The Women's Foundation

About the Programme
Partners
Steering Committee

The T.E.E.N. Programme

The Women's Foundation's T.E.E.N. (Talent Empowerment, Equality and Networking) programme was launched in April 2010. The goal of T.E.E.N. is to provide leadership and diversity training to under-privileged youth who would not otherwise have the same educational, vocational and inspirational experience, opportunities and exposure.

The 12-month programme is designed for high need, high potential boys and girls aged 13 to 15 from challenged backgrounds. Recruitment of the TEEN participants involves a thorough selection process which required a written application, nomination by a school teacher and a panel interview. We decided to target the early teens age bracket because of research showing the kids are at a critical stage in terms of the moulding of personality traits, developing self-esteem and starting to take independent and brave choices about their future.

The programme is youth-led and has a strong gender focus, both of which features are unique to existing leadership youth programmes available in Hong Kong.

Our research prior to launching the programme revealed that the most effective youth empowerment programmes typically incorporate an in between layer of older teen counselors who are able to communicate more effectively with kids in their early teens. As a result, we recruited 12 undergraduates from local Hong Kong universities to be big brother and sister mentors to the programme participants over the course of the year. The mentors have received extensive training in diversity, running team activities and workshops, communicating with youth and mentoring youth techniques.

Our research also revealed that the majority of youth programmes in HK ignore gender issues despite the fact that studies show that gender stereotyping has implications for many problems affecting youth today including anorexia, other body image issues and juvenile drug abuse, let alone choices about studies and careers. The TEEN programme incorporates modules and workshops to break gender biases through raising the TEEN’s awareness of stereotyping within their own households, in the education system and in the media; encouraging discussion about explicit and implicit forms of discrimination; and teaching the value of diversity and inclusiveness. Our hope is that the participants will become diversity champions within their peer groups and the community so the programme is equipping them with the skills and training to be effective and motivating public speakers capable of addressing adult, youth or mixed audiences on topics related to gender-stereotyping and gender equality. (to check out their activities)

Through the Programme, the TEENs start to open up, engage and participate. The improvement in their communication skills, team work and self-confidence is very noticeable. Our past cohorts have been enthusiastic about learning new skills and embracing the prospect of a braver and better future for themselves. Everyone seems to have enjoyed the programme enormously: many of the TEENs have described it as a transformative experience; most of the mentors have commended it as a tremendous learning opportunity, while the CLSA staff clearly relished the opportunity to give something back to the broader community (to check out their testimonials and video).

The TEEN Alumni Programme

To ensure the long term impact of the programme and as a continuation of the TEEN Programme, TWF is committed to providing the ‘graduates’ from the programme with training and activities throughout their secondary school years. The TEEN Alumni Programme will provide additional leadership and gender awareness training to our graduating TEENs, to continue to support and encourage them to become inspiring future leaders.
Corporate Partner
CLSA are supporting the Programme through the Chairman's Trust and we are very grateful to them for their support. In addition to financial assistance, a huge number of CLSA staff have been involved in the implementation of the programme and contribute significantly to overall strategic planning, design, partner selection and content, media engagement and PR.

Government Support
TWF received a matching grant from the "Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged" granted by the Hong Kong Government’s Social Welfare Department.

2010-2011 Partner Schools
Kwai Chung Methodist College
Po Leung Kuk Lo Kit Sing (1983) College
Po Leung Kuk Tong Nai Kan Junior Secondary College
St. Catharine's School For Girls

2011-2012 Partner Schools
CNEC Christian College
Kwai Chung Methodist College
Our Lady of the Rosary College
Po Leung Kuk Lo Kit Sing (1983) College
Po Leung Kuk Tong Nai Kan Junior Secondary College
Pope Paul VI College

2012-2013 Partner Schools
Caritas St. Joseph Secondary School
Kwai Chung Methodist College
Lai King Catholic Secondary School
Lions College
Po Leung Kuk Lo Kit Sing (1983) College
Pope Paul VI College
TWGHs Chen Zao Men College

Supporting Partners
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is one of our key supporting organizations - they provide site visits and workshops for the programme participants.

NGOs including Anti-480, Christian Service, Family Planning Association, HeArt Touch Foundation, Hong Kong Eating Disorders Association, and Teen's Key, are our partners for the outreach community projects and workshops which form part of the programme. Some of them also help with recruitment of programme participants.

