Newsletter

ASIA SOCIETY WORLDWIDE HONG KONGHOUSTON LOS ANGELES MANILA MELBOURNE MUMBAINEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO SEOULSHANGHAIWASHINGTON, D.C.

Save the Date:

April 18, 2009

Asia Society Northern California's

Sixth Annual Dinner

Honorees:

Business: Vincent Lo, Shui On Land

Education: Robert Scalapino, UC Berkeley

Arts & Culture: TBA

Aiming to be one of the most important, business-driven green technology confer-ences to date, the US|China Green Tech

Summit in Shanghai — co-presented by the Bay Area Council, Yangtze Council, and Asia Society Northern California — didn’t disappoint.

Drawing from the rich reserves of knowledge and experience in the Bay Area and the Yangtze Delta region, the Summit brought together high-level investors, technologists, and academics in the green tech sector, along with govern-ment leadership from the US Departments of Treasury, Energy, and Commerce, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and the Communist Party of China in Shanghai, to discuss the most urgent issues facing the sector. The Summit drew 500 registered guests, 20 corporate sponsors, and 13 marketing partners over the course of three days (November 12-14, 2008) by offering state-of-the-industry panel discus-

sions and opportunities to do business just outside the conference ballroom. In addition, through media coverage by over 22 Chinese- and English-language forums, including China Daily, the People’s Daily, the San Francisco Chronicle, and CNN.com, the Summit was able to reach a much broader audience beyond con-ference attendees.

The US-China Green Energy Series — a forum begun in April 2008 at the PG&E Auditorium in San Francisco — will continue beyond the Green Tech Summit in Shanghai by returning to California this spring, where the Asia Society and the Bay Area Council will co-host a confer-ence on green cities. We hope that you will join us.

Green Tech Summit: Shanghai

500 Washington StreetSuite 350

San Francisco, CA 94111

Visit us on the web at:

www.asiasociety.org

Film Screening/Discussion: The Green Dragon. With director Max Perelman. January 6, 2009

"The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on the US-Asian Economic Outlook." With Barry Eichengreen and Jack Wadsworth. January 16, 2009

Panel Discussion: "The Future of Democracy in Northeast Asia." January 20, 2009

"China's New Anti-Monopoly Law." An Address by Nathan Bush. January 22, 2009

Iranian Literary Arts Festival. February 5-8, 2009

Meet the Author: Yiyun Li, The Vagrants. February 10, 2009

UPCOMING PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS WINTER 2008/09

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Shui On Land Chairman & CEO Vincent Lo

Members

2 Asia Society Northern California News WINTER 2008/09

Staff

N. Bruce PickeringExecutive Director

Wendy Soone-BroderDevelopment Director

Robert BullockProgram Director

Amanda HuffmanProgram & Development Assistant

Marcus Jung Office Manager

Asia SocietyGlobal

Headquarters

Northern California

500 Washington Street Suite 350

San Francisco, CA 94111 tel (415) 421-8707 fax (415) 421-2465

Advisory Board

The Honorable George P. ShultzHonorary Chairman

John S. Wadsworth, Jr.Co-Chairman and Trustee

Chong-Moon LeeCo-Chairman and Trustee

Richard C. BlumDaniel A. Carroll

Iris S. ChanCarmen ChangHoward ChaoJeff O. Clarke

David A. Coulter, TrusteeTimothy D. DattelsMark A. EdmundsThomas B. Gold

C. Richard KramlichDavid W. LyonDipti B. MathurLenny MendoncaWilliam J. PerryGary E. Rieschel

Sanford R. RobertsonOrville H. Schell

Lip-Bu TanKenneth P. Wilcox

Kyung H. YoonMona Lisa Yuchengco

Richard C. HolbrookeChairman, Asia Society

Vishakha N. DesaiPresident, Asia Society

Corporate Members--GlobalAESAlcoa FoundationAmerican AirlinesBank of New York MellonEni SpAFreeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.General AtlanticGreen Stamp AmericaPfizerShui On Land LtdSony CorporationTEDA

