8:30 am - 9:00 am
Registration
9:00 am - 9:10 am
Opening
Roshan Thiran, Founder, Leaderonomics
9:10 am - 9:15 am
MC Welcome
9:15 am - 9:25 am
Opening Address: Chairman of TBN Asia
Melvyn Mak, Chairman, TBN Asia
9:25 am - 9:45 am
Opening Keynote Address:
Service Providers or Catalysts of Change?
Two bricklayers hard at work were asked the same question, "What are you doing?" The first one replied, "I'm laying bricks." The second one said, "I'm building a cathedral." Majority of social enterprises and NGOs are like the first bricklayer. They function like service providers that are fulfilling a need and solving a symptom. The second bricklayer had a bigger vision as a catalyst of change who is building a whole community approach at the systems level that can improve the status quo. To transform societies and build a better world, we need catalysts of change
Laurence Lien, Chairman & Acting CEO, Asia Philanthropy Circle
9:45 am - 10:05 am
Inspire Me 1:
Purpose Driven Social Impact
Eugene Seow, Founder, E3TWENTY
Vice President, NCSS Board
10:05 am - 11:05 am
Fireside Chat:
Social Impact 2.0 - Developing the Leader in Leadership
The term "social impact was first coined" in 1969 at a Yale University seminar. In Asia, it started to go mainstream around 2019. Over the course of many years, social impact has mostly been defined in either environmental and/or social terms. There's also been much emphasis on metrics and measurement. While all these started us off in the right direction, the social impact needle has plateaued, with no meaningful gains in recent years. The answer is not yet another impact measurement framework, and/or another innovative finance mechanism. The social impact journey has thus far been only about the tools, but never the carpenter. and we all know that the tools are only as good as the carpenter. We keep going on and on about the Theory of Change, but never stop to ask if we have changed? Ultimately, if the "be" does not precede the "do", there can be no real and sustainable change. We're human beings, not human doings.
Enter Social Impact 2.0 - Developing the Leader in Leadership. Any organizaton is only as effective as the person who leads it. We can never give what we don't have. So let's elevate our game, take social impact to the next level, and invest in the change that comes from within. Unless inner transformation takes place, the Captain of the boat can only steer the boat so far.
Steve Loh, Executive Director, Lien Centre of Social Innovation
Moses Lim, Group Growth Director, Green Eco Technologies
Moderator:
Carmen Chiang, Executive Director, Fiduciary & Family Office Services, Providentia Wealth Management
11:05 am - 11:25 am
Morning tea break
11:25 am - 11:45 am
The Power of Purpose put into Practice to drive Mutual Prosperity and shape a Just Society
Bruno Roche, Founder, ONEconomy ONE Society and the Economics of Mutuality
11:45 am - 12:45 pm
First Plenary:
Disruptive Poverty Alleviation - Social, Social, Social.
In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson said, “Our aim is not only to relieve the symptoms of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.” In 2024, poverty remains the biggest issue facing the world (UN). Status quo is not working. Human flourishing is limited, if not impossble in the face of poverty. Time to disrupt the traditional models that typically only addresses the symptoms of poverty, ie: providing access to material necessities. To forge an effective pathway out of poverty, we need to enable social mobility, evolve social entrepreneurship, and encourage social investments.
To enable social mobility, we need to tackle inequality in our societies. Every individual should be equally empowered to succeed in life without being unfairly strangled by the lack of social mobility. Social entreprenership is not new, however, even after so many years, the infrastructure to support social enterprises remains lacking. Our understanding and appreciation for social enterprises needs to evolve for them to succeed. By combining profit-making with a social mission, social enterprises address poverty through innovative business models to attain sustainable solutions. Moving away from traditional investments to social investments like impact investing has proven to be a challenge, mainly because people are hung up on the question of "concessionary returns". Ultimately, that is the wrong question. The right question should be, "what are your values?" When values are aligned with purpose, social investments are a clear winner.
Daniel Long, CEO and Executive Director, Olive Tree Estates
Russ Neu, CEO and Founder, Social Collider
Lim Fang Wei, Investment Manager, Clarion Newlife Capital
Moderator:
Tommy Tjiptadjaja, Co-Founder and CEO, Greenhope
12:45 pm - 1:05 pm
Celebrating 10 years of TBN Asia
1:05 pm - 2:30 pm
Lunch Fellowship
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Second Plenary:
Value Supply Chains or Values-based Supply Chains?
