LSE undergraduate student Reese Wong has received The Diana Award in recognition of his outstanding commitment to positive social change.
Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Award is one of the highest accolades a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts.
Reese, who is in the final year of his BSc in International Relations, has received the Award for his work in global citizenship and community building.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Reese founded ISSIA HK in 2019. The youth-led nonprofit champions global citizenship education through peer-to-peer and project-based learning. Since 2019, ISSIA has involved more than 500 volunteer staff, launching over 30 projects based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In the UK, Reese became a community-builder, leading as President of LSE’s Entrepreneurs Society, Trustee of LSE’s Student Union and Curator of the WEF Global Shapers London Hub II. Reese has spoken at more than 100 global events and has been recognized as a Young Fellows Advisory Board Member at the Royal Society of Arts, Aspen UK Rising Leader, a Future Minds 25 Under 25 and Project Management Institute UK Scholar.
The 21-year-old’s latest venture, currently in prototype, is Micromeetup, which uses AI to cultivate real-life connections and combat loneliness in young people.
Commenting on the award, Reese said: “I am extremely grateful to receive this accolade for my work! I am super appreciative of all those who have provided support throughout my social impact journey in the past five years. I believe starting to take social action all the way back in high school has fundamentally broadened my imagination of what is possible and positively shaped the trajectory of my life.”
Dr Tessy Ojo CBE, CEO of The Diana Award, said of this year’s recipients: “We warmly congratulate our new Diana Award Recipients from across the world who are dedicating their time to making positive change. These young people demonstrate that young people have the power to change the world; a belief also held by Diana Princess of Wales. We know by receiving this honour they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities.”
Reese credits some of his success to his experience at LSE: “LSE has provided me with a toolkit of skills to think about social change and impact. It has served as an essential platform and ecosystem to build on my work and I’ve met so many amazing and ambitious collaborators.”
From our creation in 1895 to the present day, LSE is committed to supporting students’ ambitions for social impact. Alongside world-leading programmes of study, students can choose from volunteering opportunities, sector-leading careers support and a wide range of student-led activities to enrich their student experience. Our community also benefits from access to the award-winning LSE Generate, our start-up incubator and home for student, staff and alumni entrepreneurship.