Beijing Women's Federation

Zhang Yajun, President of the Beijing Women's Federation (BWF), extends greetings to Chinese and foreign women living in Beijing on International Women's Day.

Zhang Qian, Executive Vice President of the Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, introduces the capital's non-governmental exchange activities.

Representatives of the embassies of 14 countries in Beijing and international friends send blessings via video.

Chinese and foreign women share their experiences working and living in Beijing through photos.

 

Spring is arriving in China and a sense of recovering is in the air. Under these circumstances, people marked International Women's Day on March 8. Guided by the Office of Foreign Affairs Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, the Beijing Women's Federation (BWF) held a series of online activities, gathering Chinese and foreign women together via video link to mark International Women's Day.

 

By producing short bilingual videos and pictures, participants learned about Chinese and foreign women and the development and achievements of women's causes in Beijing. Participants focused on the problems and challenges faced by women worldwide and shared their thoughts and ideas. The event showed Beijing's advantages as an international exchange center and effectively strengthened ties and practical cooperation with women from all over the world.

 

The activities were posted on the BWF's webpage (www.beijingwomen.org.cn). Relevant reports can also be found on gmw.cn, eBeijing and some video websites.

 

'Her Inspiration' Through Videos

 

Zhang Yajun, President of the BWF, gave her blessings to all the participants. She said she hopes that all sisters will unite together to carry out the proposals made by President Xi Jinping at the high-level United Nations (UN) meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and share Beijing's vitality, opportunities and development achievements.

 

Zhang Qian, Executive Vice President of Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, introduced Beijing's civic exchange activities, and foster closer relations with foreign sisters and promote connectivity through people-to-people exchanges.

 

Representatives of the embassies of 14 countries in Beijing and international friends sent special video blessings. They included Jan Hoogmartens, Ambassador of Belgium to China, Ann Derwin, Ambassador of Ireland to China, John Aquilina, Ambassador of Malta to China, Fernando Lugris, Ambassador of Uruguay to China, and Christiane Adovelande, the spouse of the Ambassador of the Republic of Benin to China and President of the Group of African Ambassadors' Spouses in China.

 

Other online participants included Farah Moin, the spouse of the Ambassador of Pakistan to China, Sonia Khaled, the spouse of the Tunisian Ambassador to China and President of the Arab Ambassador's Spouses Group (Beijing, China), and Gabriele Gil-feigl, Minister, Deputy Head of Mission at the Austrian Embassy in Beijing.

 

Yamila Fersobe, Minister Counselor, Embassy of the Dominican Republic in China, Sara Rezoagli, First Counselor of the Embassy of Italy to China, Jascent Nalwanga, Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Uganda in Beijing, and Kim Young Aeh, President of the Korea-China Friendship Association of Culture and Economy, also sent their blessings and wishes to work hand in hand to promote global women's causes.

 

Women's social organizations and representatives in various fields in Beijing have always played an active role in exchanges. They also convey confidence and strength at this special moment.

 

Li Ying, an independent researcher at the Chinese Institute for Brain Science, Beijing, who received the title of National March 8th Red-Banner Holder, encouraged women to improve themselves and make breakthroughs in scientific exploration.   

 

President of the Beijing Female Architects Association Li Yinong said she expects to wield her professional advantages and develop the association into a unique force in Beijing for international exchanges among women.

 

Li Hongmei, a founder of the "Mulan Power" Charity Fund of the Beijing Women and Children Development Foundation, told stories of Chinese women who subsidized impoverished Nepalese girls to go to school.

 

Tasina from Estonia competed in the "She Loves Technology" Global Startup Competition last year and won the third-place prize. She demonstrates courage as a young businesswoman and continues to innovate.

 

'Her Vision' for Solutions

 

The special web page for the activity series has set up a "Her Vision" section to collect and summarize important domestic and foreign research reports on current women's issues.

 

The "Observation" and "Challenges" sections analyze the new problems faced by women's development in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, including women's employment issues, the growing gender divide in the digital space and a spike in poverty among women and children.

 

The "Approaches" section provides solutions for countries as they seek to reduce the impact of the pandemic on women. It includes the poverty alleviation experiences of Chinese women and the Women's World Banking's initiative to help women who do not have a bank account. Authoritative materials issued by the UN – like Secretary-General Guterres's view on gender equality, reports of empowering women and guaranteeing girls' education issued by Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of the UN – will draw women's attention to the common challenges that they face. The goal is to reach a consensus on strengthening cooperation to realize sustainable development.

 

'Her Stories' in Beijing

 

In the "Her Stories" section, Chinese and foreign women record their interesting experiences working and living in Beijing through photos.

 

Yali, a Brazilian student from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, found her true love in the city and is among the stories featured on the website. Maria, a Bolivian who lives in the Xiangmiwan Community of Konggang Sub-district, helped organize nucleic acid testing during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Meanwhile, local craftswoman Guo Chunping has made leather carvings to publicize the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and demonstrate her affection for the nation's capital.

 

No matter where they come from, they have found opportunities to live a colorful life in Beijing and have made the city more dynamic and attractive.

 

On International Women's Day, Chinese and foreign women in Beijing passed on their blessings, thoughts, expectations and confidence in the future. The BWF will continue to strengthen exchanges to promote friendship and understanding among women around the globe, and to speed up the achievement of gender equality.

 

This event also received strong support from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, Beijing International Chinese College, the Xiangmiwan Community of Konggang Sub-district in Shunyi District, and Beijing Qiaoniang (Smart Lady) Handicraft Development Promotion Association.