The mission of the Connect To Change programme is to bring the Gen.T community together to create positive impact, partnering with local charities across Asia and activating the skills of our honourees to benefit the charity and help its founders achieve their goals.

To fully optimise the impact, each event looked very different—with the format dictated by the needs of the local charity. From picking up rubbish in Jakarta and fundraising in Hong Kong to mentoring children in Singapore, each Connect To Change event leveraged the talent and the network of our honourees to bring about meaningful change.

This year, Gen.T launched the Enter The World Of event series. Taking the Gen.T community on a journey deep into an idea or issue that impacts their lives and businesses, the inaugural Enter The World Of event, held in Manila, focused on startup funding. Gen.T honourees Paulo Campos, co-founder of Zalora Philippines; and Mica F Tan, co-founder of private equity firm MFT Group, were among the evening's speakers. 

The second, in Taipei, focused on AI, innovation and the tech trends that will define the next decade. Tribe member Royce Hong gave a keynote alongside Gen.T honourees Sega Cheng, Daniel Chou and Jack Chao.

To begin the process of selecting the Gen.T List 2019, we gathered the Tribe—a panel of industry leaders who help nominate and vet honourees for the list—at eight kickoff events across the region. We brought the group together, which in 2019 consisted of more than 120 thought-leaders, to explain the selection process and encourage lively debate about potential candidates. 

Gen.T Table is an intimate dinner party that features a panel discussion as part of the evening's programme. Sustainability was the topic at the inaugural event, which was held in Singapore.

The panel was moderated by Channel News Asia's Glenda Chong and featured two Gen.T honourees and a member of the Tribe. SoGal Ventures co-founder and Gen.T honouree Pocket Sun discussed the future of CSR, while fellow honouree and Miniwiz managing director Tan Szue Hann dove into the issue of how sustainable practices can benefit profit margins, not damage them. Tribe member Pat Law, founder of social media agency Goodstuph, discussed what founders need to do to build sustainable companies.

Standing for Responsibility, Awareness and Wonder, the R.A.W. Prize is a HK$500,000 grant to support a member of the Gen.T community whose for-profit or non-profit project catalyses responsible consumption and works towards the targets set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG12).

A collaboration between Gen.T and Luxarity, a social initiative from the Lane Crawford Joyce Group, the prize saw dozens of applications from entrepreneurs in the Gen.T community keen to win the grant as well as the mentorship and marketing support offered by both organisations. 

Shanghai-based entrepreneur Sissi Chao, co-founder of upcycling startup REmakeHub, was ultimately victorious on the night of the final, her pitch beating the six other finalists to win over the judges. 

We'll be following Sissi's journey as she uses the grant and mentorship to launch an impactful new project. To get up to speed on her journey so far, see highlights of her fireside chat with Gen.T editor Lee Williamson, and read the story of how she started out. 

Gen.T has entered a number of strategic event partnerships in 2019, teaming up with organisations that share both our values and our passion for catalysing positive change in Asia. 

Partnerships typically involve Gen.T playing a part in the event programming, either through a Gen.T-powered panel discuission, which activates Gen.T talent as panellists, or some other means where our community can add value. 

Like what you see?  Our flagship event in 2020 is the Gen.T Asia Summit, a two-day event in Hong Kong that will celebrate the most disruptive people and ideas shaping Asia's future. Visit the summit's website for more details.