When? October 8, 2022
Where? Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Who? Jennifer Yu Cheng, Alice Mak, Professor Nancy Ip, Irene Lee, Cally Chan, Yenn Wong, Eva Yu, Juliette Gimenez, Professor Ava Kwong, Cindy Chow
Here’s what you missed:
More than 600 teenage girls aged between 14 and 18 from 55 schools in Hong Kong joined industry leaders as well as guest of honour Alice Mak, SBS, JP, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs of HKSAR and Jennifer Yu Cheng, founder of the Jennifer Yu Cheng Girls Impact Foundation (JYCGIF) and group president and deputy vice chairwoman of CTF Education Group for the first FutureGen Girls Leadership Summit 2022. The event was organised by JYCGIF, a non-profit organisation established in 2021 to empower and equip teenage girls to be future leaders, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday, October 8, 2022.
The summit, the theme of which was “A Journey to Your Near Future”, was designed to reflect the mission of Yu Cheng’s non-profit organisation: to help teenage girls develop a tech mindset, digital skills, and the ability to lead with confidence.
“We are working to build a stronger talent pipeline of young women like yourselves, who are future ready to become the women leaders of tomorrow,” said Jennifer Yu Cheng in her opening remarks.
“Never underestimate yourself and embrace what technology and the future have to offer,” added Alice Mak.
The event was comprised of a series of panel discussions from industry leaders from diverse fields as well as a range of workshops including in AI and coding led by experts in the field.
The opening panel, The Power to Lead, featured Irene Lee, chairman of Hysan Development Company and Professor Nancy Ip, president-designate and The Morningside Professor of Life Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), alongside Yu Cheng in an inspiring discussion moderated by Jacqueline Tsang, Tatler Hong Kong's editorial director and editor-in-chief. The panellists shared their thoughts on the qualities they believe make a good leader, how young women can equip themselves with the skills to succeed, and advice on how to make an impact.
“One is not born a leader,” said Yu Cheng, “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.”
Other panels throughout the day covered topics such as innovative technologies in retail, the transformation of traditional businesses through technology, and how the future is being reimagined through robotics, NFTs, Web3 and more. Meanwhile, away from the main stage, a New Technology Interactive Zone showcased innovation in both the world and the workplace with booths from surgical robot designer and manufacturer Intuitive Fosun (Da Vinci Surgery), future of farming firm Smart Farming and XR solutions company Motive Force, as well as Hanson Robotics whose AI humanoid robot, Sophia, was also in attendance. Sophia was interviewed on stage by CNN’s Ellana Lee, who asked whether Sophia had any words of wisdom to share.
“I heard Jennifer [Yu Cheng] say earlier: Leaders aren’t born; leaders are made. I believe that too,” she replied. “Everyone has the potential to lead. All you need is to believe in yourself and to equip yourself with the knowledge and skills necessary to create, navigate and pursue your opportunities. All of you here have the potential to be leaders in the future.”
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