GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN 2010 – Celebrating 20 Years Success!

 Special Edition:  2010 GLOBAL SUMMIT OF WOMEN

~~~Recordbreaking Turnout at 20th Anniversary~~~

Amidst the soaring red and gold pillars at the Great Hall of the People, China extended a generous welcome to the 1,040 delegates from 80 countries who came to Beijing to mark the 20th year of the Global Summit of Women.  This was the largest number of delegates in the Summit’s 20-year history. 

At the Opening Ceremony, Summit President Irene Natividad reminded participants of the uniqueness of this global forum – its focus on advancing women’s economic status worldwide; its program emphasis on exchanges of solutions and strategies forged by women; its insistence on having business, government and civil society leaders present at each forum – the three ‘legs’ of change, according to Natividad.

The Honorable Chen Zhili, Vice Chair of China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Chair of the All-China Women’s Federation, extended her country’s welcome and was joined by Vietnam’s Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson and the First Lady of Tanzania Salma Kikwete in greeting women leaders from around the world.  A spectacular display of Chinese cultural music and dance capped the opening of the Summit in the Great Hall of the People, the venue for visiting heads of state over the years, whose doors China opened to women from around the world at the Summit.

“As a business and economic forum, the 20th anniversary Summit was appropriately held in the country that will have a leading role in the 21st century global economy,” stated Natividad. 

Beijing’s Vice Mayor Cheng Hong and China’s Assistant Minister of Commerce Qiu Hong shared with Summit participants the opportunities available in the China market and ways of engaging with that market in the special pre-Summit session on “Doing Business with China.”  (Go to www.globewomen.org for the 2010 Summit program, presenters and photos.)

Exchanging Public/Private Sector Partnerships Among Ministers

            How business can work together with government and civil society was the theme of the Ministerial Roundtable preceding the Summit.  Thirty women government ministers of various portfolios and special high-level government officials including U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer and Uganda’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga shared with each other examples of such partnerships.  Corporate leaders as well were invited to present programs they have developed with various governments to improve women’s lives. 

ITT’s President for China and India Mike Kuchenbrod spoke of the water program they initiated in China that enabled women and girls in rural areas to secure water through water pumps they learn to put together.  Qiagen’s President for Asia Pacific Victor Shi announced the provision of one million test kits that his company is making available to ensure early detection of cervical cancer among Chinese women and those in other developing economies. Wing dar Ker, Microsoft’s General Manager in the Asia Pacific and Greater China Region, spoke of technology programs for women in the region;  Ernst & Young’s Billie Williamson described their project to assist entrepreneurial women, while the U.N.’s Executive Director for the International Trade Center Patricia Francis spoke of a telephony project with the Liberian government which enabled market price information to be conveyed speedily to farmers, many of whom are women.

            The Ministers themselves voted to recognize two of their peers to receive the Ministerial Best Practices in Public/Private Partnership Awards.  This year, Mexico’s Undersecretary of Labor Patricia Espinosa Torres was awarded for her ministry’s program to certify day workers, many of whom are women, to enable them to receive benefits.  Saudi Arabia’s first woman minister, Norah al Faiz, Vice Minister of Education, was lauded for various education initiatives for girls developed in alliance with various partners in her country.  For each project, the Global Summit of Women gave a U.S.$5,000.00 mini-grant to distinguish these initiatives.  (For more information on past and recent Ministerial Roundtables, go to www.globewomen.org, click to GSW, then to Ministerial Roundtable.)

Recognizing Global Leadership

            In keeping with the Summit’s tradition of saluting achievement on the world’s stage on behalf of women, the Global Women’s Leadership Award went to two renowned, outstanding women:  Finland’s President Tarja Halonen and President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata.

At a special Awards Dinner organized by the Summit in Shanghai on May 26th, President Halonen, the first woman president of Finland, graciously accepted her award.  Distinguishing herself not only for being a ‘first’, Tarja Halonen carried a special commitment to advance women from the time she was a Parliamentarian to her current responsibilities as President.  She has distinguished herself internationally as a powerful voice for the rights of the poor in Finland, in the Nordic countries, and in the world.

