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…
Roundtable with Jenny Bowen and OneSky: Lessons from a successful ECD model
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…
9 Lessons from Cambodia: Social Entrepreneurship Learning Journey Insights
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…
Bringing Vietnam together for more collaboration towards social impact
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…
Developing the new generation of talent for the future of global trade
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…
School leaders share why our leadership training is really making a difference to their work
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!
Bringing youths out of poverty through sports development with Magic Bus!
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…
New Member Interest Group: Early Childhood Development taking a front seat
By Stacey Choe APC launched our second Member Interest Group in October, this time on Early Childhood Development (ECD), an area that members in many countries all expressed interest in. Helming the group is Laurence, whose family foundation has strongly advocated inclusive and holistic ECD programmes for many years now. With so many different countries and members at varying stages of their ECD journey, members agreed that it will focus on the three to six-year-old age range for current discussions, and this group will serve as a platform for them to learn more about best practices, research and programmes. A…
Reflections on venn2018
Nearing the end of a year provides for a good opportunity to reflect on a period that is about to end. Almost two years have passed since I joined the board of APC and it has been a truly rewarding experience to be part of this Group at a broader and deeper level. When Laurence first mentioned that venn2018 was to be held in Manila, with the request that we co-host, I had no firm concept of what a programme would look like, as Hazel and I have attended the conference once only, in Jakarta. I did of course welcome…
Launch of The Givers Network in Bangkok
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…