The third Philanthropy for Better Cities Forum (PBC Forum), convened by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, took place at the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong from 11-12 September, 2023. The two-day forum, themed ‘Philanthropy for Fairer Societies’, attracted over 1,600 delegates from around the world.

Dr Gabriel Leung, Executive Director, Charities and Community of The Hong Kong Jockey Club

The Hong Kong Jockey Club’s support for the forum, like all of its charity initiatives, was made possible by its unique integrated business model through which racing and wagering generate employment, tax and charity support for the community. Dr Gabriel Leung was appointed Executive Director, Charities and Community of The Hong Kong Jockey Club last year. He explains to Alliance the vision behind the forum and the establishment of the ‘Institute of Philanthropy’, with initial funding of HK$5 billion (US$640 million), announced on the first day, as well as how to collaborate with other philanthropic platforms in Asia.

FL: Thank you for inviting Alliance to join this event. I understand this is the third PBC Forum that The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has convened. What was the vision behind establishing this forum, and how has it evolved since 2016?

GL: I think the belief and the vision have not changed, and it’s really about sharing and providing a common platform for dialogue. The history of philanthropy started with the West developing, accumulating great wealth and subsequently thinking about how to redistribute wealth other than through government. And then the professionalisation of the philanthropic sector. If you then look at the East, great wealth has been accumulating for many decades. But we’re still looking to the West and adopting many of the ways of giving that have been practiced for a century already. There must be other ways of giving that could be contextualised to Asia. And perhaps there can even be some shared learning in the other direction, from the East to the West. But in order to do this, you need to have a common platform for people to talk to each other.

As in any other area, we are a catalyst. We provide of a safe place for them to innovate. A space with financial resources and a community of fellow foundations

Even with technology such as Zoom or email, you cannot escape in-person meetings, the side conversations, the lunch conversations, and the happy consequences of serendipity. That’s really what PBC is all about. And PBC 2023 is, as far as I can tell from feedback I’ve been getting, a very effective platform for this vision.

FL: Congratulations!  I also noticed this beautiful venue we are in right now, a little bit of an unconventional choice for a large international conference. Why the Hong Kong Palace Museum?

GL: This building in West Kowloon Cultural District was wholly supported by the Club’s Charities Trust with a donation of HK$3.5 billion (~US$447 million).

FL: That’s amazing. If I could go back to the forum itself. The Hong Kong Jockey Club announced the establishment of a HK$5 billion (US$640 million) initiative, the ‘Institute of Philanthropy’, on the first day. What do you hope to achieve through this new initiative?

The big question is, how do you operationalise every last detail to make life less difficult for grantees? Little things, like trust people to make the right decisions. Trust that they are trying their level best to do a proper job. Trust them to be accountable.

GL: We are still in a period of intently listening, which I think is very important. We all have blind spots, and we will never be able to see the entire picture. This Institute of Philanthropy is empowered by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It’s a common platform and a ‘think-fund-do tank’. We are not only thinking or talking, nor just a traditional direct grant maker, and that’s the ‘do’ bit. We are all three. We’re going to provide the necessary resources, and the HK$5 billion in initial funding is a substantial first tranche to empower the whole initiative. It really says to our fellow foundations and trusts that we are very serious about this. Let’s do it together, let’s use this as a platform, and let’s see where it takes us.

FL: So you’re sending an encouraging signal to the whole industry.

GL: I hope so. That’s certainly the intention.

FL: The theme of this year’s forum is philanthropy for a fairer society and resilience building.  The Hong Kong Jockey Club provided enormous support to citizens and non-profits in Hong Kong during the pandemic. We’ve heard many conversations yesterday and today about new research initiatives launched globally that aim to secure a pandemic-free future for humanity. I understand you came from a very strong medical background. In your view, how could philanthropy and other sectors work together to address this future challenge?

GL: Pandemic preparedness is a very important area and it has been my own area of research for 25 years. Epidemic or pandemic preparedness is related to many issues, ranging from surveillance to vaccine, which is a pharmaceutical intervention. It’s about how can we do better along the whole spectrum of non-pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical interventions, so we are able to mitigate the impact of the next big pandemic.

FL: And particularly, what can a philanthropy such as The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust do?

GL: As in any other area, we are as a catalyst. We provide a safe place for them to innovate. A space with financial resources and a community of fellow foundations, NGOs or researchers, so they can do their own work in their own spheres, which together will keep us safer.

FL: There was a popular session that focused on trust-based philanthropy on day one. The notion of ‘trust-based’ is both new and old. How do you view this concept getting popular worldwide today? Will the Jockey Club adapt this approach?

GL: I’m not sure that there is a consensus on what a trust-based concept is. We are The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust so trust-based philanthropy is in our DNA. I think philanthropy has always been trust-based. The big question is, how do you operationalise every last detail to make life less difficult for grantees? Little things, like trust people to make the right decisions. Trust that they are trying their level best to do a proper job. Trust them to be accountable. Those things can be reflected in every last detail of what could be a very smooth documentation process or audit process, to what could be a painfully frustrating process. Don’t underestimate the little things that you can do and the huge impact it has on the grantee. I prefer baby steps, but concrete, actionable, impactful baby steps.

FL: Inequality is a global challenge that requires collective action and collaboration across borders. We are witnessing a growing number of new regional collaboration network/platforms in Asia in the past five to ten years including AVPN, Asia Philanthropy Congress, Asia Philanthropy Circle and PBC Forum. How can these platforms collaborate with each other?

GL: We are all great friends. I just had a very good session with Temasek. I went to a Rockefeller-hosted lunch meeting, and Nippon Foundation has held side meetings here with Sasakawa Health Foundation. So let’s all work together, let’s not overlap, let’s not duplicate, and let’s complement each other. I think that is what makes us stronger.

FL: What do you hope the attendants of this year’s forum will take away with them?

GL: We’re not going to issue a communique; there is no official takeaway message. I think it is best to let people take away what has most impressed them, and what would be most directly relevant and useful for them in their daily line of work. But whatever those takeaways may be, I hope that the common goal is really to make life a bit fairer for everybody a day at a time, because life isn’t fair.

Fan Li is the East Asia Regional Representative at Alliance magazine