Beijing Women's Federation

Opening ceremony of the capacity enhancement training course for women's development in paired assistance areas [Beijing Women's Federation]

Participants of the course interact with one another [Beijing Women's Federation]

The Beijing Women's Federation (BWF) held the 2021 training course on capacity enhancement for women's development in paired assistance and cooperation areas from October 17 to 23.

The course was an effort to thoroughly implement General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping's speech at a gathering to mark China's accomplishments in poverty alleviation and honor its model poverty fighters and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress and fully implement the decision of the CPC Central Committee and Beijing Municipal Party Committee. It aimed to strengthen the cooperation and exchange of women's work between Beijing and the assisted regions, help consolidate the achievements of poverty eradication and successively promote the development of the regions and rural revitalization.

The training course was hosted by the BWF and organized by the College of Continuing Education of Beijing University of Agriculture. More than 70 women representatives from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Yushu Prefecture in Qinghai Province, Lhasa in Tibet, Inner Mongolia and other areas, as well as relevant officials from the College of Continuing Education of BUA, the office of the leading group for Beijing's assistance and cooperation work and the Department for Women's Development of the BWF, attended the opening ceremony.

At the ceremony, an official from the office of the leading group for Beijing's assistance and cooperation work delivered a speech, pointing out that after the completion of the task of eliminating absolute poverty, the focus of the collaboration between eastern and western China has shifted to helping consolidate the results of poverty eradication and promote rural revitalization in all aspects. To implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches, and implement the requirements of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee on paired assistance and cooperation, BWF held the capacity enhancement training course for women's development in paired assistance and cooperation areas to stimulate women's enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and innovation in rural revitalization and enhance their entrepreneurial capabilities and employability.

The head of the Department for Women's Development of the BWF emphasized the purpose and significance of the training, and expressed hope that everyone should cherish the opportunity and live up to the expectations of women's federations at all levels, study hard and master the basic skills of innovation and entrepreneurship, and keep the original intention and make new contributions to women's entrepreneurship and employment. The trainees were also encouraged to transform their learning into the motivation for future development and drive more women to develop and increase their incomes.

COVID-19 Prevention, Control 

The leaders of BWF attached great importance to this training course, especially emphasizing the need to strictly regulate the work of COVID-19 prevention and control, implement the requirements of relevant regulations, and ensure the safety and health of the participants. The conference service team formulated a plan for COVID-19 prevention and control during the training course and strictly implemented it, and issued masks to all participants. All trainees and staff were required to study prevention and control regulations and sign a letter of responsibility for epidemic prevention and safety during the training while collecting information from participants in advance and monitoring their health throughout the training. During the training period, the conference service team paid close attention to the updates about the epidemic, and strictly checked their trip code when the participants arrived, monitored their body temperature and paid particular attention to the specific traveling route of trainees from Inner Mongolia. During the training course, they arranged trainees to take nucleic acid tests every other day, three times in total. At the same time, the form of course was flexible and part of the course was given online to ensure rich and well-organized content while maintaining the least possible contact. The week-long training used full, close cycle of management.

Meeting Trainees' Needs

The training course was designed according to the needs of the students and focused on enhancing relevance, participation and experience. Highly-qualified teachers with rich practical experience from Tsinghua University, Beijing University of Agriculture and Changping Vocational School taught the course, covering topics such as interpretation of the rural revitalization strategy, women's psychological self-care in the post-pandemic era and new media marketing, which played a role in improving the participants' understanding of rural revitalization, mastering industrial development and enhancing their comprehensive caliber and development ability in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Due to the epidemic prevention and control rules, the trainees could not have field visits, so the training was done through video. Under the guidance of experts, trainees shared the development of their respective businesses and industries they were engaged in, and started interactive communication actively. The on-site patriotic education took trainees to Beijing landmarks such as the Tiananmen Square, the Great Hall of the People, the Monument to the People's Heroes, National Centre for the Performing Arts, China Zun Tower and the Bird's Nest.

Achievements

The trainees were enthusiastic about learning. During the class, they listened carefully, practiced and asked questions, and after class they exchanged ideas and discussed business experiences. Each paired assistance and cooperation area selected two representatives to share their startup experiences, including how they started, the hardships they faced during the entrepreneurial process, and how to overcome difficulties step by step and create a successful enterprise. The representatives shared their journey of entrepreneurship, which were well accepted by the trainees. The trainees expressed their gratitude to the BWF for the timely and practical training. Through the training, they not only improved their skills and capabilities, but also got a new understanding of consolidating the achievements of poverty eradication and rural revitalization. They made many friends and gained more confidence in improving their ability to run companies.

Ethnic Unity

The head of the Department for Women's Development of the BWF issued certificates of completion to the participants. An activity was held in which women from various ethnic groups sang and danced, which enhanced their confidence in working hand in hand for common prosperity and development. It fully demonstrated the sense of community for the Chinese nation as all ethnic groups were united as one family.

The Beijing Women's Federation has held six training courses to enhance women's development in paired assistance and cooperation areas since 2015. In 2020, it was not held as scheduled due to the epidemic. The course has gradually developed into a brand program affirmed by women's federations and women in the paired assistance and cooperation areas. The BWF will always be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and remain true to their original aspiration and keep their mission firmly in mind to do our best in the paired assistance work and take concrete actions to fulfill the commitment to the Beijing Municipal Party Committee and to women in the paired assistance and cooperation areas.