Hang Lung Future Women Leaders Program Kick-off Ceremony and Women Leadership Forum
Initiated and organized by Hang Lung Properties, the “Hang Lung Future Women Leaders Program” today organized its inaugural event – the Women Leadership Forum – jointly with its partner The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Leadership Institute. The event was attended by universities students, their mentors, elite women leaders from diverse industries, as well as Hang Lung’s executives and tenants.
Mr. Weber Lo, Chief Executive Officer of Hang Lung Properties, and Mr. Andy Ho, Executive Director of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (“HKFYG”), officiated at the ceremony with the Guest of Honor, Ms. Louise Ho Pui Shan, CDSM, CMSM, the first female Commissioner of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, and keynote speaker Dr. Rosanna Wong, DBE, JP, Senior Advisor of The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups.
Mr. Weber Lo, said in his opening remarks, “We are delighted with the positive feedback the program has received from universities and students across the nation. It is also our great honor to have Customs chief, Louise Ho, attending today to share how she has strived for excellence in the civil service. Nurturing future talents requires collective effort across society, and I am thankful to our tenants and business partners, who have joined hands with Hang Lung by volunteering their time and effort to participate in this meaningful initiative as mentors. The Future Women Leaders program aims to pool the strengths of different stakeholders in the community to promote women’s development and create a compelling space that values diversity and inclusiveness. We believe these 100 female university students will have a once-in-a-lifetime experience to draw inspiration from their elite women mentors, and equip themselves to become Hong Kong’s future leaders.”
Sharing his hopes for the program, Mr. Andy Ho, Executive Director of The HKFYG, said, “Women play a fundamental role both in the family and in the community, but sometimes opportunities for public engagement and participation are lacking. This is where the Federation plays its part. I am extremely grateful to Hang Lung for their support to The HKFYG Leadership Institute. The high-quality training of the program emphasizes both learning and practice for women university students with leadership potential, and is a response to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We look forward to these young leaders designing and implementing social projects, which will go a long way in building a future with diversity and inclusion.”
The officiating guest, Ms. Louise Ho Pui Shan, CDSM, CMSM, is the first female Commissioner of the Customs and Excise Department, and also the first female government official promoted to the highest rank in the Disciplined Services. Encouraging the female university students attending the event, she said, “Conscientious professionalism, as well as integrity and perseverance are gender neutral. The key is not the gender of the people, but whether they display empathy, and the courage to accept challenges and responsibility. Women no longer have to show masculinity to gain acceptance in a male-dominated workplace. They can retain their femininity, be true to themselves and achieve success while complementing male colleagues. The ‘Hang Lung Future Women Leaders’ program organized by Hang Lung Properties is very meaningful. I believe even the mentors can gain from it, adding new elements to their personal development from which they will be able to pass on the courage and perseverance of women in pursuing continuous self-improvement and lifelong learning. I have high hopes for this program and I wish all the mentors and friends participating in the program a bright future.”
Dr. Rosanna Wong, DBE, JP, Senior Advisor of The HKFYG delivered a keynote speech on leadership in which she pointed out that in the face of the pandemic, the global economic slowdown and tense international situations, good leaders must maintain an open, flexible, and positive attitude to lead their teams with innovation and resilience leadership, and turn disadvantages into opportunities. She then encouraged the young women leaders to be continuous learners, use new thinking, new skills, and new networks to thrive in the face of today’s fast changing challenges. The most important attribute of a leader, however, according to Dr. Wong, is the willingness to take up social responsibility and serve others for a sustainable future locally, nationally and globally.
Following the keynote speech was the Women Leadership Forum. With the theme of “Empowering Women to Tap Their Strengths”, Ms. Anita Fung, BBS, JP, Independent Non-executive Director of Hang Lung Properties; Ms. Jennifer Liu, Founder & Chairlady of The Academϊcs Group, Director of The Dragon Foundation; and Ms. Rebecca Lim, Founding Partner of AutoML Capital Limited shared their own stories of how they overcame challenges and kept pushing forward to achieve their goals and become the person they are today.
The Hang Lung Future Women Leaders program aims to provide mentorship, leadership training and internship opportunities for female university students to enhance their potential and strengths, and facilitate diversified development. The first phase of this nationwide program, which covers Hong Kong and Shanghai, will shortlist 200 female university students from diverse backgrounds and invite 40 elite women from various fields as their mentors. Participants with outstanding performance will be offered internship opportunities by Hang Lung or program mentors.