The Prosperity Index aims to help identify specifics action to be taken to contribute to strengthening the pathways from poverty to prosperity across 167 countries, as well as providing a roadmap as nations chart their way through and out of the pandemic.
2023 edition: Read it here.
2021 edition: Read it here.
2020 edition: Read it here.
ADO 2023
This publication highlights brighter economic prospects for Asia and the Pacific amid ongoing challenges. It forecasts growth across the region’s developing economies of 4.8% this year and in 2024, up from 4.2% in 2022. Read it here.
ADO 2022
The 2022 report outlines economic prospects in developing Asia amid global turbulence and lingering pandemic risks. It discusses the implications of school closures and the conflict in Europe, and explores mobilizing taxes for development. Read it here.
ADO 2021
The 2021 report reflects on the fallout of Covid-19 and its impact on growth trajectories in Asian economies. It pinpoints new virus outbreaks and vaccine delays as key short-term risks to the region’s economic outlook, with long-term risks being consequences of prolonged unemployment and disrupted education. A thematic chapter explores the drivers and impacts of green and social finance. The infusion of private capital will be critical in boosting the funding necessary for a resilient and inclusive recovery in Asia. Read it here.
The benefits of the digital age extend to the social sector, but how can we ensure equitable access? Across Asia, digital technology has enabled greater connectivity and flow of information and resources. The social sector has largely benefited from this shift, drawing on digital tools and platforms to increase effectiveness, expand access to social support services, and supercharge fundraising efforts. Continue reading here.
Hong Kong has made attracting family offices — set up by the super rich to manage their lives and finances — a key mission under Chief Executive John Lee. In a statement announcing the event, officials said it would build stronger connections and encourage more of them to come to the city. Continue reading here.
City should offer tax incentives and allow the cross-border flow of charity capital, according to a study by the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society. Hong Kong currently loses to Singapore in terms of tax incentives for attracting charitable foundations, study shows. Read more here.
Professor Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood is the Executive Director of Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, hosted at Sunway University, Malaysia. Established in 2021, the Centre focuses on the climate emergency, creating healthy cities and achieving sustainable food systems, recognizing the centrality of good governance, effective communications and an education revolution to effect long-term system level changes to the relationship between planet and people. It forms part of Sunway Group’s focus on achieving sustainable development in Malaysia and fostering regional cooperation for environmental action.
CAPS spoke to Dr. Jemilah in late 2022 to learn more about planetary health – the intersection of human health, planetary health and sustainable resilience – and the role of private social investment in addressing existential crises in the Asian region.
CAPS: Dr. Jemilah, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Could you start by explaining the relationship between the health of people and the health of the environment?
Dr. Jemilah Mahmood: It’s abundantly clear by the events of the last three years that the health of humanity is intrinsically linked to the health of the planet. There are limits to the amount of stress the planet can take before we start to experience systemic collapse, until those tipping points that science is telling us to be worried about are reached. When we start transgressing those boundaries there is a massively negative impact on the systems that are important for humanity: health, food, water, energy. This damage in turn impacts on our economic well-being, our social cohesion, gender relations, equality, education, everything. One event can generate cascading crises, as we saw during the pandemic when we experienced this up close and personal. There are so many things that are affected when health is not protected.
CAPS: That sounds incredibly complex.
Dr. Jemilah Mahmood: It’s complex because, when it comes down to it, everything in nature is connected. The disconnection is with us – we are not connected anymore. This is because our political, economic and social systems have evolved in ways which are simply not sustainable, not respecting the limits of the Earth’s ability to provide for us, to clean up our messes, to process our trash and the toxins we create., to protect us from poorly thought through development choices. And it’s starting to more immediately touch upon a lot of sensitivities. For example, in Malaysia, the massive flooding in late 2021, generated a huge tension in politics. People felt that the government wasn’t taking care of them. People didn’t talk about climate change until it impacted them, until the triple crisis of the pandemic, the floods and then economic recession became very personal.
