Participants of the Global School Leaders Malaysia programme share their impact stories on how it has affected their work: from learning new tools for administration to leading and inspiring students, these are lessons that make their work easier and more effective, giving them the space to be better educators!
By Stacey Choe What is the best way to get a child engaged? Through play. Through sports. That is how Matthew Spacie through Magic Bus has reached out to over 900,000 children, in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar, and worked with them on their values, their aspirations and their communities to lift them out of poverty and to obtain jobs. On 7th March, APC hosted Matthew for a lunch roundtable with members in Singapore. The Magic Bus programme works with adolescents from age 12 over a 7-year period, providing them with mentors, working with industry partners to right-match them with…
APC has partnered with Worldwide Initiative for Grantmaker Support (WINGS) to launch and disseminate the findings of our guide on Giving to Myanmar to a wider audience via a webinar on 14 February 2019, 5-6pm (Singapore time). Register via the link below: After re-engaging with the international community for the last eight years, Myanmar has been through many ups and downs. In recent times, media attention has focused on its Rohingya crisis, resulting in diplomatic condemnation and continued controversy. Despite all these, the country continues to be a point of attraction for foreign investment and development. With a young population…
On 15 September 2018, The Givers Network was launched in Bangkok at Centara Grand. Co-founded by APC member Thippaporn under her DT Families Foundation, with APC, Khon Thai Foundation and Thai Young Philanthropist Network, the event and network aims to encourage everyone from all walks of life to give, in their own ways, as they can. The morning session was truly inspirational – the featured speakers included APC’s very own Stanley Tan, who recounted his own childhood experience when he made the decision to give up taking the bus from school in order to save enough money to donate to…
By Valentina Ko APC members gathered together at *SCAPE on 18 August for the second meeting of the social entrepreneurship member interest group (MIG). The meeting was held at *SCAPE, a non-profit organisation with its mission and vision rooted in support of youth, talent and leadership development. Members first met at Pope Jai Thai, a food and beverage social enterprise that works with different beneficiary groups. Owner of Pope Jai Thai, Daniel Teh introduced himself to members and gave an overview of his journey from a previously incarcerated individual to owning his own restaurant now and working with vulnerable communities…
By Valentina Ko & Stacey Choe The idea of collective impact is quite central to APC and our work but what is at stake is figuring out how to make it work effectively. Given that and with our members in mind, we referred to a recent study conducted by Spark Policy Institute and ORS Impact on 25 such cases, outlining what are the key lessons in making collective impact work; what kind of projects they are good for, what are the critical ingredients; what can be applicable for us. Collective Impact Study: It has been about seven years since John…
By Atikah Amalina At the end of January this year, I took a leap of faith and left the teaching service after four years. I was ready to explore other options, primarily my longstanding interest in the development sector. Throughout my time in teaching, I’d remained involved in various work in the non-profit sector on the side, including running programmes with orphanages in Batam, coordinating bake sales to channel funds to charity causes and organising an awareness-raising trip to a refugee camp in Aceh. Soon after leaving, I had the opportunity to work and learn with Asia Philanthropy Circle, a…
By Wei Kong In response to APC member concerns on the rise of cultural and religious intolerance in the region, in collaboration with APC, YTL Foundation hosted the 14th Funders roundtable in Kuala Lumper on the topic of Culture and Faith: why we need more inclusivity. The roundtable explored how private funders can play a role in promoting tolerance and understanding between different religious and ethnic groups. To set the stage for a well-informed discussion an expert panel outlined the current situation in Malaysia and the region, addressed misconceptions, and explored approaches to tackle them. The panel consisted of: Rita…
As social problems becoming increasingly complex, APC believes that more can be done if governments and philanthropists work in concert. There is value in coming together to align goals and harness each other’s unique strengths. This would leverage the collective intelligence and capacity for better social outcomes. The Green Paper on Effective Public-Philanthropic Collaboration in ASEAN is a first attempt to draw attention to the benefits of governments and philanthropists working together for social good. It examines the current public-philanthropic landscape in ASEAN and suggests practical ways that governments and philanthropists can work together in the near to long…
by Atikah Amalina Philanthropists and government officials need to do more to build mutual trust and to align vision and strategies, in order to reap the synergies from public-philanthropic collaboration (PPC). Asia Philanthropy Circle (APC) members, ASEAN ministers and senior officials, and the ASEAN Secretariat discussed this and more at the inaugural ASEAN Philanthropy Dialogue in Singapore on 21 March 2018. Hosted by APC and part of the fringe events accompanying Singapore’s ASEAN chairmanship, the Dialogue provided a platform for active discussion on PPC in growing social impact jointly. The benefits of PPC and the various modalities of its engagement…