Corporate ContributorsConnell Bros. Company LTD.PG&ESilicon Valley BankWells FargoWilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Corporate SupporterDeloitteMorgan Stanley

Corporate DonorsBay Area CouncilCeyuanChevronKeefe, Bruyette & WoodsIndus Capital PartnersSutter Hill Ventures

In Kind ContributorsCathay PacificCharles ChocolatesComcastGiant Horse PrintingJohn DeLucaHyphen MagazineKQEDMartinelli’s CiderOld ShanghaiParducci WinerySan Francisco Business TimesTeance Fine TeasTommy Toy’sYank Sing RestaurantAnita Zand

Program UnderwritersBCAIACallaway Venture PartnersCalifornia MagazineIris ChanChevronDeloitte Evergreen American CorporationGreen ValleyHSBC Private BankKorea FoundationChong-Moon LeeMcKinsey & CompanyMendel BiotechnologyMorgan StanleyNew Enterprise AssociatesNixon Peabody LLPO’Melveny & MyersRichard PalmerPG&ESF Business TimesSouthwest AirTECOThe Chuan Lyu FoundationWells Fargo BankWilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

New Student MembersMatthew GrealishPaul JoyKaren Raghavan

New Individual MembersPeter AllenStephen BealDoris G. BebbPaula BerojaMary ConnersTom CoombsTiffany CuiAlan EllisAyame FlintNorma FolgelbergWilliam FullerRonald HoDavid HoppeJoyce JueWei Tai KwokAnthony LeeAllan MarsonPaul NasmanTim NoelEvelyne NguyenNancy PickfordMarjorie QuonTerry SchwakopfSean SmithWilliam StrasburgSuzanne Sullivan

Asia Society is grateful to the following individuals and organizations for their support:

France VianaMaria Wang-HornShao-Yuen Yuan

New Family MembersGiles Conway GordonKevin HaroffWilliam JohnstonDennis OwenAugust Whitcomb

Contributing MembersMartha HertelendyB. Scott KlikaT.J. Pempel

Sustaining MembersDelisa LeightonTodd St. SureLisa Spivey

President's Circle MembersDaniel BanksBarbara BundyPhyllis & William DraperKate Fickle & Jerry CarrollMary Hackenbracht & Buck GeeDaniel GettySandy & Harlan KleimanLorna Lee & James KeefeJohn McQuownCynthia MiyashitaSuno Kay Osterweis Richard Palmer

News from Board Co-Chairs

3Asia Society Northern California News WINTER 2008/09

It has been a real pleasure for both of us to serve as Co-Chairs of the Asia Society’s Northern California

Center Advisory Board these past six years. From its founding in 1998 as a small, one-person Representative Office, Asia Society in Northern California has emerged as one of the region’s strongest voices on all things relat-ing to Asia, from education to arts & culture, and from policy to economics and business. ASNC's growth would not have been possible without the strong presence of the Advisory Board, which has provided financial and intellectual leadership to the small staff, which despite its size, produces more than 70 programs a year.

We are pleased to welcome three new members onto the Northern California board:

Lenny Mendonca, Director, McKinsey and Company, and Chairman of the McKinsey Global Institute. Lenny is also the Chairman of the Bay Area Council.

Mark Edmunds, Vice Chairman and Regional Managing Partner for the Northern Pacific region of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP. He also heads the China Services Group for Deloitte.

Carmen Chang, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Carmen specializes in corporate and securities law and is the leader of the firm's China practice.

These individuals have proven them-selves as leaders in the community, and each has been willing to make the com-mitment to continuing our mission of bringing Asia to the Bay Area.

Corporate Members ProfileHeadquartered in Shanghai, Shui On Land (HKSE: 272) is the flagship property development company of the Shui On Group in the Chinese Mainland. Shui On Land has a proven track record in master planning and developing large-scale, mixed-use city-core projects and integrated residential devel-opments. The Company has access to approximately 13.2 million sq.m. of gross floor area, and currently has eight

projects in various stages of development in the city centres of Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, Dalian and Foshan. The Company was listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in October 2006.

