'Harvard Review' gold medal for Christ’s College student Bill Li
13 Mar 2026
At 17, Christ’s College student Bill Li has added Harvard International Review Academic Writing gold medallist to his considerable list of achievements.
He has also created a colourful booklet – illustrated by Year 6 Medbury School students – that shares stories and quotes from aged-care residents.
A student-run publication at Harvard University, the International Review encourages “outstanding secondary school writing on topics related to international affairs”. It provides an online forum for ‘scholars, leaders, and policymakers’ and hosts the annual academic writing competition, attracting more than 700 student essays from around the world.
Bill’s essay, titled Urban Aging and Resilience: Lessons from Singapore’s Policy Response, highlights a government’s response to the need to “help seniors age better in the community”.
His essay was judged to be in the top 3 per cent of competition entries, with Bill awarded a gold medal, the highest academic honour. His work is to be acknowledged by the Harvard International Review.
Bill was searching for new avenues to share his interest in improving the care of the elderly and ways to rethink the best response to enable a better quality of life in New Zealand.
“By entering the Academic Writing competition, I believed I could use the opportunity to deepen my own understanding of ageing issues internationally and appreciate a wider policy approach, as opposed to a purely academic one,” he explains.
“I feel that traditional media has focused too much on the economic impact of an ageing population when we should, equally, be considering how best to manage our older population and all the needs and infrastructure required.
“Not enough attention is being given to how countries address the practical needs of this older cohort. I want to explore and analyse what we can learn from other countries that are successfully tackling age-related issues and have opted to focus on Singapore in my essay.”
In tandem, Bill has been working on his booklet, titled The Stories We Share, to help youngsters become more aware of the challenges of old age and establish intergenerational connections.
“I hoped that the booklet would engage young people regarding an important issue, and reached out to my old school, Medbury, to ask if students would be willing to illustrate it. They have done an amazing job.”
The booklets have been shared by Christchurch City Libraries and its printing has been supported by Age Concern Canterbury.
