BY EILEEN CHONG, LEAD, INSIGHTS & INNOVATION
When the Secretariat set out to plan APC’s 10th anniversary celebration, we knew we did not want it to be yet another conference. We wanted to celebrate the people who made APC possible and who shaped our journey over the past decade. We wanted to honor the philanthropists, non-profit leaders, and beneficiaries at the heart of our work – not with polished keynotes and perfectly curated panels, but with space for real stories, honest reflections, and all of the messy, human parts of systems change.
On 23 October, what unfolded was less a summit and more a homecoming – a space where more than 120 members, partners and friends in the ecosystem came together to explore how systems change is deeply, profoundly personal.
We began the morning with three seasoned philanthropists – Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Victor Hartono, and Liu Xin – sharing their “why” of giving. We heard how they got started, what they have learnt and why they remain deeply committed to giving. Their honesty set the tone for the rest of the day.
Then came our Human Library sessions, designed around a simple idea: that the best way to understand systems change is to listen to those living it. We paired now gen members with next gen members to explore how giving evolves across generations. We heard from a member and two Cambodian social impact leaders about what ground-up systems change looks like when we work not just for communities, but alongside them. We also heard from all the stakeholders involved in our migrant workers sandbox project, which seeks to provide an alternative, ethical migration pathway for Bangladeshi workers to come work in Singapore. And in our climate-focussed book, players of all sizes came together to surface the invisible dimensions of systems change that too often go unspoken.
But for me, it was the afternoon session where we turned inward to reflect on failure and courage that left the deepest impression. We held space to talk about failure – not as a stepping stone to inevitable success, but as an experience worthy of examination in its own right. People shared questions they still don’t have answers to. They named disappointments that still sting. They offered lessons learnt the hard way.
Then we moved from reflection to action with a courage clinic. We asked everyone to write down one thing they would love to work on but never had the courage to tackle. Around each table, others chimed in – offering ideas, encouragement, perspective. The energy shifted from contemplative to energizing as people realized they were not alone in their hesitations or their hopes. We invited everyone to capture that intention on a postcard, which we will mail back to them a year later – a gentle reminder of the courage they are cultivating.
It is never easy to embrace failure and name our fears. Perhaps the biggest takeaway that afternoon is that failure does not always need to lead to success – it just needs to teach us something true. And sometimes courage is not about having all the answers. It is about taking the next step regardless.
As APC turns ten, we celebrate not just a decade of difference, but the potential of so much more in the decades to come. Because our work is not about institutions or initiatives. It is about building community. The willingness to listen deeply. The courage to share honestly. The recognition that we are all, in different ways, trying to leave the world a little better than we found it.