As one of China’s most visionary and innovative property developers, Shui On Land applies its hallmark approach of master planning to all of its projects to ensure that our developments are fully consistent with government objectives in economic develop-ment and urban planning while simultaneously incorporating local historical and cul-tural characteristics into our designs. More details at www.shuionland.com.

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Three years ago, Asia Society Northern California inaugurated a new program series on sustainable development in the US and Asia. While we knew at the time that this

would be important, we did not foresee just how central it would become, for both the Northern California Center and all other Asia Society Centers as well.

Here in Northern California, we have addressed a wide range of related issues, from climate change to renewable energy in China, and from Asia’s emerging water crisis to the exploding trend of green design.

As our profile in sustainability has grown, so has our programming footprint. Our Program Director, Robert Bullock, organized the US-China Green Energy Conference in April, which brought together two dozen speakers and 350 attendees from the US and China, and helped plan two related conferences in Shanghai and Beijing that took place in November. He is now planning a green cities conference for next spring, as well as assisting other Centers with their green programming. Beyond these high-pro-file events, we will continue to offer a wide range of smaller programs addressing what has arguably become the defining issue of the next generation.

Message from the Director

Warm greetings to all of you and we hope that you have enjoyed our 2008 pro-grams. We want to thank you for all that you have enabled us to accomplish.

In light of current economic conditions, all Asia Society global centers have taken mea-sures to trim expenses as much as possible without sacrificing the excellent quality of our programs. We have also undertaken long-range planning to chart the next several years and the longer term. While the challenges are daunting, we are committed to expanding ASNC’s contribution to the Bay Area and beyond.

Your generosity has been critical to our efforts. We never forget that Asia Society is only as great as its supporters. Funding from foundations and corporations covers 67% of our annual budget and that funding is shrinking. The remainder must come from generous individuals in our community. Now more than ever, we need your support. There are many ways of supporting ASNC — by volunteering, through financial contri-butions, and with ideas and program attendance. We have included a pledge envelope in this newsletter and we hope that you will consider supporting Asia Society and mak-ing a difference.

Development News

Chong-Moon Lee

Jack Wadsworth

4 Asia Society Northern California News WINTER 2008/09

Northern California Photos

ASNC Staff Robert Bullock & Wendy Soone-Broder with President's Circle Members Cynthia Miyashita & Daniel Getty

Khatak Dancer Chitresh Das and ASNC Executive Director Bruce Pickering

Bonesetter's Daughter stars Qian Yi, Ning Liang, and Zheng Cao

Authors John Nathan and Ian Buruma

2008 Annual Dinner Honoree Steven Chu Nominated as Energy Secretary by President-elect Obama

5Asia Society Northern California News WINTER 2008/09

News from the Center

American Conservatory TheaterAsian Art Museum

Asian WeekB. Mori & Co.

B.R. Cohn WineryBetelnut Restaurant

Big PagodaBrown & Collins

CBS RadioCartlidge and Browne Winery

Colección Internacional del VinoJohn Deluca

diPietro Todd SalonEquinox

Senator Dianne FeinsteinFour Seasons Hotel San Francisco

Gianthorse Printinggoldberry Fine Jewelry

Grand Hyatt San Francisco

Website Redesign: The New AsiaSociety.org

In early 2009, the Asia Society will present to the world a new and expanded web site, offering a new look, more content, and better

and easier access to the Northern California Center. The new site is the latest in our efforts to extend the reach and lifespan of Asia Society programming and to engage new audiences. When implemented, the new site will give access to not only Northern California programming, but also Asia Society programs worldwide.

The new site will deploy a wide range of “rich media” — video, audio, photography, and multimedia projects — to complement its traditional print offerings. Web users unable to attend a program in person can watch live webcasts of many events around the world and even partic-ipate by asking questions online. As we continue to expand our activi-ties, the website will stay on top of the latest trends in web content production and delivery.