There is no escaping the fact that human beings drive environmental and planetary destruction, whether through their own consumer behaviors, though silent acquiescence to damage caused by big businesses and corrupt politicians or simply through participating and accepting the poorly thought through development decisions our leaders and private sector managers make – decisions that don’t take into account planetary boundaries or respect for nature. So, we are trying to get people to flip it and see things from a different perspective.
CAPS: How easy or difficult has it been for you to get people to shift that mindset?
Dr. Jemilah Mahmood: Every crisis provides opportunities. In the immediate aftermath of disasters it’s easier for us to talk to governments, to say, “Here’s the situation, you need to act.” The pandemic provided a significant opportunity to open dialogue on the need for more sustainable change and better risk management. The government has included planetary health and climate change in its development plans. The caretaker Prime Minister at the time called for a planetary health roadmap. We have a sustainability centre, bringing the SDGs into our development planning, and we’re setting up a sustainability fund so that we can look at what innovations can happen at the community level to drive sustainable transformation. It is still tricky, but it is not impossible.
I think that everyone needs to use this opportunity, making sure we don’t forget that the pandemic showed us the need for speed, to keep driving forward the transformational change that must happen now, especially because governments and people have so many competing priorities. For the normal person on the street, it is about, “How do I bring food to the table?”, and for politicians, it’s about, “How do I survive?”. For businesses, “How do I make money?”. Doing business well and right means good business outcomes. For governments, making the right policy decisions will ensure better political survival and thriving. But the ultimate driver of positive change needs to be us – the people. Changes in our behaviors will be reflected in changes in our institutions which will generate change in our interactions with the Earth.
CAPS: We often hear people say that sustainability and climate change seem too big and too complicated, and it’s difficult to know where to start. How would you respond to that concern?
Dr. Jemilah Mahmood: There’s no short-term or easy solution to this. This is going to be hard work for a long time to come – but we’re running out of time to get started. In my opinion, the most important thing is education. How do we build an awareness of the importance of the environment, of sustainability, of planetary health? It needs to start from a very young age, in schools.
At the University, we prioritized incorporating planetary health as a central theme, no matter what discipline you are in. We are piloting a course now, that will become mandatory from 2024. Every student entering Sunway University will need to complete a seven-week course on planetary health and community service before they graduate. In the process of educating people, you create greater awareness and develop leadership skills.
We also run a lot of youth engagement activities. I think that’s a factor in how we change things in the long term, through young people. They already know this is important. They know that their generation is facing an existential crisis. We give them the tools and the skills so that they are better able to handle it, but also build that transformative innovation that is required to develop solutions for us all.
CAPS: What role can philanthropists play in supporting businesses and communities to take action on planetary health?
Dr. Jemilah Mahmood: I think philanthropy would do well to increase its focus on impact. That’s where the real value for money lies. But a lot of the time, philanthropy is not strategic. For example, when there’s a crisis, everybody pours money into relief, but funders are less willing to provide money that helps to prevent these crises from happening in the first place. I want to see philanthropists think about strategy and impact, more intelligent theories of change, and long-term progress.
Philanthropy also has such an important role to play in building institutions. I would love for our Centre to have endowments to help us do research and build the evidence to change society through education and influencing policies. We also want to influence businesses, including SMEs, to look at how they can innovate and to help them become more aware of their environmental impact. We have to get people to see that protecting the environment is good business and good FOR business.
In 2004, Li Kemei and her husband Tang Xiuguo (President of Sany Group) established the Deqing Education Special Fund followed by the Beijing Deqing Foundation in 2016, CAPS spoke to Li Kemei in 2021 to learn more about her story of promoting rural music education.
2004年，李克梅和丈夫唐修国（三一集团总裁）发起成立了德清教育专项基金；2016年，夫妇两人又发起成立了北京德清公益基金会。2021年6月, CAPS与李克梅女士进行了一次线上对话，希望了解她推动德清基金会做乡村音乐教育的故事。
CAPS: Can you share with us the philanthropic work of your organization?
