The HOPE Institute and Intel Asia will jointly host the 1st Asia NGO Innovation Summit. This conference brings together Non-government Organization (NGO) leaders who work towards strengthening the impact of the NGO community in Asia. This year’s slogan: INNOVATE, CONNECT, BUILD ASIA aims to promote action to the theme: Building Capacity for Changing Asia.

NGOs in Asia are currently faced with significant challenges. Since 20th century, Asian NGOs have searched for various models of solidarity and cooperation within the region in order to address diverse problems, from human rights, democracy, poverty, conflict situations, to migration and environment. However, in the 21st century, there are complex and intensified problems, such as climate change and global financial crisis. The role of Asia, which has plenty of potential, has increased in this context and NGOs and the civil society have become one of the major players to improve societies’ capacities to solve problems and to offer innovative alternatives for a better future.

In spite of the progress of civil society in Asia, NGOs face significant organizational challenges regardless of their field of operation and core values for creating a better society. NGOs are still struggling with financial difficulties, lack of human resources, and lack of practical knowledge and experience to build healthy governance and partnership among diverse stakeholders within the society. They are burdened to adapt to the internal cultural change of civic society as well as the unstable political and social situation. To solve those common challenges and to find alternative ways of moving forward together, NGOs in Asia need to learn and share ideas on how to build their capacity and constantly transform themselves in an innovative way.