The new AsiaSociety.org, made possible by a generous gift from Trustee David Rubenstein, employs a state-of-the-art platform that

allows Asia Society centers around the world to directly produce and manage online content. A global grant from trustee Harold Newman and his wife Ruth has provided Northern California and other Centers around the world with professional equipment to record audio and video at our events.

Partnerships already play a vital role in our online activities. The Society partners with Fora.tv — known as “the thinking person’s YouTube” — to post videos on both AsiaSociety.org and Fora.tv’s site. We also have a new relationship with iTunes.U, the education section of Apple’s media distribution platform.

So if you missed attending a program, be sure to look for related content on the new website!

GreenopiaHighlands Howell Mountain Wines

Hilton San Francisco Financial DistrictHong Kong Association of Northern CA

KGO Newstalk AM810KQED, A Service of Northern California

Public BroadcastingRichard Kramlich

Jack FalstaffJunoon Restaurant

Lalime’sGeorge Lucas

Macy’sMasa’s

Nice AdvertisingOpolo Vineyards

Pacific Gas & Electric CompanyParducci

Perbacco Ristorante & Bar

Pres a ViQuince

Red GingkoSan Francisco MarriottSan Francisco Opera

San Francisco SymphonySee’s Candies

Shanghai 1930Chris Sigur

Wendy Soone-BroderSouthwest Airlines Co.

Straits Restaurant Teance Fine Teas

Tommy ToysToyota

Thy Tran United Airlines

Jack Wadsworthxroads Philippine Sea Salts

Asia Society would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their in-kind support of the Fifth Annual Dinner:

6News from the CenterOn Air, On Water, On Land and Online—Asia Society Goes Green

Asia Society Northern California News WINTER 2008/09

From Beijing’s air quality to global water security to its office recycling practices, the Asia Society is addressing the mounting environmental crisis in a comprehensive and sustained way on the web and beyond.

Before the Olympics, the world watched Beijing work to tackle the pollution that compromised its air quality. For over a year, a photographer has documented the city’s air quality by taking a daily photo through an apartment window. These images are the cornerstone of a new feature on AsiaSociety.org — Clearing the Air: China’s Environmental Challenge. The section opens with a video framing these environmental chal-lenges with insights from Orville Schell, ASNC Board Member and Arthur Ross Director of the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations, and other experts from China. In the section "Room with a View," visitors can browse through daily photos and highlights of the best and worst days for air quality, noting each day’s pollution index. The piece also gathers recent news articles and links to blogs and other resources from around the world, as well as official statistics from China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection. Visitors can also interact with the site by posting comments. The feature has drawn prominent online media attention from The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, and blog sites. See for yourself if it is a “blue sky day” in Beijing at AsiaSociety.org/beijingair.

With 1.1 billion people worldwide lacking access to safe drink-ing water and most of them living in Asia, a new Asia Society

environmental initiative is focusing on generating public and political support for solutions to issues of water quality and security. Drawing on the Society’s ability to convene policy dia-logue and promote change, this three-year project has begun with a high-level task force examining how decreased access to a safe, stable water supply can lead to political and social conflict in the Asia Pacific. The group will outline how govern-

ments, businesses, inter-national organizations, and nongovernmental organizations can tackle these challenges together. The initiative also taps a range of local leaders who are already leading the charge to share best practices. Strategic partnerships across sectors will allow Asia Society to share broadly its findings and action plans, as well as strengthen community leader-ship and urge strong, prag-matic, and long-term actions by governments. Related, pub-lic programs throughout Asia Society’s network of centers will address climate change-

related issues.

From the ground up, Asia Society is greening its operations. In our offices in Northern California and beyond, we have estab-lished a “Green Team” taskforce to help employees reduce paper use, increase recycling, save energy and more. These efforts are changing how the Society operates every day.

