The China Women's Development Foundation (CWDF) organized a forum on women's sustainable development at Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS) in the UK on June 9 to strengthen international cooperation among female talents.

The forum was held with support from the famous Chinese online shopping platform VIPS.

Attendees at the gathering included Eilis Ferran, pro-vice-chancellor for institutional and international relations at Cambridge University; Jin Xu, counselor of the Chinese embassy in the UK; Christoph Loch, president of CJBS; and, Nan Jing, assistant to secretary-general of the CWDF.

Meanwhile, several outstanding female entrepreneurs and representatives from the Super Moms Project also attended the event.

The theme of the forum was "Women's Empowerment, Sustainable Development of Good Causes and Women's Growth". It included discussions on issues such as women's development as promoted by NGOs, the influence of the media in improving women's leadership, and gender equality among senior executives.

As one of the oldest institutions of higher-education in the UK, Cambridge University, the venue of the forum, has had a wide influence on many fields including business, mathematics and law.

Thus, the forum was held there to promote communication with Chinese women among public-welfare organizations, international organizations, and authoritative academic institutions, to further their international influence and academic specialty.

Organizers and representatives delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.

Christoph Loch said that Cambridge University has paid much attention to the forum, and has always focused on the transformation of women's social responsibilities. It has done a lot to improve women's social status.

Furthermore, the forum is a beginning for friendly exchanges between Cambridge and CWDF, and will lay a solid foundation for further cooperation in women's empowerment and research regarding charity and philanthropies, Loch added.

Professor Sucheta Nadkarni, who is also director of the Women's Leadership Center of CJBS, explained that there has been a large improvement in women's social functions and social status.

For example, the proportion of female senior lecturers at Cambridge University has improved by 15 percent, which also reflects the fast development of women in such social fields.

This phenomenon is also predominant in leading British enterprises and government functional departments, she added.

Nadkarni hoped that women can truly be empowered in the fields of society, the economy and politics.

Nan gave a speech at the gathering to introduce CWDF's work. As China's biggest women's public-welfare organization, it is involved in several key fields including poverty-alleviation, startups, health, eco-protection, and family care projects.

Jin Xu, Minister Counsellor of Embassy of China in UK, praised the forum and the CWDF, and said that China has paid much attention to empowering women, especially in recent years. For example, it has constantly focused on the development of women in science and technology, and positively participated in women-related multilateral and unilateral international cooperation.

He added that Chinese women have also positively participated in the international affairs more than before, with promotion of gender equality becoming an important component in China's cooperation with many countries.

Deng Yaping, founder of the Deng Yaping Sports Industry Fund and a former table tennis Olympic champion, delivered a speech, along with Huang Hongying, vice president of VIPS. Both shared their innovative ideas and exploration of internet-based public-welfare projects.

Furthermore, discussions on women's development as promoted by NGOs were held among participants including Anke Adams from the CamFed Foundation, Emparity Foundation's founder Pahini Pandya, and Zhao Guangfeng, deputy-director of the Assistance Department of CWDF.

They all discussed issues based on their own experiences to further deepen links between women's sustainable development and NGOs.

The topic on media's effect on improving women's leadership was introduced by documentary filmmaker Boni Somes.

Chief editor of the charity channel of ifeng.com Sun Xuemei talked alongside with Mary Hockaday, a host from the BBC World Channel, and ITV news presenter Helena Carter.

The topic of gender equality among senior management personnel was discussed among participants including Jenny Chu, associate professor of CJBS; Mark Powell, vice president of CapGemini; and, Emma Pegler from HSBC.

Participants including Helen Stevenson, an independent director of Trinity Mirror, Sun Yi, deputy secretary-general of Tencent Foundation, and Paul Crouch from British Telecom shared ideas about how to making sustainable career development plans.

These present shared their experiences in different fields, showing the charitable philosophies of entrepreneurs, and reflecting the prominent position of Chinese women and their great efforts in promoting economic and social development, said organizers.