能否与我们分享贵机构的公益事业？
Li Kemei: The Deqing Foundation focuses on rural music education. We chose a specific entry point – vocal training for children. Our goal is to enable every rural child to receive quality music education and illuminate their hearts through their voices.
李克梅：德清基金会的定位是一个小而美的基金会，我们聚焦在乡村音乐教育，选择了一个非常小的切入口——合唱，希望通过这个支点，撬动各方力量，实现“让每一个乡村孩子都能接受有质量的音乐教育”的愿景，用童声照亮童心。
Focusing on education, particularly music education, is a long-term investment that may not show immediate results. However, we believe that we are laying the groundwork for future success. As we say in Chinese, “You must prepare the soil before planting seeds.”
聚焦教育领域，尤其是音乐教育领域，意味着我们选择了一条短时间看不到明显效果的路，但是没关系，我们不着急，我们做的就是润物细无声的工作，就像土壤板结时，总要有人先做一些松土工作，苗子才能慢慢长出来。
We have been working hard over the years to create an ecosystem for rural education. Non-profit organizations focusing on rural education cannot work in silos. It’s essential to integrate our efforts with the local education ecosystem and to support local education workers, such as education foundations, education bureaus, principals, and teachers, with new ideas, mechanisms, and resources.
多年下来，我一直坚持一点，乡村的教育有它的生态，公益组织帮扶乡村教育，不能孤立地做，了解、融入到当地的教育生态很有必要，通过新的理念、机制和资源来激发当地教育工作者（教育局、教育基金会、校长和老师们）的活力非常重要。
CAPS: Is there any connection between your philanthropy and Sany Group’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts?
请问您的慈善事业和三一的企业社会责任是否有关联？若有，您认为两者之间的互动关系是怎么样的？
Li Kemei: The two are closely linked. As the president of Sany Group, my husband Tang Xiuguo has a mission to fulfill the company’s social responsibilities. A major part of Sany Group’s CSR is conducted through the Sany Foundation which aims to drive innovation on important social issues. As members of the family, we have chosen to focus on music education philanthropy as our intersection point. For example, every summer, we invite at least a hundred village teachers to Changsha for intensive training. This would not be possible without the comprehensive support of Sany Group, which provides catering, accommodation and logistics.
李克梅：唐修国作为三一集团的总裁，履行社会责任也是他的使命；从个人和家族出发，我们选择了一个较小的切入口，聚焦在音乐教育公益，我们做的是小事，只能说是三一企业社会责任大版图中的一点补充。德清基金会最初起源于我和先生回馈家乡、回馈社会的想法。我们认为，一个人经营好了自己的家庭，在自己的能量半径内为家乡，为社会，为国家做些力所能及的事情是时代赋予我们的使命。从2015年基金会聚焦音乐教育公益开始，我们的能量半径逐渐越拓越宽，这离不开三一的支持。每年暑期我们都会邀请乡村师生到长沙参加集中培训，动辄几百人，没有三一集团在食住行提供支持，我们是没有底气做的。
CAPS: Are there any philanthropic projects that have inspired your work?
请问您是否能与我们分享一个您认为最为成功的公益项目？
Li Kemei: Yes, one project that I find particularly inspiring is the El Sistema project, also known as the Venezuelan National Youth Orchestra System. Venezuela was the largest oil producer and exporter in South America during the ‘50s and ’60s, but there was a significant wealth disparity in the country. Many people were unemployed, leading to social unrest and an increase in juvenile crime rates. In 1975, Dr. Jose Antonio Abreu launched the “Music Society Movement” and established the first youth orchestra in Venezuela. Two years later, this orchestra achieved impressive results in international music competitions held in the UK, which caught the attention of the Venezuelan government. In 1977, the government supported the establishment of the State Foundation for the National System of Youth and Infant Orchestras of Venezuela (FESNOJIV), hoping to influence society through music education.
