At two Digital Art Workshops held at SHOUT Contemporary [26 November and 3 December] together with the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, teen girls from 10 different schools in Hong Kong dove headlong into the exciting world of contemporary art!
The Form 2-6 students enjoyed a guided tour of SHOUT Contemporary’s “Half The Sky, The Sky Is The Limit” exhibit of 12 artists on women’s interlacing roles at home and in society. A portion of the exhibition sales proceeds will be donated to the Foundation. They also explored the connection between art and technology through a crash course in Sketchbook and Procreate digital art programmes led by local artists #Offgod and #winki.cho.
Digital technology today forms an important part of the creative process for many artists, and we encourage students to try their hand at it – and enjoy discovering where it takes them!
Thank you to the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups for its support, and to our amazing instructors – young artists, some teen girls themselves – for inspiring our students to use traditional and cutting-edge art forms to express themselves and their perspectives on the world!
Hong Kong’s largest post-pandemic girls conference, the Jennifer Yu Cheng Girls Impact Foundation Summit brought teen girls together for a transformative day — just the first stop of many on their “Future Ready Journeys”
Hong Kong’s first FutureGEN Girls Leadership Summit 2022 was held on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on the first anniversary of the Jennifer Yu Cheng Girls Impact Foundation (“JYCGIF”), a charitable organization dedicated to empowering teen girls through education to become future ready leaders. Guest of Honour, Miss Alice Mak, SBS, JP, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs of HKSAR and Mrs. Jennifer Yu Cheng, Founder of JYCGIF and Group President and Deputy Vice Chairwoman of CTF Education Group officiated at the Opening Ceremony of the Summit.
Jennifer Yu Cheng: “Teen Girls Today Are The Leaders of Tomorrow!”
The Summit theme this year, “A Journey to Your Near Future,” drew over 600 teen girls aged 14 to 18 from across 55 schools in Hong Kong to panel discussions and keynote addresses by 25 industry leaders and trailblazers from diverse fields, digital skill-building workshops led by experts, and a New Technology Interactive Zone featuring major innovations shaping the future world and workplace.
“At Summits like this one, as in all our JYCGIF outreach programmes, we are laser focused on ‘future readiness,’ equipping girls with the tech-forward mindset, digital skills, and strong leadership competencies that prepare them to navigate all opportunities in the digital era,” said Mrs.Jennifer Yu Cheng, Founder of JYCGIF and Group President and Deputy Vice Chairwoman of CTF Education Group, in opening remarks at the Summit. “We are working to build a stronger talent pipeline of young women like ourselves, who are future ready to become the women leaders of tomorrow. Today you will begin your own journey to explore both the power and versatility of technology and core leadership value to navigate all opportunities in the digital era.”
Guest of Honour, Miss Alice Mak, SBS, JP, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs of HKSAR, said: “Today’s event is one of ambition and vision. Through a series of panel discussion and activities, you will learn to be a leader and explore the revolutionary impact that technology has on our life. The aspiration of nurturing future female leaders is in line with the Government’s belief and is certainly one of my personal wishes. Never underestimate yourself and embrace what technology and the future have to offer. I hope you would find yourself an enabling environment to unleash your potential and fly as high as it permits.”.
Seeing is Believing – Summit Leaders Inspire Girls to Reimagine their Futures
Driven by the motto “seeing is believing,” the Summit featured panels on leadership development, business opportunities, innovative technologies, and much more, with 25 inspirational industry leaders and trailblazers. Including Ms. Irene Lee, Chairman of Hysan Development Company Limited, Professor Nancy Y. IP, President-Designate and The Morningside Professor of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
These changemakers and others shared their personal journeys to success with the teen girls in the audience, offering first-hand insight into the skills and competencies one needs to lead.
“Seeing is believing,” said Yu Cheng. “Look around you today. Every one of the guests here is a leader in her field, and every one of you in the audience has the potential to lead. Leadership is an attitude and a behavior! One is not born a leader, 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.”