The Richard Ivey School of Business generously provides a scholarship that allows one TEEN graduate to attend a two-week pre-university course, which is part of their prestigious Summer Business Programme in Hong Kong. The programme is designed to help participants build their leadership skills and enhance their business fundamentals.

Training Partners
Our educational partner for the first two years of the programme was Po Leung Kuk, one of HK's most established institutions providing social welfare and educational services to children.

For the current year of the programme, we are working with Anchor House, who has extensive experience in organising team building and leadership development initiatives for youth and adults.
We are very grateful to have a terrific Steering Committee to guide the development and implementation of the programme, including:

Rachel Cartland
Former Assistant Director of Social Welfare, HK Government
Upon graduating from Oxford University in 1972, Rachel joined the Hong Kong Government and subsequently served in a variety of senior posts. She possesses extensive experience in the Government Secretariat in areas including broadcasting, arts and culture policy. In 1995, Rachel was appointed Assistant Director of Social Welfare (Social Security) where she was responsible for managing 2000 staff and an annual budget of HK$25 billion. The new programs that she developed included 'Support for Self-Reliance', Hong Kong's first welfare-to-work initiative and the Computerised Social Security System. Rachel also served in the Education and Manpower Bureau of the HK Government from 2001-2. She left the HK Government in 2006 to set up Cartland Consulting, which specializes in public sector consulting. She joined the TWF Board of Governors in March 2011.

Dr. Staci Ford
Honorary Associate Professor, Department of History and in the American Studies, University of Hong Kong
Staci is a Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of History and in the American Studies Program at the University of Hong Kong where she has taught since 1993. Her academic expertise is in women's history, US History, and cross-cultural gender studies/history. She is a founding member and co-convenor of the Women's Studies Research Centre at HKU and of The Women's Foundation. She has published a variety of articles and essays in women's studies/gender studies and cultural history/studies. Her most recent book, TROUBLING AMERICAN WOMEN: NARRATIVES OF GENDER AND NATION IN HONG KONG focuses on women's narratives of cultural encounter in transpacific context.

Zoe Henham
Head of Human Resources, CLSA Ltd
As Head of Human Resources, Zoe is responsible for key human capital initiatives spanning recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and benefits, and employee relations across the 15 global markets in which CLSA operates. Prior to moving to Hong Kong and joining CLSA's global headquarters in 2004, Zoe worked in London with Schroders and Lazard and was responsible for pan-European talent recruitment, selection and development programmes. During this time, Zoe studied for and was awarded her second chartered qualification with the Chartered Institute of Personal and Development. Zoe began her career with Arthur Andersen in Melbourne where she qualified as a chartered accountant. Having worked in the UK with Arthur Andersen, she permanently relocated to London in 1998 and changed her career focus to Human Resources. A graduate of the University of Melbourne, Zoe holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Zoe is married with two small children and is committed to giving something back to the Hong Kong community in which she lives and works.

Bowie Leung
Vice President, Leo Club of Metropolitan Hong Kong
Bowie is a recent graduate from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, with a 1st class honors degree in Social Sciences, majoring in Sociology. As an undergraduate, Bowie participated in and led a number of committees for the Leo Club of Metropolitan Hong Kong and as an intern with the SCO Family of Services – Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, where she assisted with the implementation of events and casework for the Center. This summer, she joined Pencake Limited, where she manages the marketing of customized applications for Facebook Pages and movies in Hong Kong.

Matthew Lui Sir
Principal of Graceyard Education Centre
Matthew grew up in a single parent family and was a recipient of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA). His father and grandfather were drug abusers, and Matthew was a gang member when he was young. He failed the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, scoring grade U (Unclassified) in five subjects. From this unlikely beginning, Matthew went on to earn a BA, graduating with first class honours at Baptist University, and was recognised in the Ten Outstanding Youths Awards. He also earned a Masters degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Currently, Matthew is a popular guest speaker for school talks and he has authored a series of liberal studies textbooks for the 3-3-4 education scheme (the new academic structure for senior secondary education and higher education). In addition, he is a columnist for SingTao Daily and a frequent guest speaker on TVB and RTHK programmes about liberal studies. He has led over 100 training courses in communication skills, English skills, learning skills and liberal studies.