The Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum, convened by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, came to a successful close today (23 September) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The first such event in the Asia Pacific region to focus on metropolitan social issues, the two-day forum featured more than 60 prominent speakers from around the world and drew an audience of over 1,000 thought leaders and delegates from NGOs, government agencies and philanthropic organisations.
To harvest the energy of the conference, the Club’s Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges proposed that forums should be organised on a regular basis, while to maintain momentum between forums there should be more opportunities for structured and in-depth dialogue. “Let’s continue the conversation. Let’s make our cities even better places to live for all citizens,” he concluded.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Chairman of the Commission on Youth Lau Ming-wai thanked the Club for convening the forum. He noted that it was rare for a philanthropic forum to be designed around cities, while for Hong Kong to host such a forum is unique.
In total, the forum comprised two keynote addresses, four plenaries and twelve track sessions, providing a platform for speakers to share their views on a wide range of metropolitan social issues. The sessions were divided into five main themes: Ageing and Health, Youth and Education, Environment and Sustainability, Innovation and Technology, and Public-Private Partnerships.
Taking part in today’s keynote dialogue, which looked at the similarities and differences between philanthropic developments in East and West, were the Chairman and CEO of Tencent, Pony Ma; the President and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, Rip Rapson; and the Club’s Executive Director, Charities and Community, Leong Cheung.
Other leading speakers addressing the forum included Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Business School, who has been described as ‘the father of modern business strategy’; Helen Cadbury, Chair of Barrow Cadbury Trust; Robert Rosen and Alexander Ng of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Laurence Lien, CEO of Asia Philanthropy Circle; Wang Zhenyao, Dean of Beijing Normal University China Philanthropy Research Institute; and Wang Ming, Dean of Institute for Philanthropy of Tsinghua University.
Post-conference site visits are being arranged tomorrow for delegates to learn more about The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust’s three areas of strategic focus: Youth – Empowering youth for a hopeful future; Elderly – Building an age-friendly Hong Kong; and Sports – Promoting active participation and sportsmanship, making sports fun and accessible for all. Highlights include the “CLAP for Youth @ JC” HKCYS Career and Life Adventure Planning Service Team (New Territories East) Centre; the Jockey Club CADENZA Hub; and Tuen Mun Public Riding School. For more details, please visit the forum website: http://citiesphilanthropy.com/.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a not-for-profit enterprise dedicated to community betterment. Through its integrated business model of world-class racing, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charity and community contribution, the Club generates substantial economic and social value and assists the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2015/16 the Club donated a record HK$3.9 billion to charity and paid a record HK$20.9 billion in tax. It is Hong Kong’s largest single tax payer and one of the world’s largest charity donors. Committed to global excellence and giving back to society, the Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong.
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In his closing remarks, Club Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges proposed that forums should be organised on a regular basis, while to maintain momentum between forums there should be more opportunities for structured and in-depth dialogue.
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Chairman of Commission on Youth Lau Ming-wai expresses his gratitude to the Club for convening the Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum
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Chairman and CEO of Tencent, Pony Ma (centre); President and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, Rip Rapson (right); and the Cluba£į?s Executive Director, Charities and Community, Leong Cheung (left), discuss the similarities and differences between philanthropic developments in East and West.
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Club Chairman Dr Simon S O Ip (centre); the Cluba£į?s Deputy Chairman Anthony W K Chow (2nd left); Executive Director, Charities and Community, Leong Cheung (1st left); Chairman and CEO of Tencent, Pony Ma (1st right); and President and CEO of The Kresge Foundation, Rip Rapson (2nd right).
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More than 1,000 thought leaders and delegates from NGOs, government agencies and philanthropic organisations attended the two-day Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum.
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