A Transformative Experience: Hands-On, Digital Skill-Building Workshops
Future Skills Lab & New Technology Interactive Zone
Participants at the Summit also had the opportunitytry their hand at AI and coding in workshops led by experts and supported by Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs, and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Breaking between workshops and panels, teen girls immersed themselves in the Summit’s New Technology Interactive Zone, featuring the dramatic innovations changing our world and workplace; Hanson Robotics, Intuitive Fosun (Da Vinci Surgery), Smart Farming, Rice Robotics, and Motive Force manned booths and spoke with teen girls about how they can make an impact on the future world of work.
While the Summit is the cardinal event of the JYCGIF calendar year, the Foundation’s “10,000 Girls4Girls Coding+” program is its signature offering, set to empower 10,000 teen girls by 2025 by equipping them with digital skills “plus” leadership experiences, university and pre-career preparation, and networking opportunities to lead in a world of innovation. Through the “train the trainer” model, G4G Coding “plus” participants are inspired to start their own clubs and groups and volunteer to train other girls in their communities to become future ready.
Looking forward, Yu Cheng said that JYCGIF is committed to continuing to work closely with local and global community leaders to create diverse opportunities that empower teen girls to become next generation leaders.
Our first official 10,000 Girls4Girls Coding “Plus” Camp empowered teen girls by teaching them to code, adopt a tech-forward mindset, and develop vital leadership skills! Through our “train the trainer” model, Summer Campers left empowered to volunteer to train girls in their community to code, too.
The focus of our G4G Coding “Plus” programs is: Digital Literacies, Leadership Development, University & Pre-Career Preparation, Networking Opportunities. Our Camp brought together a wide variety of speakers for a crash course in leadership 101! It also introduced students to a world of coding – the basic literacy of the digital age and prerequisite for jobs of the future. Improving computational, communication, and problem-solving skills, while fostering creativity and self-confidence, helps prepare students to enter the future as digital leaders!
Thanks to our 20 Coding Explorer Program graduates and volunteers from International Christian School (ICS), Chinese International School (CIS), Precious Blood Secondary School (PBSS), Cheltenham Ladies’ College (CLC) and other channels who engaged in meaningful ways with our F.2 and F.3 Campers to uplift and empower them to tap into all their passions! Special thanks to Ms. Phyllis Lee, Ms. Ceci Lau, Mr. Julian Cheng, Ms. Fiona O, Ms. Secy Cheung and Ms. Anushka Purohit for serving as guest speakers encouraging all students to lead!
“Thank you, JYC Girls Impact Foundation, for having me! I believe everyone can be a future leader!” shared by Mr. Julian Cheng
“The content of the coding workshop is very dynamic and comprehensive. At the same time, students are learning how to code step by step.” Ms. Angela Lui, Careers Mistress of Pui Ching Middle School told us.
“It made quite an impact on me. It turns out teen girls enjoy coding a lot! Students are willing to communicate, discuss with each other, and try their hand at coding during the course!” Mr. Ng Kwok Ngai, Career Master of ELCHK Lutheran Secondary School.
At our first in-person school talk since before the pandemic surge, we met with over 110 brilliant students from SKH Bishop Mok Sau Tseng Secondary School to discuss the Future World of Work! They all had wildly different ideas to share about what future readiness and leadership mean to them. There’s nothing better than connecting with students in real life! Stay tuned for more JYCGIF talks and workshops!
JYCGIF is excited to announce our collaboration with Precious Blood Secondary School (PBSS) to empower 350 teen girls with fundamental coding skills through our signature program: 10,000 Girls4Girls Coding+ ! Thanks to our amazing participants from PBSS for taking part in the Inspirational Talk in March 2022, which we hope will lead to more enriching discussions about the ways the world and workplace are changing and how teen girls can best prepare to navigate a job market in flux.
Ready, Set, Explore!
