Chi-Hsiang (Shawn) Hung is the Founder of Happenus and host of the Happenus Podcast. A systems thinking practitioner and multimedia storyteller based in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, he is dedicated to connecting the nation's unique perspectives with the global movement for climate and energy transition through policy advocacy, international dialogue, and creative media.
A certified systems thinking practitioner trained by MIT, Shawn explores the intersection of environmental knowledge systems, climate storytelling, and humanity's flourishing. In 2021, Shawn launched a university-based mental health program and led Taiwan's National Youth Deliberative Democracy Forum, contributing to legislative reforms that expanded online counseling access to over one million youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a deep belief in collaborative technology for social good, he also contributed to the open-source book 'Plurality: The Future of Democracy and Technology,' alongside Microsoft's Research Lead Glen Weyl and Taiwan's first Digital Minister Audrey Tang.
With a background in cognitive neuroscience, Shawn brings diverse experience across research, policy, and education. He has served as a Research Fellow in neurotechnology at Taiwan's Ministry of Science and Technology, and academic advisor to National Cheng Kung University's interdisciplinary talent hubs. His past work includes coordinating Taiwan's largest semiconductor industry decarbonization expo and contributing to public policy research at the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI), Taiwan's first non-governmental public policy think tank.
In 2024, Shawn represented Taiwan at the Jane Goodall Institute Global Meeting and served as the Institute's Asia-Pacific Advisor for the Youth Leadership Council in India. Two years later, in collaboration with Jane Goodall Institute Taiwan, he published 'In the Name of Hope: Dr. Jane Goodall In Taiwan From 1996 to 2025,' the world's first commemorative book to document the untold legacy of Dr. Jane Goodall's relationship with the people of Taiwan and how she witnessed the island's environmental history, conservation efforts, democratic transition, and cultural movements.
In 2025, he was selected as a recipient of Taiwan's Global Pathfinder Initiative, a nationally supported youth-leadership program. He now leads 'Operation Long Now: Climate Innovation and Nature Restoration Narratives for Long-term Thinking and Flourishing,' an eight-month, multi-continental climate action and storytelling project. Spanning from Findhorn, Scotland, the Silicon Valley, to the Amazon rainforest, it blends systems thinking, media production, and policy engagement to explore new ways to connect local and global climate narratives, building bridges across cultures and generations. During this journey, he was part of the youth delegation to COP30 in Belém, Brazil and was named to the 4th edition of Environmental Leaders by the Ministry of Environment, Taiwan.
Shawn now focuses on building community networks in the Asia-Pacific region, supporting leadership programs in climate diplomacy, and creating regenerative projects for urban environments. His interdisciplinary focus spans ecopsychology, philosophy, and cinema, anchored in a lifelong commitment to deepening our understanding of the human–environment connection.
