The China-Italy Philanthropy Forum (CIPF) was jointly organized by China Development Research Foundation (CDRF),China Global Philanthropy Institute (CGPI), and TOChina Hub as the first European expansion of East-West Philanthropy Forum enhancing philanthropic exchange and cooperation between the two countries. The East-West Philanthropists Summit of CIPF was successfully held at the Lincean National Academy of Sciences in Rome from March 20 to 23.
As Honorary Co-Chairs of the forum, Romano Prodi, Former President of the European Commission and Former Prime Minister of Italy and Ma Weihua, Chairman of CGPI and Former Governor of the China Merchants Bank, attended a state dinner banquet on March 22 hosted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyan. Addressing the gathering, President Mattarella said, “the establishment of …CIPF as well as a series of governmental and trade agreements scheduled to be signed tomorrow, fully demonstrate the strong interest of the two countries in developing cooperative ties.”
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On March 23, Wang Zhenyao, President of CGPI, Fang Jin, Deputy Secretary-General of CDRF, and Giovanni Andornino, Director of TOChina Hub, signed a MoU on the Establishment of CIPF for long-term cooperation in philanthropy. The ceremony was witnessed by both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Among the 19 intergovernmental agreements signed that day, this was the only one pertaining to philanthropy, therefore marking the highest-level philanthropic exchange ever held between the two countries.
Moreover, the East-West Philanthropists Summit of CIPF was a complete success. More than 30 leaders representing politics, philanthropy, business, arts, and academia from both countries attended the event. The event heralded the launch of the East-West Philanthropy Circle, focusing on united actions by some of the world’s leading philanthropic families, in addition, the public launch of IPIC (the International Philanthropic Innovation Circle) focusing on “uniting the world’s young philanthropists to innovate for good” under the East-West Philanthropy Forum (EWPF), which is the highest action-driven platform for exchange and collaboration among philanthropists from East and West addressing today’s most urgent environmental and social challenges. The Chinese and Italian philanthropists vowed to take concrete measures to organize personnel training, realize environmental protection, ensure the protection of intangible cultural heritage, and support family philanthropic legacy within the framework of CIPF and EWPF.
