Members Newsletter Sep 2017 President's Message The summer behind us was rather tempestuous, with an exceptional number of scary typhoons bringing unwelcome devastation and floods not only to Hong Kong but our neighbours and the rest of the world. The unprecedented trend is, to many, a wake- up call and a reminder to us all of the grave need to look after our environment, prepare for climate change and invest where there is more than meets the eye to build resilience. Thankfully, Hong Kong’s foundation remains solid. Our standards, especially those in regard to governance, rule of law as well as safety & security are all on par with the best international benchmarks. For the first time in Hong Kong history, we have a female Chief Executive, who, perhaps characteristic of us women who often focus on action and communication, pledges to lead us forward by listening, caring and being interactive, innovative and collaborative. At the Association, we’d definitely step up and continue with our many constructive initiatives to respond to the new leadership to contribute to a better Hong Kong. We have just announced the five Awardees for the 2017 Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award, recognizing the best among ourselves and the wonderful woman power any community should continue to mine for the good of the world. Do join us and stay tuned. Viva la femme! Sandra Mak President Sep 2017 - 1 Recent Events iPresent with Confidence 21-22 Jan 2017 With great success in the past year, HKWPEA continued to organize the Leadership Training Programme for Underprivileged Youngsters this year. Special thanks to Chew Yen Tan, our most passionate and loving trainer, on sharing useful skills and tips to the youngsters, which greatly helped the youngsters in building their self confidence. The training certainly created long term positive impact to these young people. 2017 Peacemakers’ Cultural Celebration 18 Feb 2017 HKWPEA acted as a supporting organisation of the 5th Peacemakers’ Cultural Celebration organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). The event was held at Hong Kong Science Park on a sunny day. Mr. Dhirendra Bhatnagar, the President of the World Federation of UNESCO Clubs and Associations was the Guest of Honour. This annual event is the highlight of the UNESCO HK Peace & SDGs Youth Programme to promote inter- cultural understanding and UNESCO’s core mission to build peace. A variety of attractions and performances were featured. Over one thousand young people engaged in peace activities including calligraphy, planting and skipping for peace. Sep 2017 - 2 HKPASEA New Year Reception 「丁酉年新春團拜酒會」 20 Feb 2017 Louisa, as the Vice President of HKWPEA, represented the Association to attend the New Year Reception which was hosted by HKPASEA ( 香港專業及資深行政人員協會 ) at World Trade Centre on 20 Feb. The ceremony was officiated by Mr. Paul Chan Mo-po, GBM, GBS, MH, JP, Financial Secretary. Around 200 members and guests attended. A number of our members attended the events as well. OWA Press Conference 22 Feb 2017 2017 marks the 7th Outstanding Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Award (OWA), our signature event since 1999. The OWA Press Conference was held on 22 Feb at Caroline Centre, by courtesy of Amway. The press conference consisted of three parts: introduction of HKWPEA and the Award, Q&A session for media, and sharing session of past awardees with moderators. Special thanks to Grace Tse and Janice Tsang for being the moderators. The 2017 OWA press conference was covered in Oriental Daily, HKET and Cosmopolitan. Sep 2017 - 3 Meeting with the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Mehdi Fakheri, the Consul General 6 Mar 2017 A courtesy meeting with Dr. Mehdi Fakheri, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, was held on 6 Mar at the Consulate and attended by Marina Wong, Angela and Fanny. 2017 Hong Kong Women Celebrating International Women’s Day Dinner 6 Mar 2017 As one of the supporting organizations, Angela To attended 2017 Hong Kong Women Celebrating International Women’s Day Dinner on behalf of HKWPEA which was held on 6 Mar at Shangri-la. Sep 2017 - 4 「我最喜愛的社企計劃」 by Hong Kong Social Enterprise Challenge 18 Mar 2017 The Hong Kong Social Enterprise Challenge (HKSEC) is a social venture startup competition organized by the Center for Entrepreneurship of The Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2007. It has been at the frontier in educating students and the general public about social enterprises in Hong Kong. Through a structured competition model, HKSEC encourages students to employ a creative entrepreneurial approach to solve real world social issues. In order to support the development of social enterprises in Hong Kong, our Association has sponsored again this year’s “My Favorite Social Enterprise Scheme”. Anne Chen represented us to attend the ceremony on 18 Mar. Sep 2017 - 5 2nd Business Meeting and Dinner Talk 23 Mar 2017 The 