Cambodia Takes Center Stage at Manila Gathering
Angelina Jolie will join Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh in Manila on November 11, 2026, for a discussion on Cambodia's recovery and the importance of sustained work with communities. Their appearance is part of the ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit, whose official program lists 30 sessions and 51 speakers.
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The closing discussion, titled "From Memory to Possibility: Cambodia, Courage and the Power of Staying," will be moderated by Shamina Singh, founder and president of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. Jolie and Panh previously worked together on First They Killed My Father, the 2017 film about author and human rights activist Loung Ung's childhood under the Khmer Rouge.
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth is hosting the gathering in partnership with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines. Its official summit program confirms the date and Manila location, with discussions spanning financial health, small businesses, technology, tourism and the creator economy.
Broadway star Lea Salonga, actress and entrepreneur Kylie Verzosa, fashion designer Rajo Laurel and Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina Roque are also among the announced participants. Their sessions bring cultural work, business ownership and public policy into the same conversation about who benefits when an economy grows.
What Inclusive Growth Means Here
Southeast Asia is home to more than 700 million people and 70 million micro, small and medium enterprises, according to the summit organizers. These businesses, often shortened to MSMEs, range from very small operations to established companies that remain below the size of major corporations.
Inclusive growth means expanding economic opportunities in ways that allow more people to participate and benefit. For a small business, that might mean access to useful technology or financial services. For an artist or craft worker, it can mean a route to customers and audiences beyond their home market.
The program connects those concerns through featured topics including "Data Drop: Financial health," "When it matters most: Response, reach, and resilience," and "Small business: Technology, digitalization and AI." Financial health concerns people's ability to manage expenses and absorb financial shocks, while digitalization means moving activities such as payments, sales or record keeping onto digital systems.
The organizers describe the meeting as a place for business, government, civil society and philanthropy to examine how economic uncertainty can become opportunity. Jolie's Cambodia discussion adds a community perspective to a program that also addresses corporate leadership and new technology.
Why Jolie and Panh Are Speaking Together
Jolie and Panh's session will address Cambodia's rebuilding after the Khmer Rouge regime and development shaped around local communities. Panh, an Academy Award nominated filmmaker, writer and producer, co-produced First They Killed My Father, which Jolie directed.
Their shared filmmaking experience gives the discussion a concrete starting point: a Cambodian childhood brought to the screen through collaboration. The session's focus extends from remembering that history to supporting communities over time.
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth has highlighted Jolie's longstanding commitment to Cambodian communities and her collaboration with Panh as examples of trust, locally directed solutions and lasting change. Development led by communities means residents help decide priorities rather than simply receive plans made elsewhere.
Jolie founded the Maddox Foundation in 2003. The organization works in Cambodia's Samlout district on conservation, education, health and agriculture and is run locally. Those activities connect care for land with the services and livelihoods that families need.
Cambodia also has a personal place in Jolie's life. Her son Maddox was born there, and she received honorary Cambodian citizenship in 2005 for her humanitarian work. The summit discussion brings those longstanding ties into a regional debate about how economic progress reaches vulnerable populations.
Two Decades of Humanitarian Work
Jolie served as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, from 2001 to 2012. She then served as its special envoy until 2022. Her humanitarian work has included support for refugees, people displaced from their homes, and the rights of women and children.
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth confirmed her summit appearance on November 6. In its announcement, the organization described the work that informs her participation:
For more than two decades, Angelina has championed human rights, advocated for refugees and displaced communities, and worked to protect vulnerable populations around the world,
The dates behind Jolie's Cambodia connections and humanitarian roles show how much of the discussion rests on work preceding the Manila gathering:
- 2001: Jolie began serving as a UNHCR goodwill ambassador.
- 2003: She founded the Maddox Foundation.
- 2005: She received honorary Cambodian citizenship.
- 2012: She became a UNHCR special envoy, a role she held until 2022.
- 2017: First They Killed My Father brought her directing work together with Panh's work as a producer.
- November 11, 2026: Jolie and Panh are scheduled to take part in the Manila summit's closing discussion.
