Philanthropy

Serge Dumont is a global business leader focused on world issues; he has worked to raise awareness of social and cultural causes. In 2003 he launched The Serge Dumont Fund whose focus was on helping develop qualified professionals in China’s communications industry through the provision of scholarships and internships. As President of the Rotary Club of Beijing, in 2003, Serge helped organize the first celebrity charity ball in China to raise public awareness and help reduce the stigma associated with AIDS in China. This ground-breaking event brought together a wide-ranging coalition of leading international government bodies and non-governmental organizations, winning international recognition. Partners included among others the United Nations, the European Union, the American Foundation for Aids Research (amFAR), the China Youth Development Foundation, the Barry and Martin Trust and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since the start of the millennium he has been active in national trade promotion. At the request of the French government, he helped arrange the funding for and establish the Honorary Committee of the Year of France in China. He also advised the Italian government on The Year of Italy in China. Serge acted as honorary representative for China, in 2003/2004, of the Comité Colbert, the prestigious association of French luxury brands founded in 1954. In 2006, Mr. Dumont was named a Special Representative (Goodwill Ambassador) for UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS.

Since 2013, he has been a jury member and in 2015 became a nominating member of the Prince’s Prize for Innovative Philanthropy, a global initiative of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Paris-based Tocqueville Foundation. In 2019 he was invited to serve on the jury of the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership award. In 2015 at the first amfAR gala in Asia, Serge Dumont was one of the co-chairs for the event along with Pansy Ho, Kate Moss, Kenneth Cole and Naomi Campbell.

In 2016, he became a board member of the Synergos Institute, a global non-profit organization that brings people together to solve complex problems of poverty.   He has also joined the Global Philanthropists Circle, a dynamic network of leading philanthropic families from across the world that operates under the auspices of the Institute.

The Serge Dumont Tsinghua Communications Scholarship Program was launched in 2004 to encourage bright students to enter the strategic communications field. Scholarships were awarded through an annual essay competition open to students enrolled in the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication.

Jointly launched by the Serge Dumont Fund and the School of Journalism of Fudan University, the second program provided research funds to outstanding undergraduates and graduate students. The Fellowship aimed to help young students committed to a career in strategic communications gain a deeper understanding of the field through practical experience. Through this hands-on approach, students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in research work and in the process gain deeper insight into strategic communications. The experience provided students with a better understanding of society in China and the rest of the world, giving them skills they can apply both in theory and practice.

The scholarship program was established and was jointly administered by the China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF), one of the most prominent charitable organizations in China, and Mr Dumont.