Guest of Honour, Miss Alice Mak, SBS, JP, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs of the HKSAR Government, together with 25 inspirational industry leaders, joined the October 8 Summit to create collective impact by empowering girls aged 14 to 18 through education to become future ready leaders and set out on “A Journey to Your Near Future”.

Industry Leaders Urged Teen Girls to Make Their Mark

The summit featured panels on leadership development, business opportunities, innovative technologies, and much more. The panelists hailed from diverse fields and backgrounds and included: Mrs. Jennifer Yu Cheng, Founder of JYCGIF, Group President and Deputy Vice Chairwoman of CTF Education Group; Professor Nancy Y. IP, PhD, SBS, BBS, MH, JP, President-designate, The Morningside Professor of Life Science, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Ms. Irene Lee, Chairman of Hysan Development Company Limited. They, together with other renowned speakers, offered first-hand insights into the core leadership values for girls to lead.

Mrs. Jennifer Yu Cheng said: “Teen girls today are our leaders of tomorrow! At Summits like this one, as in all our JYCGIF programs, we are laser focused on ‘future readiness,’ equipping girls with the tech-forward mindset, digital skills, and strong leadership competencies that prepare them to lead in everything they do.”

Immersive Workshops and Engaging Experiences

Participants were also able to explore the power and versatility of technology in workshops led by experts and supported by Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Participants had a chance to try AI technology and machine learning in group activities involving problem-solving skills, as well as to experience a crash course in basic coding and cutting-edge AI face swapping.

Students also immersed themselves in the New Technology Interactive Zone, which showcased innovations that are shaping our future world and workplace. There were booths held by Hanson Robotics who developed Sophia, the well-known AI Humanoid Robot; Intuitive Fosun who created the minimally invasive Da Vinci Surgical System; Smart Farming, and Motive Force to showcase how they can make an impact on the future world of work.

Seeing is Believing: Empowering Girls to Create Collective Impact

“Seeing is Believing! Every one of the guests here is a leader in her field, and every one of you in the audience has the potential to lead. Leadership is an attitude and a behavior! One is not born a leader, but rather becomes one by building your confidence, taking calculated risks, studying, and working hard to achieve your goals, and being willing to collaborate with others and communicate your ideas in a way that makes an impact,” said Mrs. Jennifer Yu Cheng.

Looking forward, JYCGIF will continue to roll out the “10,000 Girls4Girls Coding+” program, which is set to empower 10,000 teen girls by 2025 by equipping them with digital skills plus leadership experiences, university and pre-career preparation and networking opportunities.

The Hong Kong-based charitable initiative has been offering STEM learning resources and leadership development opportunities for teen girls since 2021. It is driven by a mission to uplift the status of women in society and in the workplace by building a strong pipeline of teen girls, who are proactive, digitally savvy decision makers to lead in the future.

For future updates, please check the official website of JYCGIF: https://www.jycgirlsimpact.org/, or follow JYCGIF on Instagram or Facebook.

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