Inspiring Girls Hong Kong to “Step-Up” Support to Schools Following Government Initiative

Inspiring Girls, an international charity that inspires the next generation of women to realise their career aspirations, has announced plans to support Hong Kong schools implement Life Planning Education (LPE) – a government initiative to help prepare Hong Kong’s young people for their future careers. In a report published by the Hong Kong Education Bureau: The Hong Kong government outlines that secondary schools should help students better understand their aspirations, needs, interests and abilities and plan for their future careers. In response, Inspiring Girls has enhanced its career program to support Hong Kong’s schools, teachers, and girls plan for the future. Inspiring Girls Hong Kong is a charity dedicated to raising and broadening career aspirations for local girls. Specifically, it has a mission to empower girls aged 10-to-18 by connecting them with female role models from a variety of vocations and careers. A teacher from Chinese YMCA College said, “I would recommend the Inspiring Girls program to other schools because it allows students to interact directly with real working professionals. The program is valuable because it provides an opportunity to learn about different industries and their working environments early on.” Inspiring Girls Country Chair, Ines Gafsi said, “Schools, parents, and girls are under enormous pressure at present. Now the government has outlined its plans to “step up” careers curricula in schools, we are here to help. From traditional careers in Finance and Law to careers in STEM, sustainability, culture, and the arts, we have a wealth of resources to support girls and their schools.” In the report submitted by the Task Force on Review of School Curriculum, it has been recommended that Life Planning Education (LPE) should start early at junior secondary level. LPE should help students acquire basic knowledge of a variety of careers including the dynamics of the workplace. It should also include soft skill development ensuring students understand ethics and embrace a positive, flexible attitude towards work. “Through the program, girls can learn about the difficulties female professionals can face and how to overcome them.” A teacher from Chinese Foundation secondary school on why her school selected the Inspiring Girls program to support delivery of the LPE curriculum. In its work with local and international schools, Inspiring Girls is already delivering careers guidance to around girls across Hong Kong. Through school closures and restrictions, Inspiring Girls also offers a series of online modules. Inspiring Girls’ programs are available in Cantonese and English, online and in person.

Program outline

Meetings between the girls and role models happen once a month over a six-month period at each participating school. Girls can identify their core values and boost their self-confidence through acquiring practical knowledge and experience from their role models. Girls can also reach out to role models for a one-on-one catch up once a month to further consolidate their relationship. For safety reasons, the program will be hosted mostly online and will only be face-to-face when possible. Inspire girls on the video hub: this online platform features short interviews with a wide range of brilliant women for girls to explore. To inspire millions of girls online, you can simply send a 3-minute video of your journey to hongkong@inspiring-girls.com. References can be found here: www.videohub.inspiring-girls.com.

Press Release Notes to editors:

High-resolution images can be downloaded from this Google drive link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gEVRfYReILh53vR-f_GInJRp-4xxqcdH?usp=sharing Promotional Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoL5osacfa0 This announcement is distributed by White Orchid Insights on behalf of Inspiring Girls Hong Kong.

For media enquiries or interviews, please contact:

Name: Muskan Verma Company: White Orchid Insights WOI Email: Muskan@whiteorchidinsights.com / info@whiteorchidinsights.com — Instagram: @inspiringgirlshk Hashtag: #InspiringGirlsHongKong Email: hongkong@inspiring-girls.com Website: www.inspiringgirlshongkong.com Mission: Inspiring Girls International is an organisation dedicated to raising the aspirations of young girls around the world by connecting them with female role models. We introduce young girls (aged 10-18 years old) to the full variety of careers and options in life – and inspire them to aim high. Inspiring Girls International HQ in London acts as the global coordination point for a network of country teams running the campaign all over the world.