In April, JYCGIF welcomed 16 girls from PBSS F2 and F3 classes to coding workshops held in the framework of our “peer-to-peer” Girls4Girls Coding Explorer Program Cycle 1. All the sessions were conducted in a virtual format, so our participants were connected from the safety and comfort of home! Participating in this program required being a quick learner, curiosity about exploring AI and coding. 16 teen girls enjoyed the coding lessons of Face Swapping, Photo Tuning, Photo Emoji Creation, Overlay Facial Filter and more. A special thank you to the G4G student teaching assistants from Chinese International School for participating in the Camp and inspiring our teen participants to learn programming, build their confidence, and train girls in their communities, too!
“The tutor and the teaching assistant were very friendly and patient. The lectures were conducted in a lively and interesting way; now, I know how to perform a face swap and enhance a picture through coding!”
Chloe Ng (Form 3)
“I learned that coding has some unexpected tools and properties!”
Olivia Leung (Form 2)
“I enjoyed being able to learn so much about coding while having fun!”
Kaitlyn Chak (Form 2)
Expanding the Learning Cycle
We are now poised to enter Cycle 2 of the G4G Coding Explorer Program. Participants will continue to learn about coding concepts such as String, While-Loop, and more in lessons scheduled from May to August.
The “Peer to Peer” Platform
Throughout the program, teen participants enjoy access to the G4G Coding Explorer Program platform! Upon completing the program, they are welcome to continue their G4G journeys as “peer-to-peer” trainers, assisting teachers in upcoming workshops and classes.
News flash! Tatler Hong Kong‘s April cover is CTFEG Group President and Deputy Vice Chairwoman, and JYCGIF Founder!
We couldn’t be prouder or more excited to read Kate Appleton‘s in-depth article on Jennifer Yu Cheng’s vision and commitment to educational opportunities that nurture future ready talent and skills.
Check out the full article in @tatlerhongkong on Jennifer’s journey to empower the next generation through education.
Always a pleasure to sit down with South China Morning Post! In a special interview, our Founder, Jennifer Yu Cheng, explored the importance of STEM learning and leadership training today for tomorrow, and how JYCGIF programmes are tailored to bridge the looming skills gap in a future world of work.
Moments before launching our 10,000 Girls4Girls Coding⁺ (G4G Coding⁺) program – a look back at our pilot JYCGIF Summer Camp 2021!
This summer, we held a future ready leadership camp to soft launch G4G Coding⁺, our global community outreach initiative empowering teen girls with future digital literacies through the “train the trainer” model.
Girls in G4G Coding⁺ programs learn coding and other programming languages of the future, enjoy mentoring and networking opportunities, and develop vital leadership skills. They feel equipped and motivated to volunteer to train other girls in their community to program, set goals, problem solve – and become future ready leaders!
Through G4G Coding⁺, we aim to inspire, equip and ultimately empower 10,000 teens girls in the coming few years to approach every possible career path as future ready leaders.
JYCGIF’s first Summer Camp for future ready leaders kicked off last week! Our pilot 10,000 Girls4Girls Coding event, the 2021 Camp empowered teen girls from Po Leung Kuk schools through coding training, leadership development and sports to rise to any challenge – and enter the future as digital leaders!
On Opening Day, students received a crash course in leadership, hearing firsthand from women trailblazers in education, philanthropy, finance and sports! Our heartfelt thanks to Helena Pong, Vice Chairman of Po Leung Kuk; Rachel Chan, Co-Founder of Esperanza; Grace Yu of Credit Suisse, and HK tennis pro Ling Zhang, Inspiring HK, for inspiring a can-do spirit in teen girls!
“Leadership is not an innate quality. We all need to step out of our comfort zone to grow!” Helena Pong, Po Leung Kuk Vice Chairman, told students.
Opening Speech by Mrs. Jennifer Yu Cheng, Founder of JYCGIF
Panel Disucssion: Everyone can be a Future Ready Leader!
