WINGSForum 2023, held in Nairobi, Kenya from October 3-5 brought together, for the first time in Africa, more than 400 philanthropic leaders, practitioners and innovators from over 45 countries and sought to ignite a spark of transformation in the sector. From discussions that championed the need for change in light of the global polycrisis, to calls for decolonising the way we think and talk about philanthropy, it was an event packed with insights and challenging conversations. Here are a few key highlights from the event.
1. Transformation is not optional
Our world and planet are in crisis and philanthropic organisations can lead, support and enable change but to rise to the challenge we must transform ourselves, our practices, and our institutions. On day 1, the opening speeches of Benjamin Bellegy, the Executive Director of WINGS, and Stigmata Tenga, the Executive Director of the Africa Philanthropy Network (APN), and the panel on existential risks pushed us to question our role in the global polycrisis, reflect on the role of Indigenous Communities as guardians of nature, and see how we can include youth in our long-term plans.
On day 2 we continued to discuss transformation with a challenging conversation on wealth generation and distribution. Panelists tackled inequality and taxation and asked us to think about some big questions: How was wealth generated and who was harmed in its generation? How much is enough? What is success? What is our relationship with other people and the planet?
Radical transformation was mentioned many times throughout the conference as we were reminded that change is uncomfortable and that we need to be prepared to embrace the transformation process and arrive at unexpected results.
2. The role of philanthropy support organisations (PSOs) is crucial
On day 2, the plenary session on “Unraveling the paradox of philanthropy” discussed why and how we can and must tap into boldness to build new structures, giving frameworks, and ideas of giving that can transform philanthropy.
Networks and PSOs can play a key role in sparking change. They can encourage non-climate foundations to take climate action, position issues at regional and global debates, and connect different actors to ensure the impact of philanthropy is more widespread and durable. We must use to our advantage what makes our sector unique.
3. We need a shift in mindsets and practices
Good practices in philanthropy like unrestricted funding and trust-based philanthropy are slowly becoming more common. But we still need to think about whether these practices are actually shifting power or agency. Are we being transformative enough?
We need to dream about a new way of doing philanthropy. We need to reclaim the love for humanity we claim to be about. The theme of shifting power and embracing localisation was present throughout the three days. Breakout sessions underscored the urgency of decolonising concepts, language, and practices in the philanthropic world. Terms such as “due diligence” and “capacity building” were reevaluated as practices that should originate from local communities to funders, not the other way around. Prioritising bottom-up approaches and amplifying the voices and knowledge of local partners were recurring points. These reflections were informed and inspired by the examples we saw of African and other Global South ways of doing philanthropy.
4. Collaboration, flexibility and authenticity are key
An overarching theme was the power of connection. Attendees were excited about the opportunity to engage in horizontal conversations, providing a space for introspection and forging lasting connections. For WINGS, having its members gathered in person proved invaluable, offering feedback and insights crucial for the organisation’s growth and consolidation in the years to come.
It became abundantly clear that connections pave the way for powerful partnerships. The panel on philanthropy’s enabling role and collaborations on day 3, shared the importance and impact of multi-stakeholder partnerships with governments, the business sector, and philanthropy. The resounding message was to move from conversation to concrete action, Being flexible, acknowledging the diversity of actors and agendas, listening to others and compromising were all listed as essential for collaboration.
But these collaborations can only be achieved by authenticity. The term “authenticity” resonated throughout the discussions, reflecting its vital role in creating the enabling environment necessary for philanthropy to thrive. Participants emphasised the need to be authentic in thoughts, conversations, and actions, highlighting the importance of sincerity in all aspects of philanthropic work.
5. Experimenting and failing are necessary
Transformation will not be possible without experimentation and failure. The side events and the Garden of Experimentation highlighted the importance of trying new things and adapting to new circumstances. Philanthropy is a sector that can be bold, act quickly, and make innovative decisions. We need to embrace this spirit of experimentation and possible failure if we want to tackle the great challenges of our time. The Failure Lab showed us that having difficult conversations about failures makes us vulnerable, which is essential if we want to reflect, change and move forward.
Experimentation comes hand in hand with good leadership. Leaders can infuse an organisation with the momentum necessary to transform. But leaders also need to reflect on power and how they can share it and shift it to reach broader goals. This is another potentially uncomfortable but necessary process to transform philanthropy. The panel “Embracing transformational leadership” on day 3 shared examples of such transformations.
Technology can also be a force for experimentation and innovation. This involves harnessing technology to pioneer meaningful and transformative philanthropic work, ushering in a new era for the sector.
Overall, WINGSForum 2023 was filled with optimism and excitement for the future of philanthropy. Our closing plenary reflected on the next decade for philanthropy and showed that transformation is not just an option but an imperative. This is why starting in 2024 the WINGS Ecosystem Funder Award will be given to an individual or institutional funder whose investments have made a significant contribution to developing the philanthropy ecosystem.
In a world filled with enormous and existential challenges, we hope the key takeaways from this event provide some ideas and inspiration for how philanthropy can step up and truly commit to a transformational role in society and fully leverage our unique potential.
In order to keep the conversation alive and build a movement for transforming philanthropy, we invite philanthropic organisations to share their stories of transformation, events, initiatives and resources for transformation with us here.
We deeply thank the sponsors and partners who supported this event. The next WINGSForum will be held in 2026. The location will be announced at the end of 2024, stay tuned.
*See all the plenary recordings here and photos of the event here.