Young Professionals Group

The Asia Society Young Professionals Group (ASYPG) is an association of

young professionals who share a strong interest in Asia. Its members are talented, sophisticated and globally minded future leaders in their twenties and thirties. ASYPG

members will receive invitations to pre-receptions, after-parties, corporate briefings, panel discussions, dinners and other events. Stay tuned for more information on upcoming YPG programs. If you would like to be added to the YPG mailing list, please contact Amanda Huffman at amandah@asiasoc.org.

Office Supplies Needed

As a growing non-profit organization, we would be delighted to accept your in-kind donation of the

following items:

*Portable sound system with microphone

*Wine/other beverages*Digital projector and screen

*Graphic design services

7Asia Society Northern California News WINTER 2008/09

News from the Center

The hard work and dedication of our volunteer interns are critical to the success of our programs. Please join us in welcoming our most recent interns to the Asia Society Northern California community.

Meet our Interns

Thereze Cole (not pictured) worked at several independent newspapers in San Francisco as an interview reporter before joining ASNC. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in Communications and an M.A. in Asian Studies. Born in Lebanon, Thereze immigrated to Brazil as a child and speaks Arabic, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Thereze joined ASNC to put her background and studies to practical use and to stay involved with an organization that promotes inter-cultural understanding and tolerance in San Francisco.

Adam Collardey graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Chinese Studies. He continued studying Mandarin Chinese after college, when he lived in Taipei, Taiwan for five years. Currently, Adam is a graduate student at the University of San Francisco, pursuing an M.A. in Asia Pacific Studies. He is especially interested in environmental protection and sustainable development in Asia. Adam joined ASNC to gain experience in non-profit management and program development. His email is adam.collardey@gmail.com.

Iram Jabbar (not pictured) graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in History, a minor in Politics, and a concentration in Asia and the Islamic World. Iram plans to pursue a Masters Degree in History with an emphasis on social history of South Asia, and plans to enter the field of education. Through her work at ASNC, she hopes to enhance her own knowledge and skills, as well as contribute to the promotion of American understanding of Asia.

Rohini Dandavate holds a doctoral degree in Cultural Policy and Arts Administration from The Ohio State University. She received her graduate degree in Odissi dance from Kala Vikash Kendra, College of Indian Dance and Music, Cuttack, India. As an arts educator and an artist in the Arts Learning Program of the Ohio Arts Council, her courses, workshops, and community projects focused upon facilitating students and audiences to build cultural understanding through the arts. At ASNC, she is especially interested in expanding arts-related programming, particularly in the area of South Asian performing arts. Angel Yeh recently graduated from Stanford University with an

M.A. in International Comparative Education. She also holds a B.A. in Chinese and East Asian Studies from the University of California at Los Angeles. During her time at Stanford, she completed a master’s thesis focusing on student motivations to learn Chinese in an American public high school and also served as the internship coordinator for high school students enrolled in the STARTALK Mandarin Chinese language and culture program. A former Taiwan National Palace Museum tour guide and a Chinese-language tutor in Silicon Valley, Angel enjoys sharing Asian culture and language with others in the community. She joined ASNC to gain hands-on experience in non-profit administration and to enhance the public’s understanding of Asia through public programs.

After receiving her Economics degree from Emory University, Angela Park traversed through many countries in pursuit of new insights, particularly in Asia. She has studied Mandarin at Peking University in Beijing, worked for Deloitte & Touche in Korea, and volunteered for Bridge Builders Global, an educational non-profit, in Cambodia before interning at Asia Society. These international experiences continually feed her aspirations to promote understanding of critical social ideas and issues.

Adam and RohiniAngela and Angel

8

On September 22nd, the three leads in the acclaimed opera Bonesetter’s Daughter stepped offstage to share their stories at a sold-out Asia Society program in San Francisco. Performers Zheng Cao, Ning Liang, and Qian Yi, all born in mainland China, spoke on the differences between Western and Chinese opera — in language, music, and movement — the mother-daughter relationships at the center of the opera, and their relations with their own mothers and grandmothers.

