New Year Greetings

Happy New Year

from BPW Hong Kong!

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We ‘accomplished greatness’ in 2014 with the renewal of BPW in Hong Kong, following a year’s hard work. Now, our 50 members — including 17 Young BPW, 9 ExCo, and 12 additional leaders plus 3 advisors — are busily preparing our projects and programmes!

Highlights for 2016:

We will hold an International Womens’ Day Forum, open to the public, on Saturday 05 March;

Our Girl Power Hong Kong! project-to-programme, funded by the HK government Women’s Commission and in collaboration with the HK Education Bureau, will be launched in February;

We will have our first Global Skills training session, designed by our own BPW Hong Kong Global Skills Taskforce, on Saturday March 19;

Young BPW-HK will hold a Young Professionals Forum Series, 5-6 times during the year;

We’re developing both our Women Invest and our Mother Earth taskforces, as well as our Mentoring programme — including, Reverse Mentoring;

AND, We’ll twin with 6 BPW clubs on 5 continents!

And Much More! Come Join the Excitement! Become Empowered, with BPW Hong Kong!

Hosting BPW Guests!

Hong Kong is proving a popular destination for our global BPW sisterhood!

Sharon Kwok, our Int'l Relations Chair, with Jacqueline Piotaz [BPW Zurich].
Sharon Kwok, our Int’l Relations Chair, with Jacqueline Piotaz [BPW Zurich].
In November we had the pleasure of hosting Jacqueline Piotaz [BPW Switzerland – Zurich], followed by Marcellina Defuns [BPW Switzerland – Davos];

Dim sum with Marcellina Defuns [BPW Davos] !
Dim sum with Marcellina Defuns [BPW Davos] !
And in December, Christine Heinz [BPW Germany – Frankfurt] returns to Hong Kong (our startup committee members will recall meeting her on a previous visit to Hong Kong last April); Min Jung [BPW Korea – Jeju] will also visit, as will Giselle Rufer [BPW Switzerland – Jura];

Carol Hanlon, BPW Perth, and Toni Wade, HKTDC-Sydney, spoke at the July founding meeting.
Carol Hanlon, BPW Perth, and Toni Wade, HKTDC-Sydney, spoke at the July founding meeting.

Then in January, Carol Hanlon [BPW Australia – Perth] returns to HK (some members will recall that she spoke at our July formative meeting); and, a small group of BPW Korea – Jeju Island members will visit us!

We’re traveling, too: our Twinning Taskforce Chair, Liza Yew, will visit Kathmandu in December and will represent us when hosted by BPW Nepal; Project Leader and Young BPW-HK member Sindy Leung will be hosted by BPW Singapore.

A global sisterhood! If you’re a member of BPW-HK and want to meet our guests, watch for our news bulletins (or check the Members-Only section of our website); if you’re traveling and wish to connect with BPW in other areas, please let ExCo know and we’ll arrange contact. After all: BPW has members in more than 100 countries over 5 continents!

Our 1st AGM

Last night we held our first Annual General Meeting, followed by the BPW candle-lighting ceremony and our Gala Dinner. What a night!

For those who couldn’t be there, if you’re a member you’ll receive the minutes in the next week, and the Annual Report by year’s end.

Here’s a glimpse:

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For more photos, go to the Gallery Page (members-only), or to our Facebook page (public)!

Welcome from the Adviser to the President

Kathleen PhillipsLadies,

Apologies for my late contribution here,  but I have been busy trying to get settled back in the US after 12 years in Asia, 10 of which were in Hong Kong.

As the previous past president of BPW Hong Kong,  I am so excited to see the infectious passion,  drive and determination of Dr. Anne Hilty and all of the current ExCo committee members to establish BPWHK as the ONLY truly international business women’s organisation in Hong Kong.   I  look forward to my advisory role within the organisation and I wish you continued success in growing the organisation in Hong Kong as the prestigious,  international organisation it is famous for around the world.

