Jet Li: “We must engage in charity activities as many people as possible”

The key factor of philanthropy development in the modern world is engaging in charitable activities as many people as possible, stated the Chinese actor and founder of the One Foundation Jet Li at the Second Davos Philanthropic Roundtable conducted by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. According to Li, this is the method that might become a crucial one in solving problems faced by philanthropy in the period of crisis.

"We ought to think not about global activities, but on how to engage everyone, so that all join in philanthropy", underlined Jet Li. As an example he mentioned a project developed by his own foundation, i.e. a system for charity donations made via special credit cards (also known as One Foundation caring card): every person donates just one yuan with the card and the bank adds 0.1 yuan on top of each donation.

As stated by Jet Li such innovations help generating significant charity funds. "In philanthropy one should follow the principle: if I give, I will become richer. Because we are one global family. Really, it is not necessarily giving a lot for charity. It's crucial that everyone gives, so that the act of donating for charity becomes an integral part of a human's life - becomes a common practice", emphasised the actor.
The main goal of his foundation Jet Li sees in "bridging a void between those who are able to help and those for whom this help is most needed."

As reported earlier, more than 300 representatives of international business and political elite, the largest charity foundations and NGOs, corporations and venture funds participated in the Second Davos Philanthropic Roundtable conducted by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation during Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum.

Background:

A philanthropic meeting point organised by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Davos during Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, Davos Philanthropic Roundtable is aimed at developing philanthropy in Ukraine and increasing effectiveness of social projects. Main theme of the Second Davos Philanthropic Roundtable, entitled "From Philanthrocapitalism to Philanthrocrisis", was the impact of the economic crisis on philanthropy and perspectives of philanthropy development.

The key speakers at the event were the dignitaries who have significantly contributed to the development of a new model of philanthropy: 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton; former
Prime-Minister Of Great Britain Tony Blair; businessman and philanthropist Richard Branson; Laureate of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Muhammad Yunus; actor and founder of the One Foundation Jet Li, founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates and also Victor Pinchuk, the Roundtable organiser, public leader and businessman. Matthew Bishop, Chief Business Editor of The Economist and co-author of the book "Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World" acted as a moderator of the discussion.