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Panel Discussion “Home-Grown Philanthropy in Southeast Asia: A Bonus for Civil Society?”
23 June, 2019 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
While there is much talk of the shrinking of civic space in Southeast Asia (and the world), public discussion rarely touches on how this also affects (and is affected by) the availability of funding for civil society organizations, in particular those that advocate for human rights. Last February, SEA Junction has launched a series of events and publications focusing on the funding challenges experienced by civil society in the region, with support by the Open Society Foundations (OSF). This initiative named “Wielding the funding strings of civil society in Southeast Asia” is born out of an article with the same title recently written by SEA Junction’s director, Rosalia Sciortino, for New Mandala (https://www.newmandala.org/weilding-purse-strings/). As the article notes:
“Across Southeast Asia, governments’ stiffened oversight is limiting access to international and national funds by CSOs, in particular when directed at financing advocacy and rights-based activities. This occurs amidst an evolving development aid landscape wherein established donor agencies reposition themselves in line with more conservative contexts back home and abroad, and where a new set of funders does not necessarily appreciate the merit of a “vibrant civil society” for democracy and development” (Sciortino 2018).
In the first event of the series, we had an introduction of the issues at stake from the perspective of NGO activists. about the challenges that they encounter in finding funding for their organizations and what could be alternative ways of finding much needed resources. In the second event last May, the focus was on the same issues, but as experienced by fund raisers, those who try to help raising funds for civil society through various means, as resource mobilization officers, consultants or representatives of intermediary organizations. This third event to be held on 23 June at 6PM at SEA Junction explores the funding opportunities offered by the robust growth of the home-grown Southeast Asian philanthropic sector and whether they indeed translate into regular and sustainable support to civil society. This especially in light of the risk-averse tendency of home-grown philanthropy, dominated by family corporate foundations and, even more commonly, corporate giving programs operated through informal or corporate channels.
The panel composition is as follows:
Moderator:
Rosalia Sciortino, IPSR, Mahidol University & SEA Junction
Speakers:
- Ada Chirapaisarnkul Founder, Board of Director, Thai Young Philanthropist Network (TYPN) & Managing Director TaejaiDotcom
- Cavelle Dove, Team Lead, Women’s Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion at United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Myanmar
- Ismid Hadad, Former Chairperson Association of Indonesian Philanthropy, Indonesia
- Ton Nu Thi Ninh, President Ho Chi Minh Peace and Development Foundation (HPDF), Vietnam
Moderator and Speakers profiles
Ada Chirapaisarnkul
Ada Chirapaisarnkul founded the Thai Young Philanthropist Network (TYPN) in 2008, mobilizing local and foreign students and institutions for a social investment and skill-based volunteering movement across Thailand and Southeast Asia. In 2017, she founded taejai.com, the first and largest fundraising website for social-impact projects. Additionally, Ada has taken on government projects, such as the first National Master plan for Social Enterprise Development with the Prime Minister’s office, and academic roles, such as lecturing and founding G-Lab at Thammasat University. On top of her various ongoing projects, some of her recent roles include Head of Social Impact Advisory for ChangeVentures, and Board Member of NEEDeed.
Cavelle Dove
Cavelle Dove is the Team Lead, Women’s Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion at United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Myanmar. She has lived and worked in Southeast Asia since 2002, and has managed economic development and aid programs in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. She is the co-founder of a social business in Myanmar (YangonBakehouse); the founder of a NGO in Thailand (ImagineThailand); and has developed shared value partnerships across government, private sector, and civil She has written about philanthropy in Myanmar at https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/article/view/1813
Ismid Hadad
Ismid Hadad was the Chairman of Perhimpunan Filantropi Indonesia, or the Association of Indonesian Philanthropy (PFI), an independent non-profit institution committed to facilitating the interests of the Indonesian philanthropic community. Prior to joining PFI, he was the executive director of KEHATI ” the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation, a grant-making institution he helped found in 1994. Ismid is an economist and institutional development expert with over 30 years of professional experience in the areas of governance, social communication, capacity building and environmental management. Before working with environmental NGOs, he spent several years in the private sector, where he was the president and managing director of PT REDECON and PT INDOCONSULT, respectively.
Mdm Ton Nu Thi Ninh
Mdm Ton Nu Thi Ninh is the President of the Ho Chi Minh City Peace and Development Foundation (HPDF). Prior to holding her current position, she served as Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of Vietnam and was for over two two decades a diplomat in Viet Nam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specializing in multilateral institutions (the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, Francophonie, ASEAN) and global issues (international peace and security, development, philanthropy, environment, governance, human rights, and gender) From 2000 to 2003, she was Viet Nam’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and Head of the Mission to the European Union in Brussels. She also served a term on the Central Executive on the Viet Nam Women’s Union.
Rosalia Sciortino
Rosalia Sciortino is Associate Professor at the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR), Mahidol University, Visiting Professor in the Master in International Development Studies (MAIDS), Chulalongkorn University, and founder and Director of SEA Junction (www.seajunction.org). Formerly, she served as Regional Director for Southeast and East Asia in Singapore (2010-2014), Senior Adviser to the Australian Agency for International Development in Indonesia (2009-2010), and Regional Director for Asia of the Rockefeller Foundation (2000-2007) establishing during her tenure the Foundation’s Southeast Asia Office in Bangkok. Prior to that, she was program officer Gender, Human Development and Reproductive Health at the Indonesia and Philippines offices of the Ford Foundation from 1993 to 2000.
For those interested in the issue we also recommend to download the special issue of the Austrian Journal for Southeast Asia Studies entitled “Philanthropy, Giving, and Development” at https://aseas.univie.ac.at/index.php/aseas/issue/view/186
Illustration: Lee Yu Hui & Simon Ang in “Is Asia Giving Back Enough”, Business Times
The event is free, but donations are most welcome to enable SEA Junction to continue its activities and keep events accessible to the public.
For information/reservation for our events please email southeastasiajunction@gmail.com or phone/wa: +66970024140
Organizers:
SEA Junction, OUR Venue to Connect on Southeast Asia (see https://seajunction.org) SEA Junction aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions –from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 408 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium) SEA junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information see seajunction.org and join the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1693055870976440/
Open Society Foundations (OSF)
OSF, the Open Society Institute, is an international grant-making network that work to build vibrant and tolerant societies whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people including through provision of financial support to civil society groups. For more information see https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org
