Beijing Women's Federation

Participants at the 9th Beijing Public Diplomacy Forum on November 23

 

The 9th Beijing Public Diplomacy Forum,"Public Diplomacy and Global Partnership Network", was jointly held by the China Public Diplomacy Association and Beijing Women's Federation (BWF) at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) in the capital city on November 23.

 

The forum drew the attendance of officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Ministry of Emergency Management, the department of foreign affairs from Beijing, Shanghai and other areas, along with representatives from domestic universities, enterprises, think tanks and social organizations.

 

Speaking at the forum's opening ceremony, Zhao Haiying, Vice-President of the BWF, extended deep thanks to the BFSU for its efforts to leverage the resources of its think tanks in the creation of a high-level exchange platform for all forces involved in public diplomacy to conduct their studies and practices.

 

Zhao underscored the importance of the advocacy of women-oriented public diplomacy in the new era, highlighted its development direction and major tasks such as the promotion of national soft power, the building of softness in the national image, the depiction of domestic women against the advantages of the socialism with Chinese characteristics,and the formation of consensus among women in the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. She pledged that the BWF will continue with its mission to integrate women-oriented public diplomacy within the general development of China's national diplomacy, make full use of the strengths of local women's social organizations, and undertake in-depth studies in a drive to set up an effective mode of achieving goals while contributing to the further development of women-oriented public diplomacy.

 

GuoRuixiang, a former project coordinator with UN Women, talked with attendees about the latest indices concerning gender equality in the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, China's unique strengths in the fulfillment of its international obligations and organization of public diplomacy for the sake of gender equality and women'sdevelopment, and the functions of global partnership in supporting equal participation, contribution and benefit between two genders.

 

Meanwhile, a parallel session with an emphasis on the experience gained from women-oriented bilateral and multiple cooperation on projects concerning people's livelihoodsglobally was co-sponsored by Beijing Women's International Center and the BFSU Public Diplomacy Research Center.

 

It marks the first time such a parallel session has been held during the forum.

 

Those present at the separate event included experts in the field of public diplomacy, representatives from Beijing-based social organizations for women, the women's affairs committees of other political parties, the grassroots women's federations in the capital city, and the women's federations of Shaanxi Province and Tianjin Municipality. They spoke about the function of women's federations in women-oriented public diplomacy and concrete experience in women-centered international cooperation concerning the implementation of projects in relation to people's livelihoods.

 

The BWF shared with participants the achievements it has made with local think tanks in their joint research of women-oriented public diplomacy and emphasized the roles of the women's federations in foreign affairs. The Women's Federation of Chaoyang District talked about its experience in helping local sub-district offices, residential communities and families get involved in women-oriented public diplomacy with the support of the spouses of foreign diplomats, international families and smart ladies, also known as the bearers of intangible cultural heritage.

In addition, Ma Jie, Vice-President of the Women's Federation of Shaanxi Province, gave an introduction to the "the Silk Road on Fingertips" activity, the building of women's activity centers and handicraft convention & exhibition platforms, and the organization of vocational training for foreign women under the Belt and Road Initiative.

 

For their part, other speakers at the parallel session also voiced their views on the development of international projects concerning women's livelihoods.

 

Yang Baozhen, the wife of Sun Jiwen, former Chinese ambassador to Gabon, spoke about her successful experience in the guidance of African projects related to the development of local women's livelihoods and stressed that pragmatic cooperation was key to the sustainable growth of relevant programs.

 

Tong Lihua, Director of Beijing Zhicheng Law Firm, shared with other attendees her efforts to help non-governmental social organizations acquire special consultative status from the UN Economic and Social Council and build a global network of assistance for children, highlighting the importance of professionalization, localized operation and talent cultivation in helping social organizations go out and participating inglobal governance.

 

Shi Jiayi, founder of the Beijing-based She Loves Tech firm, talked about her experiences in developing the business venture into the largest platform in the world for women to compete against each other in technological innovation. She attributed the success of her business and that of other female entrepreneurs to consistent improvementsin high-tech contents, localized cooperation and easily replicable models.

 

Huang Lei, founder of the China Islamic Finance Club, gave an interpretation of the importance in conducting business cooperation between China and Islamic countries under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and envisaged opportunities for Chinese women to contribute their efforts to win-win cooperation in relevant sectors.

 

Li Hongmei, Executive Vice-Director of the Mulan Power Charity Fund affiliated to the Beijing Women and Children's Development Foundation, talked about touching cross-border stories involving a Chinese woman and nine Nepalese girls. She said that the charity initiative had fulfilled its original aspirations in providing impoverished girls from other countries with assistance in their education.

 

The speeches of those speakers have revealed their readiness to make a personal mission of the development of national diplomacy, demonstrated their deep reflection upon the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, shown their sincere wishes to create a better life for international women and children, receiving a warm response for the audience.

 

All participants said that the parallel session proved to be professional and precise, and provided all relevant forces with guidance in the exercises of their unique strengths in the promotion of women-oriented public diplomacy and the production of replicable experience as well as models.

 

The Beijing Public Diplomacy Forum has become a flagship academic event held by the BFSU Public Diplomacy Research Center and one of the most influential platforms for the academic exchange of public diplomacy amongst domestic universities and colleges.

 

According to the BWF, it will continue to assist in building professional platforms for academic exchange and resource-sharing in the sector of women-oriented public diplomacy, rallying more support from women for the development of China's future foreign affairs.

 

Opening speech and keynote speech of the main forum

A parallel session of the 9th Beijing Public Diplomacy Forum on November 23

Participants talk about the role ofwomen's federations in the development of women-oriented public diplomacy at a parallel session

Speakers share their experiences in the promotion of women-oriented projects concerning people's livelihoods at a parallel session

 

Attendees tour an exhibition on foreign exchange undertaken by Beijing Women's Federation on the sidelines