by Stacey Choe What started as a site visit to OneSky’s early learning centre in Danang for a few members promptly developed into something that would feature more than early childhood education and development when members started suggesting more programmes to visit. In the end, we also visited Pacific Links, KOTO, Saigon Children, and met with LIN Center for Community Development  and Vietseeds. One of our members was keen for members to meet with Pacific Links, an anti-human trafficking organisation. With the recent tragedy in UK with Vietnamese migrants, this was definitely an issue that everyone was curious to learn…

By Evangeline Ho Before joining APC, I had spent eight years building up a career in real estate investments. However, an unfortunate turn of events had me leave my job to care for my terminally ill relative. My caregiving experience made me aware of the social isolation and disengagement among the elderly. Many of whom either lived alone, are estranged from family, or family were busy with work, and have also lost touch with their friends. The interactions I had sparked a desire within me to work in longevity care. This made me curious about a professional switch to the…

By Natalie Kennedy Cutting edge technologies to support a more circular economy As residents of an archipelago, APC’s Indonesian members are increasingly looking for new innovations to address the challenge of how to help communities deal with waste. In 2015, Science Magazine flagged Indonesia as being second only to China as the largest contributor to global mismanaged plastic waste, and while the government is making strides with new policies addressing the 140% increase in imported plastic waste reported in 2018 (mostly from Western countries) contributing to the supply problem, there are signs that the improper treatment of post-consumer plastic is…

By Natalie Kennedy Thinking globally, acting locally Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his last fireside chat in 1944; these were a series of talks from the US president which were delivered over the radio as a way to break down barriers of communication and reassure the public during a time of war. Two years later, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was born, to provide humanitarian relief for children affected by WWII.  And then, two years after that, the world saw the arrival of Henrietta Fore, now the Executive Director of UNICEF since January 2018. In her own fireside chat with…

by Felicia Hanitio Every year, APC gathers all our members from across Asia for two days of rediscovering their giving purpose, connecting and learning from one another and sector experts, and exploring new opportunities for joint action. venn2019, the most well-attended member summit yet, brought 49 APC members and guests  together in Singapore on 7-8 November for lively discussions and exchange, bookended by site visits exploring Singapore’s criminal justice system and arts landscape. True to APC’s spirit of encouraging a deep, firsthand understanding of social issues, members and guests kicked off their Thursday morning on 7 November with a sobering…

By Stacey Choe How can social sector leaders improve themselves and get even better at their work? Join a fellowship. Truly. Perhaps not exactly Lord of the Rings kind of fellowship, but within the wider social sector, there is a whole host of fellowship opportunities catering to different levels of development, some specialising in certain fields whilst others are generic on leadership growth and even cross-sectoral. Typically, the aim of such fellowship programmes is for aspiring social sector leaders to be able to step out from their organisations and work, and to be able to learn more on the intricacies…