Sessions Review

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.
DAY 1
DAY 2

Opening Ceremony

Mr Anthony CHOW
The Hon Mrs Carrie LAM

Keynote Address by Professor James J. HECKMAN:
‘The Economic Case for Investing in Early Childhood Development’

James J. Heckman
Matthew CHEUNG Kin-chung

Leong CHEUNG

First Plenary
Use of Finance for Social Good: 'How best can we harness markets for social good?'

Norman CHAN
Tracy PUN PALANDJIAN

Yana KAKAR

Second Plenary
Cities and Foundations: 'How can foundations plug gaps in government efforts to build sustainable cities?’

Clotilde Perez-Bode DEDECKER
James ROONEY
Robert ROSEN

Nancy YANG

Track Sessions I
A. Age-friendly Cities: 'How can urban planning respond to the needs of older people?'

Jane BARRATT
Alexander KALACHE
LAW Chi-kwong

Terry LUM

Track Sessions I
B. The Continuum of Capital Approach to Giving: 'How and why Asian philanthropy should use diverse financial instruments to maximise their social impact?'

Safeena HUSAIN
Francis NGAI
Tracy PUN PALANDJIAN

Naina BATRA

Track Sessions I
C. Arts, Culture and Heritage for Social Causes: 'How can we increase the contribution of the arts to social inclusion and empowerment?'

Bernard CHAN
Tisa HO
Lynn YAU

Gaurav GUPTA

Track Sessions II
D. Mental Wellness: 'Are cities doing enough to tackle the rise of mental health challenges?'

York CHOW
Joseph GONZALES-HEYDRICH
Moitreyee SINHA

CHIU Chi Yue

Track Sessions II
E. Philanthropic Impacts through Business: 'How can firms go beyond corporate social responsibility?'

Christine BADER
Roopa PURUSHOTHAMAN
Marjorie YANG

Stephen WONG

Track Sessions II
F. Collaboration:' How can we unleash the potential of greater collaboration in tackling metropolitan social issues?'

Ananthapadmanabhan GURUSWAMY
Yana KAKAR
Bradford SMITH

Bryan WONG

Day 1 Closing Dialogue with Nobel Laureates:
'Where is the next source of hidden value?'

James J. Heckman
Muhammad YUNUS

Leong CHEUNG