Jolie has also spoken about spending more time in Cambodia. In a September 2024 interview, she said she planned to do so after her children turned 18, while also visiting family members elsewhere in the world.
During that interview, Jolie discussed a prospective directing project about British photojournalist Don McCullin. She described an interest in following his experiences and learning through personal encounters, linking her future filmmaking ambitions with the human stories she wants to understand.
Salonga and Verzosa Bring Different Career Perspectives
Lea Salonga will sit down with broadcast journalist Rico Hizon for an interview closing the morning's proceedings. The conversation will cover her career and what aspiring artists in Southeast Asia can learn from her experience, including the work of supporting regional talent on international stages.
The Center for Inclusive Growth described Salonga's contribution through her theater, music and storytelling. In announcing the award winning actress and singer's participation, the organization said:
From Broadway to stages around the world, Lea has broken barriers, represented Filipino talent on the global stage, and inspired generations through the power of storytelling,
Kylie Verzosa, Miss International 2016, is scheduled for an afternoon interview with Hizon. Her session will focus on her businesses, including shapewear brand Solá and telehealth company &you, which she heads with her fiancé Emil Eriksen.
The official program lists Verzosa as an actress, entrepreneur and mental health advocate. Her businesses connect consumer products with services delivered through technology. Telehealth allows people to access health services remotely, rather than requiring every interaction to happen in a clinic.
Salonga and Verzosa bring different experiences to the summit: one built around a long international performing career, the other spanning entertainment, advocacy and business ownership. Their sessions give specific examples of the creative and entrepreneurial work included in the wider growth agenda.
Filipino Design and Family Business Join the Agenda
Rajo Laurel and designer Steffi Cua will participate in a panel on Filipino creativity and craftsmanship. Their discussion will examine local design and heritage as Filipino fashion and craft reach international markets.
The design session connects with the program's attention to the creator economy, the businesses and income built around creative work. Its focus on craftsmanship also keeps the people making products within the discussion, alongside the brands and platforms that sell them.
Ayala Corporation chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala will join his son Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala for a discussion on leadership, values and ownership passing between generations. Jaime Alfonso is listed in the official program as chief executive officer of ACMobility.
The father and son session places continuity within a family business beside the summit's discussions of startups and small enterprises. Passing ownership and responsibility to another generation involves decisions about who leads, which values continue and how a company changes.
Other named participants include Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, Ayala Foundation president Tony Lambino and SM Investments Corporation vice chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson. Their roles bring central banking, philanthropy and major business groups into the program.
Who Is Convening the Summit?
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth works on equitable economic growth and financial inclusion, using research, data, technology and programs supported through the Mastercard Impact Fund. Financial inclusion means giving people and businesses access to useful financial services, including ways to pay, save and obtain credit.
The ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines serves as a channel between the private sector and ASEAN governments during the Philippines' ASEAN chairship in 2026. Under chairman Joey Concepcion, its work includes business priorities, policy discussions and regional cooperation.
The speaker list extends across tourism, banking and investment. It includes Trip.com Group chief executive Jane Sun, Shangri-La Group chairman and chief executive Kuok Hui Kwong, GX Bank Berhad chairman Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan and Ikhlas Capital founding partner and chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak.
Manila is the confirmed host city, but the event details cited here give no specific venue or arrangements for public attendance. The next scheduled milestone is the summit itself on November 11, when the announced discussions will take place.
Jolie's closing session gives the gathering a focus beyond company growth or access to technology: how relationships built over years can support communities. Alongside the sessions on small businesses, creative work and family ownership, it puts the people carrying economic change at the center of the program.
Key Points
- The ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit is scheduled for November 11, 2026, in Manila, with 30 sessions and 51 speakers listed.
- Angelina Jolie and Rithy Panh will discuss Cambodia, community development and sustained commitment in a closing session moderated by Shamina Singh.
- Lea Salonga and Kylie Verzosa will take part in interviews with Rico Hizon.
- Other sessions will cover Filipino craftsmanship, leadership across generations, financial health and technology for small businesses.
- The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth is hosting the summit in partnership with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council Philippines.
