The 2026 Hong Kong Family & Women Development Summit was held today, attracting more than 1,200 representatives from local and Greater Bay Area women’s groups, as well as the business and relevant service sectors to register and participate.

The summit adopted the theme “Shaping Women’s Strengths and Harnessing a Shared Future for Families”, and aimed to take women’s development and family building to the next level.

State Councillor Shen Yiqin, who also heads the State Council’s National Working Committee on Children & Women, and chairs the All-China Women’s Federation, officiated at the summit and delivered an opening address. Chief Executive John Lee gave remarks at the opening ceremony.

In his remarks, Mr Lee noted that the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women was successfully convened in Beijing last year, injecting new momentum into promoting global gender equality and the all-round development of women.

President Xi Jinping put forward four proposals in the meeting - jointly foster an enabling environment for women’s growth and development, jointly cultivate powerful momentum for the high-quality development of women’s causes, jointly develop governance frameworks to protect women’s rights and interests, and jointly write a new chapter in promoting global co-operation on women.

These important proposals, Mr Lee said, provide clear direction for the development of women’s causes, inspiring broader consensus-building and taking more pragmatic actions to fully promote the all-round development of women.

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The Chief Executive noted that his policy rationale is to build Hong Kong into a caring and inclusive home, with the family at its core.

Women’s development and family building complement each other. The current-term Government has actively implemented various measures to lay a solid foundation in these two aspects.

Looking ahead, Mr Lee said the Government will continue to improve the support policies for women in areas such as employment and entrepreneurship, lifelong learning, and physical and mental well-being, in order to sustain an environment conducive to women’s development.

Further efforts will also be made to promote the importance of family, family education and family values, and to advocate Chinese traditional virtues, thus fostering a caring and inclusive community, he added.

International Organization for Mediation Secretary-General Prof Teresa Cheng; Head of Office (ad interim) of UN Women China Wang Chuqiao; Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak; and Women’s Commission Chairperson Eliza Chan gave keynote speeches at the summit.

They shared their experience and insights on women’s development in the new era, the promotion of women's rights and interests, and family building.

Addressing the summit, Miss Mak said: “Through this summit, we hope to carry forward the vision of the Beijing Meeting and implement the important proposals put forward by President Xi, so that women can see opportunities, receive support and participate in development, while families can be filled with warmth, harmony and love, and play an important role in social governance.”

Two thematic sessions were held at the summit to discuss ways to empower women to seize the opportunities of the new era, and how family cohesion provides steadfast support in times of adversity.

The summit was jointly organised by the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau, the Women’s Commission and the Family Council.

Click here for details and highlights of the summit.