Hong Kong, November 29, 2015 /Xinwengao.com/ - Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative, the Asia-Pacific’s preeminent network of next-generation leaders, will mark its tenth anniversary on December 2-4, when it holds a special summit at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center.

Asia 21 is a robust network of more than 800 young leaders from 30 countries, focused on shaping a brighter future for the Asia-Pacific, and confronting the most vexing challenges facing the region today. Asia 21 Young Leaders are selected through a highly competitive process based on outstanding achievement, commitment to public service, and a proven ability to make the world a better place.

“Next-generation leaders hold the keys to our future, and Asia has a treasure trove of leadership talent,” said Josette Sheeran, President and CEO of Asia Society. “Asia 21 includes the most brilliant pacesetters, young leaders who are already helping tackle poverty, hunger and creating new governance and business opportunities. We are proud to give them a global platform and a network of like-minded talent from throughout Asia.”

In addition to welcoming the Class of 2015, more than 100 of the initiative’s change-makers from previous classes will gather in Hong Kong to celebrate the achievements of the first decade, explore innovative ways to leverage the Asia 21 network for greater impact, and address critical issues facing the region.

“Asia 21 was born in Hong Kong a decade ago, and so we are proud to welcome this remarkable group to our Hong Kong Center for the 10th anniversary,” said Asia Society Co-Chair Ronnie C. Chan, who also serves as Chair of the Society’s Hong Kong Center. “These people represent great examples of what we are all about: building crucial bridges between the peoples and cultures of Asia.”

Among highlights of the Asia 21 10th Anniversary summit:

– Dinner hosted by Asia Society Co-Chair Ronnie C. Chan, featuring a short film about Asia 21 and testimonials from a half dozen distinguished alumni;

– Keynote conversation with retired U.S. Army General and chairman of KKR Global Institute, David Petraeus;

– Special sessions highlighting the impactful work of Asia 21 alumni including Tudor Clee, founder of New Zealand’s Touchable Earth; Scarlett Li, founder and CEO of Zebra Media, China’s most innovative entertainment platform; Myanmar’s Yin Myo Su, founder of Inle Heritage Foundation; Natharoun Ngo, Head of Program at United Nations, Cambodia; Penny Low, Founder, Social Innovation Park, Ltd. from Singapore; Malaysia’s Mun Ching Yap, Executive Director, Air Asia Foundation; Nepal’s Rabi Karmacharya, Founder & Executive Director, Open Learning Exchange Network; Itochu Corporation Executive Officer and General Counsel Mitsuru Claire Chino from Japan; Goldman Sachs Head of Corporate Engagement in Asia Wenchi Yu from the U.S.; Australia’s Ewa Wojkowska, Co-Founder and COO of Kopernik; International Security Fellow at New America Faiysal AliKhan from Pakistan; and Afghanistan’s Saad Mohseni, Chairman and CEO of Moby Group;

– Screening of Rosewater, followed by a discussion with Asia 21 young leader, author, and former political prisoner Maziar Bahari, whose life inspired the film;

– Screening of the recent HBO documentary, “The Diplomat”, followed by a conversation with filmmaker David Holbrooke, who will discuss leadership as embodied in the legacy of his late father, the film’s subject, and former Asia Society Chairman, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke;

“Asia 21 Task Forces” will leverage the collective experience and expertise of the Asia 21 network to generate a core set of recommendations on four topics—public health, good governance practices, innovation, and the environment.