2nd Biz Meeting cum dinner with talk was successfully held on 23 Mar with 59 participants at the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Club. Merlinda Ng as our guest speaker gave an interesting talk on sustainable seafood. Titled ‘Sustainable Seafood To Our Future 環保海鮮： 飲食新文化 ’ , the talk is part of the HKWPEA Dinner Talk Series 2017. Merlinda is the Sales Director of Worldwide Seafood Limited with over 18 years’ experience in seafood business. It was a great get together and we gathered useful information regarding sustainable food sources that we might not be aware of. Merlinda shared insights on safe and nutritious food sources. We learnt that to be responsible global citizens, we should adopt a lifestyle and diet that support sustainable development and biodiversity. A big thank you to the Fellowship, Programmes & Events Committee for organizing this event. Sep 2017 - 6 Leadership Training Programme - Visit to PCCW & Career Talk 23 Mar 2017 Around 30 students paid a visit to PCCW on 23 Mar. The session included a tour around the PCCW facilities and a brief introduction on career opportunities in the IT and Telecom field in Hong Kong. The fun-filled session created a memorable experience for students while they learnt more about the industry Leadership Training Programme - Training on Social Etiquette & Communication Skills 8 Apr 2017 Training on Social Etiquette & Communication Skills was completed on 8 Apr with 27 students in attendance. Special thanks to Rebecca Choy for her mentoring. Sep 2017 - 7 FoodEver WasteNever Award Presentation Ceremony 27 Apr 2017 In support of the HKSAR Government’s policy and initiatives on food waste reduction, our Association, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), had been awarded a grant from the Environment and Conservation Fund to launch the 18-month food waste reduction programme, “FoodEver WasteNever”. The Programme aims to encourage the community to join forces to reduce food waste. The FoodEver WasteNever Award project has concluded, meeting the objectives as required by the Environmental Campaign Committee of the government. The Programme has been implemented successfully with the tremendous support from more than 300 entities in Hong Kong. The Award Presentation Ceremony on 27 April at HKPC was officiated by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr. Matthew Cheung. Other officiating guests included Marina Wong, Annie Wu, Regina Ip, Florence Hui, Sophia Chan, Mabel Mak & Angel Hon. 334 attendants were present at the award ceremony. Thanks to our past presidents Eva Cheng, Caroline Mak and Agnes Koon, who helped presenting the awards. Special thanks to Angel and her team’s effort on PR and press matters. Kudos to the Environmental Protection Committee for their hard work behind the project from start to finish! Sep 2017 - 8 Sep 2017 - 9 News Coverage on FoodEver WasteNever Programme Sep 2017 - 10 Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts - Scholarship Presentation and Donors’ Appreciation Gathering 8 May 2017 Angel Hon and Agnes Koon attended the HK Academy for Performing Arts’ Scholarship Presentation and Donors’ Appreciation Gathering held on 8 May at the Academy Wanchai Campus on behalf of HKWPEA. The Association received a plaque in recognition of the HKWPEA Charitable Foundation School of Chinese Opera Scholarship at an annual donation of HKD50,000 for four years. Sep 2017 - 11 香港專業女性貴州考察團 26- 30 May 2017 In order to facilitate exchange and liaison between women in Hong Kong and the Mainland, LOCPG ( 中央政府駐港聯絡辦協調部 ) organized a study tour for Hong Kong professional women to visit Guizhou from May 26 to 30. The tour included visits to Xijiang Miao Nationality Village, Zunyi Meeting Site, Moutai winery, Huangguoshu waterfall, etc, allowing our members to gain a closer and in-depth understanding of the economic and social development of local women, and of Chinese history, culture and ethnic customs. Our members enjoyed their fellowship time together with the fantastic scenery of Guizhou. Altogether 8 members - Alice Tso, Amanda Lim, Carlotta Wong, Catherine Yau, Lucy Kwan, Margaret Leung, Selina Cheng and Wendy Tang - joined this fruitful trip. Sep 2017 - 12 HKWPEA UN ECOSOC Quadrennial Report 29 May 2017 Thanks to Cindy Chan Lo, Angela To, Fanny Lui and Julie Moy, the HKWPEA UN ECOSOC Quadrennial Report 2013-16 was submitted on 29 May 2017 to renew our ‘NGOs in General and Special Consultative Status’ with the United Nations. United Nations – The Ocean Conference 8-9 June 2017 Our representative Julie Moy attended the UN conference in New York addressing environmental issues from June 8-9. Sep 2017 - 13 3rd Business Meeting and Dinner Talk 15 Jun 2017 The 3rd Business Meeting was held on 15 Jun followed by an informative dinner talk at The Lingnan Club with enthusiastic turnout of 59 members and guests. With the emerging interests and recent press stories on “organ donation”, we were honored to have Dr.