Best Regards,

Kathleen

Welcome from the Chair of Mother Earth Taskforce

Anna RobbWelcome to BPW. I’m Anna Robb. I’m Australian and I live in Macau. I am looking forward to working with you all.

I have worked my whole career in the arts and I’m looking to combine the skills I have alongside the other BPW women to be effective in Hong Kong and Macau. Beyond the arts, I am particularly passionate about young women growing up fearless, confident and free-thinking and I want a sustainable planet for them to be this way.

~Anna

Welcome from our Chief Happiness Officer

Shveitta Sharma

Dear BPW members,

Thank you for appointing me the Chief Happiness officer. It’s an honor and a privilege and I look forward to serving you in the best way I can.

One of my teachers once told me, “Be the person that walks into the room and the room lights up, and not the one who walks out and the room lights up.” I have since then made it my mission to leave the room a little brighter and happier.

Happiness is not a pursuit, it’s an awakening. It’s something that lies within all of us but just as a musk deer runs wild looking for the musk that lies within, we too run amok looking for happiness. It is my sincerest endeavor to help you unveil this intrinsic quality that lies within all of us.

Let’s all SMILE – (support, motivate, inspire, love, encourage) in the knowledge that we have each other to depend on.

I look forward to meeting all of you in person and continuing on this journey together.

Much love and happiness.

Shveitta Sethi Sharma

Welcome from the Chair of Global Skills Taskforce

Dorothy TsuiWarm welcome to BPW Hong Kong!

It has been an amazing experience for me to meet dedicated professional women at BPW Hong Kong. I am an experienced management consultant and have a consultancy firm specializing in people and organization development. My vision is to facilitate flourishing growth in individuals, relationships, organizations, and communities through bringing out the best in people.

My role as the Chair of the Global Skills Taskforce of BPW Hong Kong oversees the development and delivery of training programs for our BPW members in Hong Kong, and later in other twinning clubs and eventually to be made available to the BPW International community.

We are launching our pilot programs soon: early next year. Looking forward to seeing you in our future meetings and sharing my excitement with you!

All the best,

Dorothy Tsui

Welcome from the BPW-HK Student Coordinator

Michelle - photo

I’m Michelle, a full-time student at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and also a founder of a beauty/wellness social company named Miscato. Founders of Miscato are brought together by our longing to create a loving working environment and career progression for low income women, and similarly members of BPW are brought together by the same vision to create a better tomorrow for women around the world. While the vision may sound very big and abstract for some people, every contribution we make for that vision is a building block for our dream. For us, student members of BPW Hong Kong, our contribution starts from getting involved in the planning and execution of programs by BPW Hong Kong. Being an international organization that has been around for decades, and well-known for its contributions to the field of women empowerment, there is no question that we could gain a lot from this organization. The question is, what can we give for BPW Hong Kong, and how do we prepare ourselves to become the future leaders of this organizations?
Your fellow sister,
Michelle

Welcome from the Young BPW-HK Representative

Vivica XiongWhen I walked into my first BPW Hong Kong meeting, I knew I found my people. It’s a privilege to be surrounded by so many power women, who are not fearful to dream and who embrace personal and professional development.

For the past six years, I’ve been calling Hong Kong home, and enjoying my career in international education and development. I am truly fortunate in the people I met along the way; they mentored me, cheered me on, and inspired me to go far in life. It’s exciting to see the establishment of BPW Hong Kong, where more aspiring women can benefit from the company of one another, to grow and to glow together!

I am honored to be nominated as the Young Representative, and very much look forward to working with you all to initiate programs that will empower more young women!

~Vivica Xiong

Welcome from the Executive Secretary

Elizabeth GroblerIt is my great pleasure to welcome all of the charter members of the Hong Kong BPW chapter! It is clear that a fantastic, dynamic group of women have gathered together who will be able to create marvellous synergy.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Meade.

I am certain that our chapter will make a difference through our collaborative actions and leadership.

Elizabeth Grobler