The Tanoto Foundation, founded by entrepreneur and philanthropist Sukanto Tanoto and his wife Tinah Bingei Tanoto, has a long tradition of supporting causes that enhance the quality of life through medical research. The most recent of such philanthropy is the contribution of a transformational gift to the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre to establish the Viral Research and Experimental Medicine Centre @ SingHealth Duke-NUS (ViREMiCS). The gift will accelerate the full operational capabilities of ViREMiCS and bring it to its full potential to enable pre-clinical and clinical trials to take place within the shortest time possible.

"Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.," said celebrated 20th-century photographer Ansel Adams. Since 2015, RGE has called upon the 50,000 employees across its business groups to do just that through an annual photography contest.

The first edition called upon the RGE family to capture their vision of "Our Sustainable Future," drawing some 500 entries from employees across the world.

The Sumatran elephant is a magnificent animal. Capable of reaching a shoulder height of between 2 and 3.2 m (6.6 and 10.5 ft), the Sumatran elephant weighs between 2,000 and 4,000 kg (4,400 and 8,800 lb) and possesses 20 pairs of ribs. But while they were once found in abundance, today the Sumatran elephants are critically endangered.

Fires are a major threat to sustainably managed plantations, annihilating assets that took years to grow and nurture. Recognising the danger and damage that fires cause, and keenly aware that a ground-up, partnership approach is needed in order for any solution to be effective, APRIL established the Fire-Free Village Programme in 2015.

The Fire Free Alliance (FFA) marked its first anniversary yesterday taking stock of the remarkable progress it has made over the past year and the work that remains ahead. Launched on 29 February 2016, FFA started with founding members APRIL, Asian Agri, IDH, Musim Mas, PM.Haze, and Wilmar, who collectively wanted to contribute to a solution to Indonesia’s persistent fire and haze problems with a focus on fire prevention through community engagement.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on NUS Giving. Reprinted with permission.

Ms Belinda Tanoto strongly believes in spending a lot of time with stakeholders on the ground to discover the real issues that can help shape philanthropic strategy. The youngest daughter of Mr Sukanto Tanoto and Mrs Tinah Bingei Tanoto serves as a Trustee on the Board of the Tanoto Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the RGE group. Founded in 1981 by her parents, the Foundation has supported the National University of Singapore (NUS) with gifts to scholarships, professorships and research.