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THE WOMEN’S FOUNDATION LEADERSHIP AWARDS & GALA FUNDRAISING DINNER RAISES OVER HK$1.8 MILLION FOR WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ CAUSES IN HONG KONG

FOR PRESS RELEASE

October 16, 2009

The Women’s Foundation, one of the leading NGOs focused on women and girls in Hong Kong, held its Annual Leadership Awards & Gala Fundraiser in Hong Kong yesterday night, celebrating the organization’s fifth anniversary since its founding. The event which was sponsored by Goldman Sachs and attended by 250 senior banking and corporate executives, leaders of corporate women’s networks and diversity champions, academics and representatives from local grassroot organizations, raised over HK$1.8 million for women’s and girls’ causes in Hong Kong.

Earlier in the evening, The Women’s Foundation presented Awards to leaders in the fields of politics, philanthropy, research, social change and student life who have made a significant contribution to improving the position of women and girls in Hong Kong. This year’s Award winners are Emily Lau Wai-hing (Political Leader), Liu Ngan Fung (Social Change Leader), Anne Marden (Philanthropy Leader), Dr Anita Kit-wa Chan (Research Leader) and Joely Wu Wai Shan (Student Leader).

The funds raised from this year’s Leadership Awards and Gala Fundraiser will be applied towards a range of community and research programs aimed at empowering women and girls in Hong Kong to become economically self-reliant. The programs include financial skills training for low-income women enabling them to achieve a better quality of life for themselves and their families, the screening of films and guided discussion on gender stereotyping for 14-18 year olds in schools and youth community centres across Hong Kong, a leadership program for under-privileged young teens and a three year research project examining the cultural, familial and media influences affecting girls’ life and career choices in Hong Kong.

“We are delighted that The Women’s Foundation was able to celebrate its fifth anniversary with such a strong show of confidence in the organization by our supporter base. The Foundation can now focus on developing and executing signature programs that will serve as catalysts to address the unmet needs of girls and women in Hong Kong. In addition, we will continue to deepen our understanding of perceptions, roles, attitudes and behaviors among girls, boys, women and men through ongoing research. With these exciting goals ahead, the Foundation is well on its way to another five years of growth and social impact,” said Estella Lung Huang, Chair of The Women’s Foundation.

Earlier this month, The Women’s Foundation announced the appointment of Su-Mei Thompson, fomerly the Managing Director for Asia of the Financial Times, as the Foundation’s new Executive Director.

From left: Noriko Honda Chen (Vice-Chairperson of The Women's Foundation), Mrs. Anne Marden (Philanthropy Leader), Joely Wu (Student Leader), Dr. Anita Chan (Research Leader), Ms. Liu Ngan Fung (Social Change Leader), Ms. Emily Lau (Political Leader), Estella Huang Lung (Chairperson of The Women's Foundation)