Women’s Day celebrated with mentoring opportunities

 

The charity event aimed to raise funds for female teaching fellows who will work in rural Yunnan schools. Photos by jeffrey Lau

 

By Liang Meilan

Jo Ling Kent, a CNN associate producer in Beijing, has hosted an annual charity event for International Women Day since 2006.

This year, the event held March 12 and themed Mentoring Future Women Leaders, aimed to raise 100,000 yuan to support two female teaching fellows with the China Education Initiative (CEI), who will work in rural Yunnan public schools and offer mentorship to local women.

The cocktail party, held at Yishu 8 art gallery, featured keynote speaker CEI President Rachel Wasser, who introduced the group’s work in the country. “CEI take a unique approach to eliminate educational inequity in China by pairing the US and China’s most promising graduates,” Wasser said.

She said their US-China Teaching Fellows program“meets the pressing need for exceptional teachers in China understaffed low-income rural schools, while fostering a constituency of young leaders positioned to advance the cause of educational equity and effect long-term systemic change.”

The event’s host, Kent, said she was impressed by the CEI and Wasser who have “led an incredible team of Chinese and Americans to help alleviate inequality in education for women and girls.

The affair also auctioned off mentoring opportunities with 10 leaders in their industries, such as Ching Tao, executive director of Goldman Sachs (China). Over an afternoon at restaurants like SALT and Capital M, bidders can discuss career aspirations with their chosen mentor.

The evening also promoted a series of one-on-one mentoring lunches with prominent and successful women and men from diverse professional backgrounds in Beijing.

Kent said she herself is witness to the power of mentoring. “I’ve been able to achieve my goals with the help of strong women in my life.”

Attendees to the charity event included artists, entrepreneurs and women leaders among others.