One of the world’s pre-eminent authorities on humanitarian assistance and development, Sadako Ogata is known for her strong and unique emphasis on the human rights of refugees, of which the majority are women.  During her distinguished career, Ogata — one of the first women to head a UN operational division — worked to address the root causes of refugee situations, including human rights violations.

The 2010 Summit Women’s Achievement Award was given to Chen Zhili, Vice Chair of China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and Chair of the All-China Women’s Federation (with the rank of Minister).  One of the highest ranking women in the Chinese government, Minister Chen serves as a role model for the women in her country as to the heights they can reach with effort, intelligence and leadership skills.  She is now heading up ACWF’s programs to expand Chinese women’s economic and educational opportunities as well as to improve women’s health.

Awarding the Summit:  To Receive and To Give

            The Global Summit of Women itself received an ‘award’ for its two-decade record of bringing women together internationally to improve women’s economic futures by the Sungjoo Foundation.  Its President, Sungjoo Kim (CEO of MCM), granted the Summit a US$1 million pledge to be used towards the engagement of youth in entrepreneurship.  This year’s Youth Forum – the first of many to come — brought over 100 business students from China for a program that introduced social and commercial entrepreneurship to this audience.

The Summit marked this generous commitment by granting, in turn, a U.S.$10,000 mini-grant to the All-China Women’s Federation for its Innovative Microenterprise Development program for Chinese Women.  One of the interesting aspects of this program included coverage of the interest payments on loans secured by women business owners to start or to grow their businesses, thus releasing additional capitalization.

Securing Global Partnerships to Combat Cervical Cancer

            Since the 2007 in Berlin, the Summit has made a commitment to engage women worldwide to prevent cervical cancer – the only health issue in its program because there is a solution:  effective testing and vaccinations.  It is the only cancer for which the cause is known, HPV (human papilloma virus), and for which new technologies provide a promise of its eradication.  The Summit asked its delegates to inform themselves and others, to get themselves tested and to persuade family members and networks to do the same.  Hundreds of delegates at the Beijing Summit submitted pledge cards committing themselves to this fight and thus joining GSW’s Global Consortium to End Cervical Cancer.

            Highlighting the necessity of this effort, Tanzania’s First Lady Salma Kikwete spoke eloquently of her own initiatives to prevent cervical cancer in her own country.  All China Women’s Federation Vice Chair Meng Xiaosi (ranked Vice Minister), in turn, presented ACWF’s focus on informing women, especially those in rural areas who are far from health clinics, about testing themselves.  On the private sector side, Sun Media CEO Yang Lan – well-known Chinese television personality – spoke of her personal commitment and the use of her extensive web presence, hervillage.com, to inform women about cervical cancer and its prevention.  Lastly, Sara Lyle, an editor at Good Housekeeping magazine in the U.S., gave the face of youth to this disease, when she described how she became engaged in this fight after her best friend died of this cancer. (Go to www.globewomen.com for more on the Consortium.)

Looking to the Future

            As it moves towards the next decade, the Global Summit of Women announced two major initiatives to mark its 20th anniversary.  The first is NGO Leads, a training program designed to assist NGO leaders in establishing sustainable organizations.  “Women’s business associations and economic development groups do a tremendous service for women in other countries, but many are challenged by the demands of meeting their mission with limited resources and largely volunteer-driven programs, so NGO Leads is an attempt to assist in helping these critical institutions to grow,” states Summit President Irene Natividad.

            Since small business is the foundation of every economy in the world, Entrepreneurial Legacies is a program that the Summit is launching to connect young women and girls with successful women entrepreneurs in different parts of the world.  “You cannot imagine a career in which you don’t see role models, so showcasing women entrepreneurs in your own country and sharing their stories of lessons learned is a powerful source of inspiration, as well as information, for seeing entrepreneurship as a future path for economic success,” explains Natividad.  (For NGOs to apply for either program, please email [email protected].)

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