They also gave the audience a rare, inside look at the painstak-ing, highly collaborative process of crafting Bonesetter’s, which had its world premier in San Francisco on September 13th. The Asia Society program was the only chance for the Bay Area to hear and meet with the three divas offstage. The Asia Society’s own Rachel Cooper, Director of Cultural Programs and Performing Arts for Asia Society New York, moderated the dis-cussion.

Adapted from the best-selling novel by beloved Bay Area author Amy Tan (who also wrote the libretto), the opera explores the complex bonds between mothers and daughters across three generations. In the tale, a troubled Chinese-American woman learns the horrible secrets of her immigrant mother’s past, which moves back and forth between modern-day San Francisco and the Chinese countryside during World War II. In Tan’s words, she wrote Bonesetter’s to give voice to three women “who each have been voiceless in their own ways.” The produc-tion is unmistakably American but has strong roots in China, incorporating the timbres and textures of Chinese music into the score.

Unusual for an opera, the three leads are all mezzo sopranos, even though composer Stuart Wallace wrote part of the score for a soprano — “and we still sold out,” Zheng Cao quipped.

Also unusual was the remarkable collaboration between Wallace, Tan, and the three singers that went in to the project. In near-constant collaboration with the singers, Wallace was revising the score almost to the end. Cao said “it felt like all of us put this together.”

The three stars forged close ties from the start. “In the very beginning when we had a rehearsal, we said, ‘oh, we are Charlie’s Angels,’” said Ning Liang. “Oh no, the Supremes!” Cao joked.

The program was made possible through the generosity of Asia Society Northern California Board Member Iris Chan and Wells Fargo Bank.

Noted Tibet scholar Robert Thurman is a man on a mis-sion. He wants China to offer full autonomy to Tibet and argues that one of the big-gest beneficiaries would be China itself. Thurman makes the case in his new book Why the Dalai Lama Matters, which he discussed before a San Francisco audience on October 2nd.

Chinese rule of Tibet has been a disaster, Thurman began. Tibet has seen its ecosystem destroyed, its reli-gion, language, and culture repressed, and systematic oppression of anyone who dares to assert Tibetan sovereignty. Lhasa has been transformed from a city that inspired many visitors, including Thurman himself, into the “armed camp” it resembles today. Its Tibet policies have not been good for China either, particularly the country’s interna-tional image.

Thurman called for an end to this. China should grant autonomy to Tibet, and Tibetans should embrace autonomy, under a “one country two systems” model based on mainland China’s arrangement with Hong Kong. A top priority would be restoring Tibet’s devastated environment. This would help resolve long-running tensions between China and Tibet and win Beijing inter-national kudos for its forward-thinking goodwill.

According to one review of the book, the plan is both “highly commonsensical and wildly improbable.” But Thurman believes that sooner or later, the Chinese leadership just might go for it. We might be in for a Nixon-goes-to-China moment, where Hu Jintao, secure in the conservative wing of the Communist Party, extends the fig leaf.

While the Tibetan Buddhist scholar focused his San Francisco remarks on politics, he followed an unmistakably “Middle Way” approach to power and negotiations. In his view, China will rule most effectively through not rigidity, but letting go, through not repression, but non-violence. “Never imprison your opponent in a view where he cannot change his mind,” Thurman advised. Show respect, keep appealing to reason, and take the long view — this, he argued, is the only way to achieve true reform in Tibet, and other troubled parts of the globe as well.

The program was held at KQED Radio, the largest National Public Radio station in the US, and was moderated by Scott Shafer, host and correspondent for KQED’s California Report program.

Asia Society Northern California News WINTER 2008/09

Program HighlightsSinging East and West: The Bonesetter's Daughter Robert Thurman on Tibet

Qian Yi as Precious Auntie

9Asia Society Northern California News WINTER 2008/09

Asia Society is the leading global and pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders and institutions of the United States and Asia.

We seek to increase knowledge and enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of policy, business, education, arts and culture.

Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C.

Asia Society is on the web at www.AsiaSociety.org.

Preparing Asians and Americans for a shared future.

