Thank you Selma Talha-Jebril and Mirka Martel for featuring my research on foundations in this brilliant report which explores philanthropy’s role in funding international scholarship and fellowship programs. Framed by Ford Foundation and Institute of International Education, this research paper addresses a gap in the literature on foundations which fund international scholarship and fellowship programs around the world, particularly those whose focus is on social justice, equity and access.
Honored to see my book on American Foundations and African Universities so prominently featured in France’s new strategy on the role of philanthropy in financing global development. Philanthropic practices for development are growing in number across the globe, mainly in Africa and especially in the health sector. In Europe, philanthropic actors are becoming more structured. In France, foundations are increasingly interested in international development, as can be seen in their mobilization in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Through their structural and operational specificity, linked to their flexibility of action and innovation, foundations have a full role to play in international development, alongside public actors. Strengthening synergies of action and partnerships between the French government and foundations, with a view to contributing to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
I was in Dakar for Thanksgiving and presented my books, Unequal Partners and Partenaires inégaux at the West African Research Center (WARC). I was equally pleased to visit Université Cheick Anta Diop and exchange with the administrators of Fondation UCAD as well as meet with several professors and students.
Antoine Vaccaro est un spécialiste français de la levée de fonds et de la philanthropie. Il est également le président du CerPhi, le premier institut d’étude et de recherche français dédié à l’étude de la philanthropie, et de Faircom, un groupe international d’agences spécialisées dans la levée de fonds au service de plus de 100 organisations caritatives.
As a former school director and education researcher I often think about what we need to teach our children. To me, the 4 C’s that are Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity are essential skills to equip our children with for today’s and even tomorrow’s world too. But we need to go even further than that by teaching our children a fifth C: Compassion.
This point culminated during my recent visit to China to an art education project in a school for migrant workers’ children in one of Beijing’s outer rings, Beijing Shijingshan Cement Factory Elementary School, through a program called “Enlightenment of Love.” The project received support from Sun Future Art Education Foundation which bases itself on the belief that “Art Education Makes Good People,” and aims to help children grow both heart and mind. I was impressed by the teachers’ focus on exploration and innovation through aesthetics and photography, particularly as a way to build identity and encourage love and compassion among their students who predominantly came from disadvantaged families.
During my visit to Beijing for Philanthropy in Childhood Education in China: Trends and Perspectives conference, I was thrilled to learn more about China Global Philanthropy Institute (CGPI), a think-tank established three years ago to provide information on China’s rapidly expanding philanthropic sector and training programs for foundation executives as well knowledge exchange, reporting and monitoring on the sector which currently totals 7,000 foundations.
During my trip to China I was offered the opportunity to visit Beijing’s Children Discovery Museum, a 0-to-7-year-old early childhood education project jointly developed by Lao Niu Brother & Sister Foundation together with China National Children’s Center, China Philanthropy Research Institute, and Beijing Normal University. By creating this museum in Beijing, and a similar one in Inner Mongolia, Lao Niu Foundation sought to introduce innovative and interactive exploration to Chinese children, through advanced design concepts and practice models commonly found in children’s museums in the United States and Europe, while combining Chinese traditional culture in the model. Since opening on June 1, 2005, Lao Niu Children’s Discover Museum is the first large-scale children’s museum in Beijing.
China is becoming an increasingly important stakeholder in philanthropy in education. As a follow-up to several talks I gave on philanthropy in education I was invited to take part in Philanthropy in Childhood Education in China: Trends and Perspectives, a conference organized by the China Global Philanthropy Institute in collaboration with NORRAG (Network for international policies and cooperation in education and training) and 21st Century Education Research Institute, with sponsorship from the Lao Niu Brother & Sister Foundation.
This event targeted foundations, non-profit educational organizations, academia, business, social enterprises, media and government to discuss the theme of education equity and innovation in childhood education in China. It brought together around 170 participants, and high-level speakers presenting a combination of domestic and international experiences and case studies.
Fabrice Jaumont 