This profile is part of the 2016 Global Citizen March Madness Challenge. The challenge asks you to vote for your favorite global citizens, as we match them up “tournament style” from a “Sweet 16” starting round, all the way down to a champion on April 4th.
Vote now in the Sweet 16 Round for all of your favorites HERE
Name: Yao Ming
Hometown: Shanghai, China
Profession: Philanthropist
Issue Division: Environment
Quick Facts:
- Retired NBA basketball player
- Eight time All-Star with the Houston Rockets
- Runs his own foundation
- Ambassador for environment conservation
Yao Ming is best known in most of the world for his professional basketball career. He’s also a dedicated environmentalist. The retired NBA basketball legend is the Executive Director of the Yao Ming Foundation, which was established in response to the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake and has donated millions of US dollars to relief work.
Even before he founded his own foundation, Yao worked with numerous environmental organizations including the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to raise public awareness on climate change and wildlife protection. In 2006, Yao became an ambassador for environmental group WildAid, after pledging to give up eating shark fin soup. With the help of an awareness campaign he headlined, the sale of shark fin soup declined by 82% in 2014.
As one of the most recognized athletes in China, he’s starred in numerous advertisements, billboards, and public service announcements for the organization. He has advocated for elephant and rhino conservation through African Wildlife Foundation and WildAid’s “Say No” Campaign. In 2012, Yao filmed a documentary with WildAid about the Northern White Rhinoceros to raise awareness on illegal poaching. Yao is spreading his message of conservation to millions of people in China and around the world.
First round match-up
