Press Releases

Publicity and public education to boost gender sensitivity

The following is issued on behalf of the Women's Commission:

The Women's Commission will launch a multi-faceted publicity and public education programme early next year to raise the community's gender sensitivity and interest in women-related issues.

At a meeting on November 13, members of the Commission discussed the publicity and public education strategy and related action plan put forward by the Commission's Public Education Task Force.

The programme, spanning more than one-and-a-half year to mid-2003, is aimed at enhancing public knowledge of the Commission's work and tackling commonly held misconceptions about the roles, values and images of women as well as the ability of different genders.

"In conveying the messages, we shall appeal to reason and bring resonance in order to win popular acceptance and support," said the Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs Sophie Leung Lau Yau-fun.

The programme will target the general public as well as specific groups. The publicity campaign will start off early next year with other community involvement activities rolling out in stages.  Partnership with the community and various sectors will be emphasised in the campaign.

In order to stimulate public interest in and discussion of women's issues in Hong Kong, the Commission will organise a one-and-a-half day convention on May 10 and 11 next year at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

International speakers will be invited to the convention and all local women's groups, service agencies and interested parties will be invited to join.  It will be a large-scale forum to explore the three areas of the Commission's work, namely gender mainstreaming, empowerment and public education.

"We want to bring international perspectives to the local scene through this convention," Mrs Leung said.

"The convention will facilitate the building up of liaison networks with local and international women's organisations. We will certainly involve non-governmental organisations (NGO) and the third sector in the organisation of this convention," she added.

Also at the meeting on November 13, the Commission discussed the Urban Renewal Strategy issued by the Planning and Lands Bureau. The meeting recognised that many women would be affected by urban renewal projects.

"We understand that a social impact assessment of renewal projects will be carried out. We urge the Government to take into account women's needs, such as those of single women, new arrival women and elderly women, in making rehousing arrangements and helping affected residents to adapt to their new environment," Mrs Leung said.

The social impact assessment should look into the women's angle and sex-disaggregated data should be collected, the Commission suggested.

End/Wednesday, November 14, 2001

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