HKSAR Government Chief Secretary for Administration Chan Kwok-ki (front row, centre), Club Chairman Michael Lee (front row, 6th left), Club Deputy Chairman Martin Liao (front row, 5th left), Club Stewards, Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (front row, 6th right) and Club management pose for a group photo at the opening ceremony of the Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum 2024.

On 9th and 10th September 2024, The Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum (PBC) gathered stakeholders from various sectors to align on a shared vision of positive impact, and explored how philanthropic organisations can define and ensure their impact through methodologies of management and measurement.

The event also explored the synergy between philanthropy and the capital markets, exchanging ideas and innovations between these sectors to create widespread impact. With an overarching theme of “Delivering Impactful Philanthropy in the Real World”, PBC 2024 convened against the backdrop of an evolving philanthropic landscape in which philanthropy can play a crucial role in pushing the right levers to ensure we are delivering impact.

Conference report

Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum 2024: Charting Asian philanthropy’s path to global impact

Fan Li, East Asia Regional Representative at Alliance magazine

Under the overarching theme of “Delivering Impactful Philanthropy in the Real World,” the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust hosted its fourth and largest Philanthropy for Better Cities (PBC) Forum on September 9-10, 2024, in Hong Kong. The two-day forum, alongside an array of side events, attracted nearly 100 speakers and over 2,000 delegates from 40 countries and regions, including philanthropists, thought leaders, social entrepreneurs, policymakers, academics, and NGOs.

Founded in 1884, the Hong Kong Jockey Club is the city’s largest single taxpayer, while its Charities Trust is Asia’s largest charitable donor. This year’s PBC Forum was organised in collaboration with the Institute of Philanthropy, a new “think-fund-do” tank for China and Asia, which was launched at the forum last year through a seed grant of HK$6.8 billion (US$870 million) from The Jockey Club and its Trust.

HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee, in his video address at the opening ceremony, noted that the forum is “a testament to Hong Kong’s commitment to philanthropy.” Lee underscored the government’s ambition for Hong Kong to emerge as a global centre for philanthropy, formalised in the policy statement on developing family office businesses in Hong Kong. Read more…

Reflections from the event

‘Young’ Asian institutional philanthropy playing catch up as West dominates 20 largest funders list

Shafi Musaddique, Alliance magazine

Asian philanthropy stretches back hundreds of years. Institutional philanthropy, however, is in its infancy. In fact, half of Asia’s largest philanthropies are under 20 years old, compared to just 20 per cent of the world’s largest funders in the same period.  

According to a landmark report launched at the Hong Kong Jockey Club by consultancy firm Bridgespan, findings show the stark divide in institutional philanthropy between the so-called west and east. 

‘This is not the norm in the world, and it just tells you how young this field is with all the possibilities ahead,’ William Foster, managing partner at Bridgespan and moderator for a session highlighting the launch of the report at the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum, told Alliance magazine. 

When contrasted to global funders, the gaps are both large and closing. 

Bridgespan’s report finds that the world’s top 20 funders all come from ‘the west’ – with one exception. In 15th place, the Hong Kong Jockey Club stands as the sole Asian institutional philanthropy in a list dominated by the US, UK and Scandinavia. Read more…

Commission for Asian Philanthropy launched to share continent’s best practice 2: ‘The miracle of Europe’

Shafi Musaddique, Alliance magazine

A brand new Commission for Asian Philanthropy has been launched, the first of its kind bringing together leading philanthropy voices from ‘west Asia’ with counterparts from south and east Asia in what has been described as a ‘collaborative, sector-building effort’.

It comes as Asia’s philanthropic leverage rapidly expands, with wealth from the region growing at some 1.7 faster than the global average. But Asian practitioners fear philanthropic efforts are too fragmented. The commission aims to bring the largest foundations together for knowledge sharing over three years. The announcement – perhaps the biggest made in the two-day summit – closed off Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Philanthropy for Better Cities forum held on 9 and 10 September. Read more…

Technology as a tool, context as a guide: Gender equality in action across Asia

Fan Li is the East Asia Regional Representative at Alliance magazine

The fourth Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum, hosted by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, was held from September 9-10 at the West Kowloon Cultural District. This significant event convened over 2,000 global participants, including leaders from the philanthropic, academic, business, social sector, and government fields. One of the standout sessions at the forum was titled Equality in Action: How are Women in Impact Driving Impact for Women, a panel that brought together inspiring women leaders to share their insights and priorities in making fundamental gender shifts a reality. Read more…

What is the role of the media in promoting social change?

Shafi Musaddique, Alliance magazine

The role of the media in promoting meaningful social change often goes unspoken, or often ignored, particularly given the small space philanthropy media occupies in the larger media ecosystem. But this was a topic that piqued the interest of delegates attending. The hall was packed to the rafters. Clearly there is a demand to hear such open conversations.

Alliance magazine had the honour of participating on the panel, in what was a lively discussion arguably as fundamentally important as the role of artificial intelligence – and other issues – discussed at the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Philanthropy for Better Cities forum. Read more…

AI’s future Is happening now. Will philanthropy embrace it?

Sevda Kilicalp, Philea

AI has recently achieved advancements that feel straight out of science fiction. A prime example is the ‘Holodeck,’ developed by the University of Pennsylvania and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Inspired by Star Trek, the Holodeck uses large language models (LLMs) to create immersive 3D environments where AI systems learn by navigating complex, real-world scenarios, significantly improving their training and enhancing its effectiveness in applications like robotics. Read more…