These Task Forces will be respectively coordinated and led by four Asia 21 alumni: Dr. Akash Goel, who spearheaded the launch of India’s national Second Line ARV drug program that currently provides lifesaving medication to tens of thousands of individuals living with HIV/AIDS; Aaron Maniam, Director of the Industry Division at Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry; Armen Orujyan, the founder and CEO of Athgo International, one of the world’s leading entrepreneurial platforms in consultative status; and Dorjee Sun, Director of Carbon Conversation and one of Time’s “Heroes of the Environment” in 2009
Participating Asia 21 alumni at the summit will also include President & CEO of Philippines’ Bases Conversion and Development Authority Arnel Casanova (Philippines); CEO & founder of Yayasan Cinta Anak Bangsa (YCAB) Veronica Colondam (Indonesia); Vice President for global ICT Programs and Policy, Internews Kathleen Reen (Australia); Executive Director, the Institute for Societal Leadership (ISL), Singapore Management University Martin Tan (Singapore); National Award-Winning Documentary and Producer Aarti Shrivastava (India); Founder and President of the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center Ejaj Ahmad (Bangladesh); and Partner Chief Engineer at NASA Adam Gilmore (U.S.).

For more information about Asia 21 Please contact Kathryn Cardenas at KCardenas@AsiaSociety.org.

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New York, USA, September 17, 2014 /Xinwengao.com/ - Asia Society today announced the first-ever Asia Game Changer Awards, designed to recognize those making a transformative and positive difference for the future of Asia and the world. This year’s honorees include 13 leaders and institutions from Asia and the U.S.

“Asia Society is proud to establish the first awards to honor the true ‘game changers’ in Asia today,” said Asia Society President Josette Sheeran. “The awards are designed to fill a glaring gap—a lack of recognition of people who are truly transforming ideas into action and improving lives in Asia. Our inaugural honorees represent an extraordinary range of geography and achievement. What they share in common are vision, passion and proven impact, wherever and however they happen to be changing the world.”

Honorees were selected based on input from Asia Society’s global network. The 2014 awardees are:

• Game Changer of the Year Jack Ma, Chairman, Alibaba Group, For history- making business and philanthropy in China
• Shigeru Ban, Founder, Shigeru Ban Architects, For finding beauty, and hope, in the landscapes of disaster
• Madhav Chavan, Co-Founder and CEO, Pratham Charitable Trust, For bringing the gift of literacy to millions of Indians
• Illac Diaz, Founder, MyShelter Foundation and Liter of Light, For bringing light, literally, to so many lives
• Fashion Girls for Humanity, For demonstrating that ‘looking good’ and ‘doing good’ can be one and the same
• Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, Minister and Senior Advisor to the Indonesian President, For providing a brilliant blueprint for responding to disaster
• Saad Mohseni, Chairman, MOBY Group, For bringing news, information and entertainment to a barren landscape
• Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder and CEO, Acumen, For changing the way the world tackles poverty
• Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Founder, SOC Films and President, The Citizens Archive of Pakistan, For eye-opening films that give voice to the voiceless
• Playing for Change, For using the power of music to spread a global message of hope
• Pawan Sinha, Professor, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, For a truly visionary approach to treating India’s blind
• Malala Yousafzai, Education activist, For continuing to dream, and fight for girls the world over, after living a nightmare
• Zhang Minxuan, Professor, Shanghai Normal University, For leveling the playing field by providing quality education to millions in China

While all these honorees received widespread support, “One individual stood out in our selection process,” says Sheeran. “The truly game-changing nature of Jack Ma’s company Alibaba, and his philanthropic vision for China, have made him our Asia Game Changer of the Year.”

Mr. Ma and most of the other honorees will attend the Asia Game Changer Awards Dinner and Celebration at the United Nations on October 16, 2014. Mr. Ma will give an address to the gathering. The evening will also feature a special video address from Malala Yousafzai and a live performance by Playing For Change.

Asia Society is pleased to have Citi as the underwriting partner for the 2014 Asia Game Changer Awards and Dinner.
More information about the awardees, including bios, and the October 16 event is available at AsiaSociety.org/GameChangers. Members of the media should email pr@asiasociety.org or call +1 212-327-9271 for details.

About the Asia Society
Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.

Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit institution with headquarters in New York, major centers in Hong Kong and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, and Washington, DC.