李克梅：德清基金会主要聚焦在音乐教育领域，所以更多地关注这个类别的公益项目。我个人非常喜欢委内瑞拉国立青少年管弦乐团系统这个项目。委内瑞拉是南美洲最大的石油生产和出口国，但国内贫富差距巨大，特别是在上世纪五六十年代，全球石油生产过剩的背景下，大量底层人民失业，社会动荡，青少年犯罪率不断攀升。1975年，阿布莱坞博士发起“音乐社会运动”，组建委内瑞拉第一支青少年管弦乐团，2年后，这支乐团在英国阿伯丁举办的国际音乐赛事中获得好成绩，由此受到政府关注。1977年，政府支持成立委内瑞拉国立青少年管弦乐团系统基金会，希望通过音乐教育影响社会。
This project was successful for two reasons. First, the project has a well-designed structure that makes it actionable and sustainable. The project’s goal is clear, not only to cultivate musicians but also to instill a sense of responsibility, happiness, and passion for music, while becoming a contributing member of society. The project achieves this through a pyramid-shaped talent cultivation system, where children progress through choir, children’s orchestra, youth orchestra, and a professional orchestra. Group-based lectures solve the problem of insufficient teachers and help young people develop strong values. Peer teaching is also encouraged which helps improve the efficiency of rehearsals and creates a pool of future teachers.
之所以觉得这个项目成功有两个方面：一是项目本身体系设计科学，可行性强且能可持续地执行下去。首先，项目的目标非常清晰，并不是培养音乐家，而是培养有责任感、幸福感，热爱音乐，对社会有贡献的公民。围绕这个目标，项目设计了金字塔培养体系，以社区为中心集中授课，从3岁开始接受登记入团，逐步从合唱团、少儿乐团、青少年管弦乐团、专业乐团的阶梯式路径培养青少年。团队一起接受授课既能缓解教师不足的问题，也对于青少年形成正确的三观有极大帮助，同时项目还提倡“同辈教学”，高级团队学生有义务担任初级团队的指导，这样不仅有助于提高日常排练效率，让乐团氛围更加轻松友爱，同时还培养了未来的教师储备资源。
Second, this project can be replicated. The project’s management model is top-down, where foundations can establish community centers and provide funding for their basic operations. Community centers can utilize societal resources and parent groups to raise 20% of the funding needed. They can also maintain close contact with companies, families, and young people in the community. The project’s management model has significantly reduced the juvenile crime rate in the community and improved the living environment. As of 2017, more than 300 community centers have been established, providing systematic music education to 350,000 young people every year, which is 1% of Venezuela’s population. Over 40 countries and regions worldwide have drawn inspiration from this project when creating their own models.
另一个项目的成功点在于它的可复制性，它的管理模式为自上而下，通过基金会在全国各城市建立社区中心，并拨款保证社区基本运营，同时社区中心通过各自的社区资源、家长群体等接受社会捐助，自筹20%左右的经费，与社区内的公司、家庭、青少年保持密切联系，有研究表明该项目所在社区的青少年犯罪率显著降低，这也同时改善了社区生活环境。项目的管理模式决定了它可以有效地复制到委内瑞拉其他社区，截至2017年，委内瑞拉建立了超过300个社区中心，每年35万青年能接受到体系化的音乐教育，这一数字占委内瑞拉人的1/100。全球有40多个国家和地区复制了或参考了该项目，建立了各自的青少年管弦乐团系统。
CAPS: How has this project influenced your work?
这个项目对您的公益事业有什么样的启发？
Li Kemei: I think that learning from the execution and actual effect of the El Sistema project is very valuable. It has inspired me to think about how our “Happy Chorus 3+1 – the Promotion of Choral Art in Rural Middle & Primary Schools” project can benefit more rural teachers and students. A choir can also help alleviate rural children’s loneliness and boost their confidence and happiness. My country has a strong tradition of choral singing, particularly in singing patriotic songs, which provides a good foundation for the choral community.
