20th Global Summit of Women Opens in Beijing

The 20th Global Summit of Women opened Thursday in Beijing. During the three-day event, more than 1,000 delegates from 60 countries participate in various forums under the theme of "Women at the Forefront of Change."

Maud Oldfsson, Swedish deputy prime minister and minister of enterprise and energy, gives her thoughts on women as entrepreneurs.

"When I go to meetings, I'm used to being the only woman, or one of very few. I have a background in the business sector, and there the situation was almost the same," said Oldfsson. "In our daily life, women with excellent skills and business ideas can be found everywhere, and with natural leadership skills. But they too often hesitate to start their own business, or to take up leadership position in the company. And in general, more women must be given the opportunity to see entrepreneurship as a career option."

From Thursday to Saturday, the economic forum is having a number of exchanges on effective ways of advancing women's economic opportunities worldwide. And the summit will also showcase examples of women's leadership in addressing corporate change, Internet entrepreneurship, energy and environmental renewal and philanthropy.

Irene Natividad, GSW president, says there will also be a practical session on improving women's entrepreneurship and leadership development.

"To mark our 20th anniversary, the Global Summit of Women is announcing the launch of Business Legacies, a program that will bring successful women entrepreneurs face to face with audiences of young women in every part of the world," said Natividad. "Small business is the foundation of every economy in the world. So what we want is that young women to foster the growth of small businesses in this country."

This year's meeting is the largest in the Summit's 20-year history, and several women's leadership awards will be issued during the event.

(CRIENGLISH.com May 20, 2010)