This was a fireside chat with The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust’s Executive Director Leong Cheung and Dalberg’s Global Managing Partner Yana Kakar. Mr. Cheung discussed the motivation and objectives of the Trust in convening this inaugural forum, particularly the importance of philanthropy for cities and its broader global implications beyond Hong Kong and China.

Mr. Cheung talked about the transformation of the philanthropic work in Hong Kong over the decades and how the Trust’s activities have also mirrored the social needs during those days to today’s situation. Specifically, the Trust has shifted from providing grants in capital outlays to recreational facilities to higher education facilities to currently beyond investing in hardware. The Trust also has begun focusing on sports as a means to achieve inclusivity amongst the youth and in promoting active ageing.

The Trust has also implemented a number of sports and technology-enabled programs to tackle multi-category societal problems. Some of these programs include its successful E-Health program to tackle problems among the elderly population, and the Learn to Swim program in which the Trust trains students to swim at least 20 meters (minimum for survival skills), with the end goal of improving the current Hong Kong swimming ability rate to 50%.