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NGOs • NPOs • Foundations
NGOs • NPOs • Foundations

World peace -
Humaneity Magazine | March 2010

one cup at a time

A social entrepreneur’s idealistic journey to build lasting and positive peace
around the world.

44
44
by Jonathan How
In this picture: Café Diplo founder Jonathan How (extreme left)
with volunteer performers at the “Haiti Haiti” charity concert.

A
s a teenager, I was not the
studious type, preferring
to have fun making friends
and getting involved in non-
academic activities like
soccer games and sing-along
sessions. I was also happier appreciating
Picasso and his Cubist works, than learning
about Adam Smith and his Invisible Hand. Later
on in life, when it dawned on me that I should
be more serious about my future, I considered
going to music college, since I loved playing
the piano and had received substantial training
on it. However, I applied instead to study
accountancy in Australia after deciding that
getting a music degree was not a pragmatic
enough career move.
Social awakening
Soon after leaving Singapore for my overseas
studies, I developed an interest in world affairs
and social issues; leaving my comfort zone
made me long for home and country, and I grew
increasingly concerned about issues affecting

Humaneity MAGAZINE
 NGOs • NPOs • Foundations
both, whether domestic or foreign ones. The
interest persisted throughout my varsity years
and beyond. After working for a year in the
private sector, I felt compelled to return to
university to work towards another degree in
the hope of doing something meaningful with it
in the global arena.
I returned to Australia for a year of post-
graduate studies in international relations.
After graduating with a master’s degree, I
landed a job in Singapore’s civil service and
worked there for a number of years before a
latent entrepreneurial streak in me emerged. I
decided to leave the service and head back to
the private sector. Not long after that, I came up
with plans to create an indie establishment for
artists and arts lovers alike, and started to lay
the foundation for the setting up of my first café.
Having a go at
entrepreneurship
In late 2005, I started the Singapore Art Café
(SAC). Tucked away in a corner of a public
library situated in a local arts centre called The
Esplanade, the SAC hosted open mikes, music
showcases and art exhibitions. Opening the
café then was a bold move, as I did not have
an F&B background to start with. All I had was
a dream to create a place for arts lovers and
On this page: Top: Café Diplo’s How on a visit to
NGO Give Kids Hope in northern Thailand.
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practitioners that serves great coffee and food
at the same time.
The SAC gradually earned a reputation as a
place for local and locally-based talents to
gather, network and showcase their music
and artworks. It became known as one of the
few local venues that host open mikes, which
are public singing platforms, usually held in
cafés and pubs. Such performing avenues
are informal, and often spontaneous, and are
popular in countries like the US and the UK, but
less so in Asian countries like Singapore.
From arts entrepreneur to
social entrepreneur
Humaneity Magazine | March 2010
After three challenging and physically demanding
years of operating the café, I decided to close
the SAC down and either embark on another
(less strenuous) entrepreneurial project or rejoin
the workforce. It was then that I thought of
combining my passion in the arts with my other
passion to bring about social change globally.
With my former café still fresh in my mind, I
began exploring the concept of a mobile café
that serves food to the needy around the world,
empowering and encouraging them through
music. I also started subscribing to the notion
of peace diplomacy, which refers to actions and 45
efforts that everyone can be involved to build
real and positive peace locally and globally.
Initially, I conceptualised Peace Diplomacy
Institute (PDI) as a project to provide peace
education and organize humanitarian relief
efforts, with Café Diplo as an offshoot initiative
to engage global citizens through means like
dialogue sessions and music events. Today,
the PDI remains a work in progress, while
Café Diplo was launched in late 2008 as a
social entrepreneurial project to spearhead
peacebuilding initiatives. It was very apt that
the domain name “worldpeace.sg” had been
available then and quickly acquired. With Café
Diplo’s vision fleshed out and the direction clear,
I continued to work on its sustainability model:
cafés, humanitarian forums and music festivals.
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Food, forums and festivals

As a social enterprise, Café Diplo needs to
be sustainable as it implements its cause-
led programs. The vision for my first café, the
SAC, was to create a hub for arts lovers and
practitioners. With Café Diplo, my plan is to
create a conducive place for humanitarian
workers, social entrepreneurs, as well as the
general public to gather and have their drinks
and meals, while supporting causes at the
same time through their patronage.
Humaneity Magazine | March 2010

On this page: Top: A Vietnamese boat beached by

Typhoon Ketsana last year.

musicians passionate about peacebuilding,

social issues and the environment.

The journey ahead

46
On this page: Top: Philippine singer-songwriter and
environmental activist Noel Cabangon at AHF 2010.
Two core programs have also been
conceptualized – the Asia Humanitarian
Forum (AHF) (www.asiahumanitarianforum.
org) (featured in this issue) and the Grace
Music Festival (GMF) (www.gracemusicfestival.
com). AHF serves as an educational platform
to promote humanitarian and environmental
issues; the inaugural AHF was held from
January 15 to 17, 2010. Although the primary
target audience is the people of Asia, the
message is a universal one. The first GMF is
being planned for mid-2010. The festival aims
to bring people together through music, both
in conflict and non-conflict areas. It will feature
Since its launch, Café Diplo has supported
the work of other humanitarian organizations
by putting together charity concerts, leading
volunteer trips and collaborating on events and
projects. NGOs it has partnered include disaster
response agency Mercy Relief, World Vision,
and the Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore).
Café Diplo will continue to provide such support
whenever possible.
2010 might well be the defining year for Café
Diplo, as it seeks seed-funding to launch core
programs and key initiatives. Hopefully one day
soon, I will be able to welcome you over to have
coffee or tea. We would then sit down and chat
about making the world a better place to live in.
One cup at a time.
For more information on Café Diplo, go to
www.cafediplo.org.

Humaneity MAGAZINE