15 September 2023
President of the Republic of Singapore, Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies & gentlemen,
A very good morning.
Welcome to the 3rd Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS) and formal launch of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA).
We are honoured to have President Tharman Shanmugaratnam with us today. An ardent supporter of collaborative philanthropy and multi-sector partnerships, he graced the first-ever PAS as our keynote speaker back in 2021.
Today, I am delighted to announce that President Tharman has agreed to be the Distinguished Patron of PAA. We are most grateful for his patronage and enduring support.
All of us know the urgency and severity of the global challenges facing us.
Bold collective action and innovation are needed. That is why we have gathered here at PAS – to connect, collaborate, and catalyse solutions for a more resilient and inclusive world.
Asia, Primed for Good
The opportunity to drive impact in Asia is significant. It has about 60% of the global population and accounts for 50% of global emissions.
Asia’s green transition needs to accelerate , with the region being highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. While this presents great economic opportunity, we must ensure a just and inclusive transition that brings along the whole community.
Asia has a rich history of philanthropy. Next-generation philanthropists are keen to scale collaboration. New funding models enable our pooled resources to be flexible and nimble as we catalyse solutions to scale good in the region.
Addressing Asia’s challenges will go a long way in tackling global challenges.
Launch of Philanthropy Asia Alliance
After the 1st Philanthropy Asia Summit in 2021,many in the philanthropic community called for a more systematic and structured approach to catalyse partnerships for action.
That is how the Philanthropy Asia Alliance, or PAA, was born.
PAA’s initiation was first announced by Ms. Ho Ching, Chairman of Temasek Trust, at last year’s PAS. Over US$200 million was committed by our members and supporters.
In the past year, we have put in place the governance, frameworks, and policies needed to sustainably scale PAA.
The Alliance has grown in strength and offers 29 programme Calls to Action. It supports global multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Giving to Amplify Earth Action (GAEA) by the World Economic Forum, alongside over 45 other organisations.
PAA and the World Economic Forum are strategic partners to accelerate climate and nature action in Asia. The first Asia-focused GAEA deliverable which PAA and the Forum are co-developing is a climate philanthropy report focused on the opportunity for Public-Private-Philanthropic partnerships to tackle climate and nature challenges. It will be released at COP this year.
Today, we are formally launching the Philanthropy Asia Alliance.
It is a global alliance with over 80 members and partners comprising donors, knowledge experts, and programme partners from countries across the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.
What do we have in common? A bias for action.
Every valued member and partner brings their resources, expertise, and networks. We all benefit from this cross-pollination of best practices and insights so we can go further, faster.
Over S$1 billion has been committed by our members and supporters to date. These funds will be channelled toward a range of programme Calls-to-Action centred around PAA’s three initial mandates – Climate & Nature, Holistic & Inclusive Education, and Global & Public Health. New focus areas may be added over time.
The Alliance will complement and build on the pioneering work of leading global and regional philanthropic organisations. Many are experts in their respective fields, and we are glad to have them here with us today. We look forward to working with them and other like-minded partners to accelerate our collective impact and scale good globally.
Partnerships underpin all that we do at PAA. Thank you to our fast-growing community of members and partners for your trust and contributions in shaping PAA so far.
May our Alliance grow from strength to strength as a collaborative platform to synergise our collective efforts for impact in Asia, with the aim to scale good globally.
Appreciation
In closing, I want to thank all our partners, members, friends, and supporters for contributing to a successful Philanthropy Asia Summit and launch of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance.
Together, we go further, faster.
Thank you and I wish everyone a most fulfilling Summit.