李克梅：这个项目不管在执行还是效果上，都是很值得学习的，这不禁让我想到我们自己的“快乐合唱 3+1—乡村中小学合唱艺术推广”公益项目，如何让更多乡村师生受益，是我一直在思考的。与乐团一样，合唱团也是团体艺术，有助于缓解乡村孩子们的孤独情绪，帮助他们更自信更快乐地成长。且我国一直有红歌合唱的传统，合唱群众基础较好。
The “Happy Chorus 3+1” project may seem complicated, but it has a simple underlying logic, consisting of three modules: building a teacher training system to help deliver excellent music classes, providing a chorus performance platform to accompany children’s growth, and setting up a research and exchange platform to promote rural aesthetic education development. As of December 31, 2022, the “Happy Chorus 3+1” project has trained 8,410 music teachers, hosted 5 “Happy Chorus 3+1” public benefit concerts, and successfully conducted “Primary and Secondary School Chorus Performances” in 14,970 classes across 763 primary and secondary schools in 19 counties across three provinces, benefiting 863,577 students.
“快乐合唱3+1”这个项目看起来复杂，但其实底层逻辑很简单，分三个模块：构建教师培训体系帮助上好音乐课，提供合唱展演舞台陪伴孩子成长，搭建研究交流平台推动乡村美育发展。截至2022年12月31日，“快乐合唱3+1”项目培训了8410人次音乐教师，举办了5场“快乐合唱3+1”公益音乐会，在三省19县763所中小学14,970个班级顺利开展了“中小学合唱展演”，惠及863,577名中小学生。
We started with the project design and management model, aiming to create a stepped choral growth system and music teacher training program that is suitable for China. We also want to develop a platform that showcases the project’s achievements in multiple areas, intending to provide every rural child with quality music education.
我们从项目设计和项目管理模式着手， 希望能通过打造适合中国国情的梯级合唱团成长体系、阶梯式音乐教师培训体系和多维成果展示平台，让每一个乡村孩子都能接受有质量的音乐教育。
It is an honor to be interviewed by CAPS, and I hope that this opportunity will enable more people to see how foundations in China are promoting the popularization and development of music education through the chorus charity program.
这次非常荣幸能够接受亚洲公益事业研究中心（CAPS）的访谈，希望以此契机也能让更多人看到中国的基金会是如何通过合唱公益项目推动音乐教育普及和发展的。
The India Philanthropy Report series showcases the state of giving towards the social sector in India. It highlights the growing contribution of family foundations, which has remained resilient during the pandemic, while other sources of private sector funding have stagnated. However, the social sector remains underserved, with annual funding shortfalls compounded by the addition of pandemic-induced demands.
2023 edition
In its 13th edition, India Philanthropy Report 2023, co-created by Bain & Company and Dasra, focuses on the different funder archetypes – CSR, Retail Givers, UHNIs, HNI & Affluent Givers, their deeply correlated roles, factors and barriers influencing different cohorts of givers and actionable insights into specific enablers that can make philanthropy more effective. Read it here.
2022 edition
The report notes that as India advances towards growth and transformation, an opportunity exists to invest in and support different funder groups across CSR, family philanthropy and retail giving. Read it here.
2021 edition
The report estimates that if India’s ultra-high-net-worth families increase their giving in line with global peers (i.e., they give 2-3% of their wealth), family philanthropic funding would increase five-fold. Read it here.
This report was produced in collaboration with the Better Hong Kong Foundation (BHKF). Highlighting how Hong Kong can enhance its attractiveness, for both individual and corporate private wealth owners, the report discusses how the city can develop its role as Asia’s pre-eminent philanthropy hub.
Poverty elimination has been a mass mobilization campaign in China. To accomplish this task, the Chinese government encouraged financial institutions to lend more and support local projects, as well as the private sector to contribute through investment funds and charitable foundations. Read the article from CAPS’ Angel Chiang here.