In line with President Xi Jinping's Three Global Initiatives and his guidance on empowering women's cause development through digitalization, the "Digital Trade and Women's Development" Academia-Industry Conference was successfully held in Hangzhou on the morning of September 27, marking the official launch of the Pilot Program under the Global Exchange and Cooperation Center for Digital Empowerment of Women by women’s federations from ten provinces and municipalities.

Xu Xiaolan, the Standing Committee Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Vice Chairwoman (concurrently) of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), Vice Chair of the Central Committee of the China Zhi Gong Party, and Deputy Director of the Global Exchange and Cooperation Center for Digital Empowerment of Women, along with Wang Shuangquan, member of the Party Leadership Group of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CPPCC, attended the event and delivered speeches respectively.

The event brought together representatives from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Academy of International Business Officials (AIBO) of the Ministry of Commerce; participant representatives from the Workshop on Enhancing E-commerce and Digital Economy Capacities of Women Entrepreneurs from Developing Countries; leaders of women's federations from ten provinces and municipalities including Beijing and Shanghai; responsible persons from relevant units in Zhejiang Province such as the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Commerce, Foreign Affairs Office, Association for Science and Technology, and Zhejiang Daily Press Group; chairpersons of the women's federations of prefecture-level cities; female science and technology workers, female entrepreneurs, and representatives of Child-Friendly Observation Group, more than 180 guests in total, to discuss new pathways for women's development in the digital era.

In her speech, Xu Xiaolan pointed out that how to help women adapt to the historic shifts of digitalization, networking, and intelligentialization, seize new development opportunities, fully unleash their creative vitality, and achieve deeper self-development and value enhancement has become a crucial question to be properly addressed for women's work in the new era.

She emphasized the importance of digital empowerment for promoting women's development. She also called for actively leveraging the Global Exchange and Cooperation Center for Digital Empowerment of Women, earnestly implementing the "Six Major Action Initiatives," fully mobilizing women's federations at all levels, building a work system that supports the comprehensive enhancement of women's digital capabilities, and pooling multi-party efforts to jointly advance the work of digitally empowering women in a substantial manner.

It is imperative to support female scientists, entrepreneurs, and social workers to give full play to their strengths in areas such as technological breakthroughs, resource integration, and publicity and education, thereby enabling more women to shine, realize their dreams, and contribute their power in the digital age.

Wang Shuangquan noted that the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Government are actively deepening the construction of "Digital Zhejiang" and accelerating the establishment of a highland for AI innovation, with women constituting a vital half-the-sky force participating in digital technology and trade.

Taking this grand event as an opportunity, Zhejiang will use digital trade and women's development as a bridge to embrace the new opportunities brought by artificial intelligence, inspiring women to become dream-chasers of digital technology; explore new horizons in digital trade, supporting women to be pioneers riding the tide of the digital economy; and build a new ecosystem for digital governance, empowering women to become vanguards of the digital-smart society, thereby promoting the construction of a more equal, inclusive, and equitable digital future.

During the meeting, the pilot program under the Global Exchange and Cooperation Center for Digital Empowerment of Women was officially launched across ten provinces and municipalities, with women's federations from Zhejiang, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, Fujian, Hubei, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, and Guizhou jointly initiating pilot workstations.

The "Hangzhou Declaration on Global Digital Empowerment for Women's Development" was officially released, proposing to jointly establish an exchange and cooperation mechanism for the digital empowerment of women's development, jointly promote a mechanism for enhancing women's digital capacity, jointly advance an innovation and entrepreneurship mechanism for women in the digital era, and jointly build a gender-responsive digital governance mechanism, so that the light of digital civilization may shine on every woman and child, benefit every family, and illuminate the shared bright future of humanity.

During the keynote speech session, female representatives including Han Xiqiu, Vice President of China Women's Association for Science and Technology and Research Fellow at the Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources; Tu Hongyan, President of the Zhejiang Provincial Women Entrepreneurs Association and Chairperson of Wensli Group; Wen Jia, Alibaba Partner; and Malaysian entrepreneur Sasibai Kimis addressed the theme "How can digital technology become an accelerator for women's development", sharing profound insights and practical cases on how digital technology breaks down barriers, restructures resources, and opens new pathways for women's innovation and entrepreneurship.