Should we care how our stuff reaches us? Most people don't give a thought to the process of the logistics that it takes to bring your food and/or your product to your doorstep. However, these supply chains are very vulnerable to the abuse of the weakest link - who tend to be the destitute. Think of the poor farmer who is the first stop in the food supply chain, or the factory worker, or the cotton picker, or the child looking for plastic bags among the piles of rubbish - their voices are usually not heard. For a long time, exploitative labour practices, discrimination and inequality, lack of worker rights and protection, environmental injustice, and a lack of transparency, were rampant in supply chains whose main goal was to return shareholder value, as well as the best price for the customer.
Values-based supply chains incorporate ethical, social and environmental concerns, plus addresses systemic issues such as poverty and inequality. It moves from the shareholder to the stakeholder, and prioritizes value creation from the production, to the distribution, and consumption. This approach emphasizes sustainability and social responsibility throughout the supply chain. Because getting your stuff fast and cheap is no longer good enough. Because humanity matters and because humanity includes all, including that poor child from the slums.
Colin Wee, Regional Director, Asia, HELP Logistics
Sinni Lim, APAC Regional Strategy & Impact Director, International Justice Mission (IJM)
Ambassador Lee Hiong T. Wee, Chairman Emeritus, W Group of Companies
Chris Fong, Co-Founder, Fefifo
Moderator:
Jeremy Han, Vice Chair, TBN Asia
3:30 pm - 3:50 pm
Inspire Me 2:
Reaching for the Stars - The Next Frontier in Education: Space Exploration
Albert Einstein famously said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited... while imagination embraces the entire world..." Imagination ignites the spark of innovation, that enables us to dream and to invent what seems possible, or sometimes even not possible. Space exploration captivates the imagination and is a powerful tool for education, especially enhancing scientific literacy and understanding. Space exploration is exciting for children. Integrating it into education enriches STEM learning, and fosters a passion for curiosity. In Asia, it has largely been unexplored in education, but is the next frontier as we continue to push boundaries, and reach for the stars.
Danny Kim, Founder, FullArmor Corp
3:50 pm - 4:00 pm
Remarks
4:00 pm - 4:20 pm
Afternoon tea break
4:20 pm - 5:50 pm
BREAKOUTS
Breakout 1: Entrepreneurship in Low-Income Communities
Low-income communities face distinct barriers starting and growing businesses, including limited access to capital, business skills and knowledge, networks and connections, and systemic barriers. In this workshop, we explore successful interventions that have empowered families to lift themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship, instead of relying on only charity. The workshop will also explore whether such interventions can be replicated at scale across Southeast Asia.
Huỳnh Hoàng Tố Trinh, Co-Founder, Bong Sen Community Development
Lakshwin Muruga, Executive Director, Women Of Will (WOW)
4:20 pm - 5:50 pm
Breakout 2: STEM Education - F1 in Schools
F1 in Schools is the largest and most successful school based STEM program in the world. The program has effectively created a fun and exciting learning environment for young people to foster the love for STEM. Partnering with the F1 community, this program has helped to increase the intake of students into engineering careers. F1 in Schools is the only global multi-disciplinary challenge in which teams of students aged 9 to 19 deploy CAD/CAM software to collaborate, design, analyse, manufacture, test, and then race miniature compressed air powered cars made from F1 model block. The challenge inspires students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, graphics, leadership/teamwork, financial strategy; and to apply them in a practical, as well as imaginative way.
Terry Lim, Managing Director, Mastereign Group
4:20 pm - 5:50 pm
Breakout 3: Bridging Profit and Purpose through an Engaged Workforce
Join us for an insightful discussion on why corporations need to transition from corporate giving to embracing a broader corporate purpose. This session will uncover strategies for integrating purpose into core business practices and demonstrate how a committed and motivated workforce can drive both economic success and meaningful social impact. Discover how fostering a people-centric culture not only drives business performance, but also enables companies to make a greater social impact.
Su-Yin Ching, Deputy Director – Corporate & Industry Partnership, National Volunteer & Philanthrophy Centre
Yan Ning Tan, Co Founder, SpedGrow
Gigi Low, Director, Engagement & Alliance and Director, Customer Experience. NTUC Club
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Welcome dinner