Notes on the World Philanthropy Forum

Abstract

2016 is a memorable year. The Charity Law of the People’s Republic of China, which was years in the making, was finalized eventually on March 16 and passed by the Fourth Conference of the 12 National People’s Congress. It took effect on September 1. The Charity Law designates September 5th of each year as China Charity Day.1 “The Charity Law will take China’s charitable cause and social governance to a new age,” said Prof. Wang Ming, President of the Institute for Philanthropy at Tsinghua University, who got involved in the legislation of the law from the very beginning. In honor of the recent passing of the Charity Law and the first China Charity Day, a “World Philanthropy Forum” was held at Tsinghua University, on September 5-6, 2016; the event was hosted by the Institute for Philanthropy, Tsinghua University, and organized by Tsinghua University, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), and the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF). The forum, to which global top-notch academics in the sphere of philanthropy were invited for sharing knowledge and experience, focused on, among other topics, women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, world charity studies, poverty alleviation, social work, social value investment, foundations, and wealth sharing, turning out fruitful and far-reaching. Below is my personal record, intended for reference, of sidelights and highlights leading up to and following this form.