ENG-2006 — Page 253

Social Welfare 205

bureaux and departments now have Gender Focal Points through which matters concerning women's interest and status can be channelled.

As for the empowerment of women, the Women's Commission aims to better equip women for life's challenges and to create an enabling environment for them to develop. The commission has reviewed and suggested improvements to a number of services for women to ensure their appropriateness, adequacy and quality. It promotes development of new service models and good empowerment practices. To enhance women's participation in advisory and statutory bodies (ASBs), the commission has obtained the Government's agreement to take gender composition into account in making appointments to these bodies. An initial benchmark has been set for appointments to ASBS to comprise at least 25 per cent of women. The introduction in March 2004 of an innovative and flexible learning mode, called the Capacity Building Mileage Programme, was a major step towards helping women develop to their full potential. The programme seeks to enhance women's all-round abilities and promote life skills. The programme is carried out on a three-year trial basis in collaboration with the Open University of Hong Kong, a radio station and more than 70 women's groups and NGOs, with funding support from the Lotteries Fund. Since the launch of the programme, 27 radio courses and nine classroom courses have been developed. More than 14 200 women had enrolled in the programme by the end of 2006, a figure that does not include the large audience reached through the radio programmes.

Home Pages

Health, Welfare and Food Bureau: www.hwfb.gov.hk

Social Welfare Department: www.swd.gov.hk

Community Investment and Inclusion Fund: www.hwfb.gov.hk/ciif Women's Commission: www.women.gov.hk