On September 5, the 6th World Philanthropy Forum, jointly hosted by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and Tsinghua University, was held at CUHK. Professor Rocky S. Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK, and Professor Yang Bin, Vice President of Tsinghua University, delivered the opening addresses.
In Professor Tuan’s speech, he said that the World Philanthropy Forum being held in Hong Kong was very meaningful, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of CUHK. The world is facing new challenges and opportunities, and philanthropy is one of the important indicators of human moral progress and social development. As the Hong Kong Secretariat of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), CUHK is committed to promoting sustainable development solutions. CUHK used the forum as a platform to establish global networks and partnerships, develop more effective strategies and plans, with the goal of ensuring that philanthropy benefits everyone around the world.
Professor Yang pointed out that the philanthropic sector has entered a new era, while new characteristics have emerged from social welfare and charity. In this new era, Tsinghua University is adhering to its longstanding tradition of philanthropy, emphasising the cultivation of students’ philanthropic spirit and sense of social responsibility, and guiding them to engage in socially beneficial practices. He also emphasised the role of the forum as a bridge that can help people reach consensus, host in-depth discussions to generate systematic and innovative outcomes, and share China’s experiences in the philanthropic sector with the rest of Asia and the world, with the aim of promoting philanthropic development globally.
The theme of this year’s forum was “Create a Better World; Create a Better Future” with 5 topics including "Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief", "Our Responsibility and Solidarity in Asia", "Her Philanthropy, Her Power", "Small Kindness is Beautiful and Internet Philanthropy" and "Youth Philanthropy, Youth Action". During the opening ceremony of the forum, the newly elected Chair and Vice Chair of its Academic Committee were presented with appointment certificates. Keynote addresses were then delivered by Mr Birger Stamperdahl, President and Chief Executive Officer of Give2Asia; Revd Canon Hon Peter Douglas Koon Ho-ming, member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong; Professor Carlo Lo Wing-hung, Chairman of CUHK’s Department of Government and Public Administration; Mr Sun Lijun, President of Alibaba Foundation; and Professor Peng Kaiping, Dean of the School of Social Sciences at Tsinghua University.
School of Social Sciences, Schwarzman College, and Center for Chinese Entrepreneur Studies at Tsinghua University were the co-organizers of the forum. Council Members of School of Social Sciences, Peng Kaiping, Ouyang Qin, Li Ying and Zhao Kejin attended the opening ceremony. Moderators and speakers included Pan Qingzhong, Executive Dean and Professor of Schwarzman College; Qian Xiaojun, Associate Dean of Schwarzman College; and Long Denggao, Director of Centre for Chinese Entrepreneur Studies. The forum gathered more than 200 guests from China’s mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, North America, Europe and Southeast Asia, representing business, academia, the social welfare sector, the World Health Organization and others. The event was held in hybrid mode, with both online and offline sessions
The inaugural World Philanthropy Forum was held at Tsinghua University on 5 September2016. Over the past eight years, the forum has become an important platform for sharing global philanthropic and social service experiences, academic exchange and policy advocacy, as well as implementation and promotion.