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New York, USA, November 7, 2013 /Xinwengao.com/ - Asia Society is pleased to announce the Class of 2013-2014 Asia 21 Young Leaders, a prestigious group of the region’s emerging leaders under 40 in fields including government, business, policy, education, and arts. This is Asia Society’s 8th class of Asia 21 leaders chosen for their outstanding achievements, their promise for the future, their commitment to public service, and their desire to make the world a better place by collaborating with counterparts across the Asia-Pacific region.

“The selection process was extraordinarily competitive this year and the new class brings together a group of truly dynamic and outstanding individuals,” said Asia Society, Global Leadership Initiatives Executive Director Dr. Michael G. Kulma. “We are very excited about this new class and we look forward to meeting and engaging everyone in Zhenjiang, and welcoming all to the Asia 21 Family.”

This year’s winners include: Humaira Bachal, Founder of the Dream Foundation Trust, which works for girls’ right to education in Pakistan; Ibrahim ‘Ibba’ Bernardo, Founder and CEO of Sari Software Solutions, which aims to leverage technology to empower the underserved socio-economic sectors of society; Van-Nguyet Do, Founder and Director of Live & Learn for Environment and Community, a Vietnam-based NGO; Shoaib Iqbal, founder and Director of The Little Art, a non-profit arts education organization in Pakistan; Winston Wenyan Ma, Managing Director of China Investment Corporation, the sovereign wealth fund of China; and Sangwon Yoon, New York-based diplomatic correspondent for Bloomberg News.

To see this year’s full list of 30 winners and learn about their backgrounds click here.

The Class of 2013 will be committed to:

– Attend the Class of 2013-14 Forum (December 4-5) and the 2013 Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit (December 6-8) in Zhenjiang, China.

– Participate in monthly teleconferences with classmates in the time leading up to the Forum and Summit, and as needed

– Work together with other members of their class to select an organization to receive the 2013 Asia 21 Public Service Award, to be presented at the Summit in December. In addition, the spring 2014 meeting of the class will be a visit to the Public Service Award winning organization to determine how their class can work together with them to advance their work.

– Actively lead and engage in Asia 21 online activities, public service projects, and efforts to develop Asia 21 satellite programs in their home countries.

This year’s summit will play host to over 100 of the region’s most accomplished young leaders, representing over 20 countries and both the past and present of the Asia 21 program. With the theme From Passion to Action: Asia 21 Innovating for the Future, participants will delve deeply into a vision for social innovation in Asia, assess their roles as civic-minded leaders in the rapidly changing Asia-Pacific landscape, and explore ways to enhance and sustain their collective capacities.

Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders Initiative is the Asia-Pacific region’s top next generation program for emerging leaders under the age of 40 to build relationships, engage in interdisciplinary dialogue and cultural exchange, and develop cooperative responses for addressing shared challenges. With close to 800 members, active chapters across the region, and robust collaborations that bring leaders together from across borders and boundaries, the network comprises of young leaders from various sectors. Acceptance as an Asia 21 Young Leader not only makes the individual a part of this powerful network; it also makes the young leaders responsible for strengthening the Asia 21 community, presenting innovative solutions to our shared challenges, and activating the collective brain trust to take action.

Former Asia 21 participants include Academy Award winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti, Philippines Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, head of TOLONews TV Afghanistan Lotfullah Najafizada, Founder and President of the Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) Ejaj Ahmad, and President & Director, PT Saratoga Investama Sedaya and Asia Society Trustee Sandiaga Uno.

The Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit is supported by Founding International Sponsor, Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

For more information about Asia 21, please visit www.AsiaSociety.org/Asia21 or contact Ms. Kathryn Cárdenas at KCardenas@asiasociety.org.

About the Asia Society

Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future.

Asia Society is headquartered in New York, with centers in Hong Kong and Houston, and offices in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, and Washington, D.C.

Asia Society is on the web at www.AsiaSociety.org

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