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The following is issued on behalf of the Women's Commission:
Over 500 people from Hong Kong, Mainland and overseas who are concerned about women's issues attended a conference entitled "Bringing Together Women's Wisdom for a Better Future" at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre today (December 20).
The conference, the fourth of its kind hosted by the Women's Commission (WoC) since its inception in 2001, aims to provide a platform for participants to discuss and exchange views on issues related to the development of women, and to review Hong Kong's implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Officiating at the conference this morning were the Acting Chief Executive, Mr John C Tsang; Vice-Chairperson, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President, All-China Women's Federation, Ms Chen Zhili; Deputy Director, Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Ms Guo Li; Vice-President and Member of the Secretariat, All-China Women's Federation, Ms Chen Xiurong; Vice-Chairperson, Bureau of the United Nations Commission on Status of Women, Ms Ana Marie L Hernando; the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung; the Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Miss Annie Tam; and the Chairperson of the WoC, Mrs Stella Lau.
There were two plenary sessions at the conference. In the first session, Deputy Director of Office of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council, Ms Su Fungjie and Mr Cheung introduced developments in relation to women's empowerment in the Mainland and Hong Kong. At the second session, Ms Hernando and Mrs Lau spoke about achievements in the participation of women in the international arena and in Hong Kong.
Speaking at the plenary session, Mrs Lau reviewed the WoC's work in women's development in recent years. She stated that the WoC has been mobilising different sectors of the community to jointly create an enabling environment for women. She added that the WoC will stick to collaborative principles in future and "continue to act as a bridge between the Government and women's groups, understand the latter's concerns and make relevant recommendations to the Government, with a view to fostering the community's collaborative efforts in promoting the development of women in Hong Kong."
Participants had active discussions during eight breakout sessions on various topics including promotion opportunities for women; enhancing the gender awareness of students; promotion of gender mainstreaming; women safety: from prevention of sexual harassment; women and health; participation of women in public decision-making; power of female labour; and women's development at the district level.
A lunchtime talk under the theme "The Making of Colourful and Blissful Women" was also held with Ms Shelley Lee as moderator. Speakers included Dr Leong Che-hung, Professor Federick Ma, and Ms Sherry Tsai. A mini-exhibition was also set up alongside the conference to showcase projects under the Funding Scheme for Women's Development of the WoC. Representatives of organisations which had received funding support introduced their projects and shared their experiences with participants.
A pre-conference activity was held yesterday (December 19). Activities were organised by women's groups, NGOs, social services agencies and others with the aim of showing how women in Hong Kong appreciate their role, lead a healthy and happy life and provide a positive impetus to society.
Ends/Thursday, December 20, 2012
Issued at HKT 15:00
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