Leadership Training Workshop
The engine driving our Camp was a 10-hour gamified coding class! Led by Esperanza x CoderZ teachers and teaching assistants, the class introduced students to a world of coding – the basic literacy of the digital age. A prerequisite for jobs of the future, coding improves computational, communication, and problem-solving skills while fostering creativity and self-confidence.
Girls4Girls Coding
Coding Partners: Esperanza & CoderZ
“In medicine, law, and the physical sciences, there are far more women in those fields today globally. But computer science is a different story,” said Jeanne Cheng, Teaching Assistant in the Coding Workshop. “Women with jobs in that field represent a tiny minority, with numbers declining. We need to change that, and teaching coding is an important first step.”
During Camp, teen girls also heard the success stories of young entrepreneurs who learned early on never to take no for an answer and to build the self-confidence, determination, and grit—in addition to hard skills – fundamental to business. At the Corporate Workshop facilitated by Alibaba, Debbie Lau and Kyle Kok, Co-Founders of Lecopt Technology Limited, and Vicky Wong and Hoffman Chau, of the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, emphasized five important business skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.
Corporate workshop delivered by Alibaba
Q&A with Alibaba
Ms. LeAnne Wong & Ms. Angela Shing from Citibank Hong Kong: Data Analytics, Digital Sales and Marketing
Ms. Rhaime Kim from Rice Robotics: Coding and Future Ready Leadership
“Entrepreneurship is a mindset – anyone can adopt it!” said Debbie Lau, Lecopt Technology Limited, Speaker at the Alibaba Corporate Workshop. “We need to nurture this mindset in teen girls: to teach them not only financial skills but to see themselves as entrepreneurs and leaders at a young age.”
Thanks to Inspiring HK, Campers also engaged in a wide variety of sports and fitness activities, including dodgebee, yoga, k-pop dancing, thai boxing and more! They left feeling pumped – ready to take on any challenge: in the classroom, in the field, and in life!
Ms. Heidi Foo from InspiringHK: Fly High with TechKnowHow
Sports Lessons
The pilot program of JYCGIF’s 10,000 Girls4Girls Coding initiative, the Summer Camp was built on the “train the trainer” model, whereby girls receive coding training and then feel empowered to volunteer to train girls in their community to code, too. We look forward to hearing from our Campers as they pass on their coding training to their peers and to other girls in their communities! We can’t wait to unveil our next 10,000 Girls4Girls Coding experience! Stay tuned for more details.
“Leadership means dreaming big, leading from the heart, being the first to take the blame yet most ready to share success,” Catherine Leung, co-founder and partner at MizMaa Ventures, told students at a special JYC Girls Impact Foundation School Talk: “Inspirational Life and Leadership Lessons: Empowering Youth for the Future” held at St. Paul’s School (Lam Tin) on June 29th.
In a lively discussion with JYCGIF Founder Jennifer Yu Cheng, Catherine explored experiences in high school that helped shape her personality, major events that motivated her to make career moves, and the real traits that make for strong, charismatic leaders.
Thank you, Catherine, for shining a bright light for future generations of women leaders!
“I was really inspired by Catherine suggesting that we should always try new things and not be afraid to fail,” said Yoyo Chan, Form 5 at St. Paul’s School. “In the past, I was quite timid and had the sense of being afraid to lose, and I could not truly open myself up and embrace new challenges ahead of me. Catherine’s story really encouraged me to manifest my talents and be brave enough to take initiative. I particularly remembered that she kept in mind that the cup of water she was holding was ‘half full’ rather than ‘half empty’, which reminds me to never lose faith in myself and be proactive all the time to refill the cup of water that I am holding. Very inspirational!”
“In the past, I always thought that learning something that was not related to my ultimate goal was a waste of time,” said Bridgit Lee, Form 5 at St. Paul’s School. “However, after listening to the experiences of both Catherine and Jennifer, I know that everything we learn may help us one day when we approach new opportunities. This talk helped changed my mindset, and I will now treasure every chance I have to learn something new!”
