During a keynote at the Philea Forum in Lisbon, I shared the story of Alwaleed, a young entrepreneur and activist. He dedicated his life to building a peaceful and prosperous Sudan at a time when the region is experiencing one of the largest humanitarian crises ever recorded, and shamefully neglected, with over 30 million people in urgent need. In April this year Alwaleed got abducted, tortured and killed by the Rapid Support Forces.

Disability inclusion remains Europe’s overlooked equality frontier; philanthropies must embed disabled people throughout strategy, staffing and governance to honour the continent’s social justice promise.

What role can philanthropy play in strengthening democracy and equality? How can it move beyond funding projects to tackle deeper challenges like polarisation, inequality and erosion of trust?

Funders can’t just hand out money and hope for the best. We need real partnerships – especially with those experiencing and tackling inequality every day. But how do we build those partnerships in a way that feels fair?

It’s been, to the day, exactly five years since I joined the world of philanthropy. I had, until then, only courted the sector from behind a veil, as a grantee of philanthropic foundations who had generously supported my work in protecting children and their rights.