Singapore’s Temasek Trust, the philanthropy arm of city-state’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings, has launched the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA) at the 3rd Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS 2023).
Asia’s scale, diversity and development profile present an unprecedented opportunity to drive impact, the trust states, adding that the region accounts for over 50% of global emissions, with 60% of the world’s population, and is disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change. Thus, solving Asia’s challenges will benefit all, it argues, but this cannot be done alone.
The PAA aims to build capabilities, capacities and communities in the philanthropic sector, and harness multi-sector partnerships to catalyze Asian solutions for global challenges.
Over 80 global members and partners from the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East – among them, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, C40 Cities and ClimateWorks Foundation – have joined the PAA, which has received pledges of over US$777 million, to, as it says, “catalyze collective action for good”.
Temasek Trust has pledged US$100 million to grow the ecosystem and support the PAA’s working capital.
PAA members and other funders can access 29 calls to action (CTAs) across three anchor mandates – climate and nature, inclusive and holistic education, and global and public health – to impact global communities. These CTAs tap on philanthropic capital to test out innovative models to drive positive climate and community change. PAS 2023 showcased eight of these CTAs:
- Decarbonizing rice by Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory
- SEAFOAM – The ocean as a vital climate solution by Climateworks Centre
- Scaling ocean conservation through protection and production by Conservation International Holistic and Inclusive Education
- Project Pragati – Enabling 10th grade for 10 million in 10 years by Educate Girls
- Advancing a quality independent childcare model in Vietnam by OneSky Global and Public Health
- Safe water to save lives by Evidence Action
- Enabling healthcare access in the Philippines by CareSpan Asia and Temasek Foundation
- Genomic detection for infectious disease elimination by Duke-NUS Medical School.
“Collaborative, collective action is key to tackling the interconnected and complex challenges confronting us,” says Desmond Kuek, Temasek Trust’s CEO. “The opportunity for philanthropic capital to catalyze positive impact in Asia is immense, and the PAA will accelerate this.
“We will harness the strengths, ideas and best practices of members and partners to jointly pioneer philanthropic innovations to realize our bold ambitions as an alliance to prime Asia as a force for good.”
Lim Boon Heng, PAA chair, speaking at the PAS 2023, adds: “Asia’s green transition needs to accelerate with the region being highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. [And] 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 catalyze solutions to scale good in the region.”
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