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.
For more information: