About PBC
The Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum (PBC) 2024 convened against the backdrop of an evolving philanthropic landscape. Over the past few years, we saw a significant rise in the number and diversity of actors, including corporations, investment funds and governments, seeking to contribute to social impact. Among businesses, many made intentional efforts to align their goals with societal development, leading to significant positive impacts for their communities. In finance, impact investing gained traction, with a 63% growth in private impact investing from 2019 to 2022. Within the philanthropic landscape, we saw new actors emerge as economies expand and new wealth was created – particularly in Asia.
Convened by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum 2023 had the overarching theme of "Philanthropy for Fairer Societies." It aimed to provoke in-depth discussions on fair access to economic opportunities, education and health justice, and build impetus and motivation for building fairer societies in the future. Over the period of the two-day Forum, there were four keynote sessions, four plenary sessions, and nine track sessions. It brought together around 1,600 delegates from 21 countries and regions. There were 68 prominent speakers and over 180 representatives of local, regional and global foundations. Among them are philanthropic, academic, business, social sector and government leaders.
At the 2018 Forum, Professor James J. Heckman from the University of Chicago and Professor Michael J. Sandel from Harvard University joined us as keynote speakers.
Education has always been one of the key areas shaping civilised societies, especially in metropolitan cities. As an expert in the economics of human development, Professor Heckman proposed in his Day 1 keynote speech that philanthropists focused on helping children should shift their efforts to what happens before school. He helped the audience identify the most important paths towards impact that philanthropists and other stakeholders can support when looking to scale up Early Childhood Development (ECD) solutions.
On Day 2, Professor Sandel took forward the discussions on “Creating Shared Value” from the inaugural forum and offered an alternative perspective by discussing the moral limits of markets and market mechanisms. He explored with his audience the ethical dilemmas regarding what are the right things to do for addressing metropolitan social challenges.
In addition, the following five thematic areas were covered in the 2018 Forum: (i) Leveraging the Market; (ii) Sustainable Development; (iii) Maximizing Impact; (iv) Youth & Creativity; and (v) Health & Well-being.
The first PBC forum in 2016 gathered over 50 distinguished speakers and 1,000 delegates from across the globe to discuss some of the most pressing metropolitan social issues including keynote discussion on creating ‘Shared Value’. At the 2016 Forum, Professor Michael Porter from Harvard Business School, joined us as keynote speakers.
Many believe that business success comes at the cost of social well-being. The concept of shared value, on the contrary, suggests that the two can be created together by addressing social issues with a business proposition. As the father of modern business strategy, Professor Porter is an expert in competitive strategy for both the corporate world and the social field. In his Day 1 keynote speech, Professor Porter proposed that as the role of business evolves, business is no longer about meeting conventional needs with conventional products and services. Tapping into the resources in business to scale solutions for social problems are opportunities for business to generate greater value. He also examined the link between shared value and philranthropy in the context of the city’s competitiveness and social progress.
On Day 2, Mr Pony Ma and Mr Rip Rapson continued with an in-depth keynote dialogue on philanthropy in which they shared their journeys towards philanthropy, which is uniquely shaped by socio-cultural context. They also exchanged their views on the evolution of the philanthropic landscapes in the East and West.
In addition, there were also in-depth plenary and track discussions across five themes including (i) ageing & health, (ii) youth & education, (iii) innovation & technology, (iv) environment and sustainability, and (v) public-private partnerships.