The fifth Asia Venture Philanthropists Network conference brought together a diverse group of funders, resource providers, and innovators from Asia and beyond to explore opportunities for learning and collaboration and to support the growth of the social sector ecosystem in Asia.
The conference theme this year was “Collaborating for Impact”, reflective of the need for partnerships and collective effort, beyond industries, sectors, and borders to tackle the daunting development challenges across education, healthcare, and the environment.
The energy at the conference was contagious. This was evident in the innovative showcases, the strategic discussions, and in the networks and connections formed. ACCESS Health Managing Director Chang Liu moderated the first panel on aging every held at the conference. The “silver economy” was discussed by a diverse panel consisting of large grantmaking foundations like the King Baudouin Foundation and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, to private enterprises like Avegen that are using technology to address the biggest and most challenging healthcare needs, and nonprofits like HelpAge International that are constantly at the helm of international advocacy and lobbying for positive policies around aging.
ACCESS Health shared its own perspective and expertise on the issue of aging, and in the opening of a new and exciting market for many industries that are together part of shaping the emerging “silver economy”. Liu highlighted the work of our global initiative, Modern Aging, which cultivates communities of young and old innovators from different disciplines and backgrounds to create solutions in improving the quality of life for an aging population.
The growing inverted population pyramid of Japan and European countries was discussed, as well as how these economies embarked on developing optimal elder care solutions including integrating home based care into their current healthcare systems. Examples like those of India’s impending sizable growth in the aging population highlighted the need for learning from the challenges and lessons of building an effective elder care system.
Some of the highlights from the discussion included the need for a balance between building institutions to building communities that embrace an aging society, thus catering to both the physical and sociological aspects. The diversity of the panel itself was a testament to the need for stronger collaboration and innovation to bring technology, solution providers, service providers and advocates together in collective efforts to address the challenges of an aging society.