by Taila Mueller From visiting the world’s largest foundation, to seeing the most highly regarded rehabilitative home for addicts and former convicts and to eating at Bruce Lee’s favourite Seattle restaurant, APC’s 2019 US Learning Journey was a packed and rich immersive experience that brought us to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle in just six days.  Members appreciated seeing both grassroots and global philanthropy initiatives and the contrast in perspectives.  Many said it was a transformative and thought provoking experience for evaluating their philanthropic approaches and activities. Philanthropy Exchange with Give2Asia, Tides and local philanthropists Here is an overview…

(Hong Kong, 10 June 2019) The Lorinet Foundation in partnership with the Octava Foundation, are providing vital funding to enable the rollout of a successful pilot led by OneSky, in supporting Early Childhood Development in the Hoa Khanh, Da Nang Industrial zone, in Vietnam. Vietnam is one of South-East Asia’s fastest growing economies and has experienced significant economic growth in recent decades.  However, rapid industrialisation and urbanisation has led to a shift within the societal fabric of families, where parents have no choice but to travel long distances to generate an income, and this impacts on the most vulnerable –…

by Yeo Qin-Liang On 21 May, APC hosted students of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)’s Family Office Diploma Programme, who are next-gen’s learning how to best utilise their family assets and approach philanthropy. APC and CEIBS kicked-off the afternoon with an insightful panel discussion on family philanthropy in Asia at the Lien Villa with three distinguished speakers.  Mr Mahboob Mahmood, CEO of Knowledge Platform and former Adjunct Professor of Family Enterprise at INSEAD, gave an overview of family philanthropy in Asia.  Mr David Chong, Founder and President of Portcullis Group, offered a more technical perspective on how to set…

by Yeo Qin-Liang Philanthropists often need support to fulfil their potential as catalysts of change and amplify the impact of every dollar they spend.  However, there is little understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the very institutions – like Asia Philanthropy Circle (APC) – that are backing these philanthropists. To better inform our practices, Synergos partnered five European foundations in commissioning Constellation for Change to study the landscape of Philanthropy and Social Investment Infrastructure (PSII) in Europe.  The report “More than the Sum of its Parts: Insights on the Future of European Philanthropy and Social Investment Infrastructure” was written…

by Mianmian Fei APC member, David Zuellig, trustee of the Zuellig Family Foundation, is a keen philanthropist in health enhancement in the Philippines.  One of the projects the foundation has been supporting since 2013 is the Epilepsy Manager Programme under the Philippine League Against Epilepsy (PLAE).  Leading this programme is David’s wife Hazel Paragua-Zuellig, an epilepsy specialist and the former president of PLAE.  She is currently on board of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the chairman of its Access to Medicine Task Force.  Before a roundtable lunch in March, Hazel sat down with APC at Shangri-La Hotel Singapore…

by Taila Mueller Philanthropy and public sector efforts to date in Asia tend to focus on K-12 and university education support with the intention to equalise opportunities and the playing field for the poor, vulnerable and marginalised.  Studies, however, increasingly point to the criticality of early childhood education (ECD) and development programmes, including nutrition, and their long term impact on the welfare of its beneficiaries. Put simply, children with a poor start suffer into adulthood.  With increasing momentum on this issue area, thanks to a newly launched regional Member Interested Group, APC engaged its Filipino members and guests working in…

by Yeo Qin-Liang Early Childhood Development (ECD) interventions do matter.  Effective interventions could improve the future livelihoods of our most vulnerable young children and combat social inequality – at an estimated 13% return on investment according to Omidyar.  However, it is no easy feat for an ECD programme to achieve scale and generate impact. Stemming from the ECD member interest group’s efforts to learn more about best practices in ECD programmes, APC convened a roundtable in Singapore featuring Jenny Bowen, Founder and CEO of OneSky.  Lorinet Foundation hosted the session as they are co-funding the OneSky Vietnam programme together with…

by Stacey Choe After two hours on the road from Phnom Penh, we emerged into the searing heat of the Cambodian countryside after witnessing parched lands from the worst drought in decades.  But nothing prepared us for the amazing scale and comprehensiveness of the Smiling Gecko project that we were to witness over the next two days. The Cambodian Social Entrepreneurship Learning Journey was the biggest group that we have organised thus far.  We had 19 participants from members in Singapore, China and Indonesia and guests from Taiwan and Cambodia joining us on this trip.  Everyone congratulated us on a…

by Stacey Choe APC participated in a dialogue with local Vietnamese social sector stakeholders in March this year in HCMC on Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship for Social Impact.  The session was organised by Ho Chi Minh City Peace and Development Foundation (HPDF) and brought together interested parties from NGOs, academia, and private sector.  This event followed the first Vietnam philanthropy roundtable that APC co-organised with HPDF in July 2018 when there was much enthusiasm to continue the engagement. In order to build up the social impact sector, APC suggested a few practical ideas to bring the players together and keep…

by Stacey Choe APC member Merle Hinrich, who is usually based in Hong Kong, hosted a roundtable lunch in Singapore on 5 March discussing about education required for the new age of global trade.  APC helped to bring together a group of members, government officials and industry leaders who offered different but critical perspectives. Due to Mr. Hinrich’s long history and success in international trade, primarily through Global Sources Ltd, Hinrich Foundation focuses on promoting sustainable global trade.  To further this, they develop education programmes with academia and industry that addresses changing talent needs in the global trade sector.  That…