Digital Education: Generations Hand in Hand for a Smart Tomorrow

During the exchange session, four face-to-face Academia-Industry dialogues were conducted, centered on such themes as Digital Education, AI & Home Services, Digital E-commerce, and Digital Empowerment for Women's Organizations.

The dialogue session commenced with a tech-infused performance titled "AI Fun Class" by the Child-Friendly Observation Group. Children from Hangzhou Baochu Pagoda Experimental School demonstrated the achievements of AI literacy education through interaction with their self- programmed robots.

Zhang Hua, head of Hangzhou Yule Planet Technology Co., Ltd., shared how AI technology enables children to "learn through play and hands-on experience," cultivating future-oriented innovative thinking.

Qian Tianran, Founder and CEO of UpUp Talent, shared a heartwarming story from a mother's perspective about how her  own curiosity guided her child to explore technology.

Chikodili Thelma Ibeh, Founder of the Faslearn online education platform in Nigeria, shared how AI literacy education and lightweight technology can cultivate future-oriented digital literacy and bridge the educational gap.

AI&Home Services: AI Bringing Warmth to Every Household

The dialogue focused on the application prospects of AI in improving family life and services, demonstrating the technological warmth of AI in elderly care, child rearing, and caring for children with special needs.

Professor Jiang Hanqing from Westlake University introduced the robot with flexible robotic arm developed by his team. It’s characteristic of being "strong when encountering strength, gentle when encountering weakness", which allows it to provide safe hugs like Baymax, making robots warm and reliable partners in the home.

Ji Hongli, Founder and CTO of Jianpei Technology, through a case where a sudden atrial fibrillation of an elderly person was successfully detected in the early morning, illustrated the concept of "AI for Good" in the company's AI health monitoring system and its humanized design featuring precise early warning and coordinated rescue .

Zhang Shengnan, Founding Member of BrainCo Technology, shared how brain-machine interface(BMI) combined with AI technology assists in the intervention training of children with autism.

Digital E-commerce: Digital Trade Ignites Women's Entrepreneurial Dreams

The dialogue focused on how women can realize their value with the help of digital platforms, exploring how digital e-commerce empowers women's entrepreneurship.

He Lihong, General Manager of Yiwu Bozhong Stationery Co., Ltd. and Chairperson of Women's Federation of Quality Products Going Global Initiative in Jinhua, shared successful experiences of how women can leverage digital platforms to explore global markets, helping them turn "small businesses" into "global brands". She encouraged female entrepreneurs to engage with the internet, build personal IP, and utilize digital platforms like Chinagoods to open a global store with "one click".

Hou Ning from Joy Media shared a typical case of a cleaning lady transforming into a live streamer. Their platform, through four major systems–capability empowerment, support and guarantees, diverse income sources, and community growth–builds a ecosystem of "sense of belonging and support" for female hosts.

Yao Xiaofei, one of UNCTAD's first Digital Economy Women Leaders Advocates, called for empowering women worldwide through the Digital Silk Road.

Digital  Empowerment of Women's Organizations: Building Strong Bridge for Women's Development

Women's federations from Zhejiang, Chongqing, and Fujian shared their practices in the digital transformation of women's federation work.

Wu Hongmei, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and President of the Zhejiang Provincial Women's Federation, outlined three key areas of their digital initiative: focusing on "digital literacy" to enhance the digital capabilities of women's federation officials; focusing on "digital scenarios" to build application scenarios such as "AI-Powered Family Education" ,"AI-Powered Home Services", and "AI-Powered Family Dispute Mediation"; and focusing on "digital momentum" to empower women in Zhejiang, across China and around the world through legislation, hosting innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, academia-industry conference, and training programs.

Peng Ye, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and President of the Chongqing Municipal Women's Federation, shared experience in the construction of the "Yuhao Shuchuang" platform, while Lai Qianbin, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the Fujian Provincial Women's Federation, shared the talent cultivation initiative "Every Village Has a Female Live Streamer".

Under the guidance of the All-China Women's Federation and the Global Exchange and Cooperation Center for Digital Empowerment of Women, the event was co-hosted by the Zhejiang Provincial Women's Federation, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce and China Women's University, and undertaken by the Hangzhou Women's Federation and Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce.

During the event, children from the Child-Friendly Observation Group visited the Global Digital Trade Expo, experiencing various on-site AI application scenarios and feeling the charm of digital technology up close.