay more attention to education for living and education for life. We need to work together to progress and perform good deeds for the good of our future,” he concluded.

During an interview with Sina Finance in conjunction with the Conference, Prof Dato’ Ewe said, “It is an honour to participate in the 2023 ESG Global Leaders Conference. The conference is very important as the world is committed to sustainable development and environmental protection.  Malaysia has attached great importance to the development of ESG for sustainable economic growth and social development. In fact, we and China are working hard to develop in a common direction and create better and sustainable growth for society and the world.”  

ESG Global Leaders Conference was held from 13 to 15 September 2023. With more than 160 domestic and foreign guests, which included Nobel Prize winners, top experts and scholars, entrepreneurs, and representatives from international institutions and organisations in attendance, the conference aimed to discuss how to promote global sustainable development through the implementation of ESG strategies.