Microfinance Revolution in India

On October 22nd, Dr. Vikram Akula, founder and CEO of SKS Microfinance, delivered a riveting address on his microfinance activities in India. “SKS believes that access to basic financial services can significantly increase economic opportunities for poor families and in turn help improve their lives,” said Akula. But microfinance operations face many challenges, the most serious of which he dubbed “the 3 C’s”: capital, capacity, and cost. Access to capital is limited for microfinance organizations because most are non-profit or non-governmental organizations; they raise money for philanthropy, not for profit. Related, most microfinance operations are very small, serving 10,000 clients or less, and cannot achieve economies of scale. As a result, operating costs are typically high, creating formidable barriers to expansion.

Despite these challenges, SKS has proven one of the fastest growing microfinance institutions in the world. To date, it has provided nearly $1 billion in unsecured loans to over 3 million women in poor regions of India, with a remarkable 99% on-time repayment rate. SKS's growth last year was nearly 170%. It now has 1,413 branches in 18 states across India and aims to reach 8 million members by 2010. As a for-profit business that yields respectable returns to investors, the group has attracted equity from premier venture capitalists including Vinod Khosla, Sequoia Capital, and SVB India Capital Partners.

SKS has also excelled in the use of innovative technologies. It pioneered the use of smart cards at the village level and is working with VISA International on a pilot project to develop and deploy wireless point of sale terminals to automate field operations and greatly reduce transaction costs. Because of its focus on standardization and automation, SKS has become known as the “Starbucks of microfinance.”

Despite many additional challenges, including political stabil-ity, local corruption, and hostility from loan sharks and the like in the informal credit market, the SKS example has shown that even the poorest of the poor are credit-worthy, and that making loans to them can be profit-making, not simply philanthropic. In 2006, Time magazine named Akula one of the world’s 100 most influential people for his work. In 2008, he was honored as the Schwab “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” and as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. For more informa-tion about Akula and SKS, visit http://www.sksindia.com/.

The glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau supply water to over 40 percent of the world’s population, and the region is a climate change hotspot, experiencing temperature gains well above the global average. On November 5th, environmental journalist Isabel Hilton, scholar Julia Klein, and moderator Jennifer Turner of the Woodrow Wilson Center met before a packed crowd to discuss global warming in the Plateau and what it means for the surrounding region.

Julia Klein, a professor at Colorado State University, is a lead-ing expert on climate change in the Tibetan Plateau and the interaction between climate, land use, and the ecosystems of the region. Rising temperatures have already brought irrevers-ible changes, Klein said, and conditions will almost certainly worsen. One example: climate change is causing grasslands to be replaced by shrubs, and yaks — the principal livestock of the region — don’t eat shrubs. The health of the animals is worsen-ing and their numbers are sure to diminish.

Such transformations are not confined to the Plateau. Isabel Hilton, the London-based founder and editor of ChinaDialogue.net, went on to discuss the broader implications. Hilton began by explaining the critical importance of glaciers. “Glaciers are really supporting civilizations,” she said, “not only in this region, but all over the world. They act as humanity’s water tank.”

But the glaciers are melting at even current temperatures. Some studies predict that two-thirds of the region’s glaciers will disap-pear by 2060 and that all will be gone by 2100. At this point, Hilton stressed, all we can do is slow the rate of melting.

As glaciers disappear from the Tibetan Plateau, the water sup-ply for two billion people living in downstream areas — includ-ing India and China — will diminish as well. And supplies of potable water are already tight in these countries.

“I think what’s in store as the glaciers retreat, as the water diminishes, is potentially one of the first climate-change wars of the 21st century,” Hilton predicted.

Both Klein and Hilton stressed that while efforts to reduce global warming have drawn a good deal of attention recently, adaptation to global warming has not. With warming already a fact of life, mitigation alone is insufficient, and the peoples of Asia and the world must learn to live with these potentially catastrophic changes.

Program HighlightsClimate Change, Water, and the Himalayas

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