WOMEN

EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR

Souvenir
programme book.
 WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR

It's time to awaken the fire within you at the

first Women Empowerment Symposium and
let your brilliance shine.

You are strong, powerful, and capable of

achieving anything you set your mind to.
You have the power to make a positive
impact on the world and inspire those
around you.

It's time to embrace your unique qualities

and embrace your feminine energy. Don't let
anyone dim your light or tell you that you're
not enough. You are enough, and you are
worthy of love, respect, and success.

So, let's ignite our vibes, and empower each

other and lift each other up.

 About WOW
WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
Symposium.

Overview
Women EmpoWerment (WOW) Symposium, organised by Rotary
International District 3300 Action Group for Women Empowerment aspires
to bring women together from all walks of life, to inspire and empower
them to follow their personal aspirations and professional dreams, and
subsequently play important roles in building their communities.

Objectives
We have lined up dynamic and inspiring trailblazers to share their stories
and insights to ignite the vibes of the participants - by inspiring and
empowering them to:
understand and be cognizant of issues that have important impacts
on girls and women
ponder and reflect on their lives and be true to their life purpose
create change and speak up for what they believe
break rules and take calculated risks, and embrace seemingly
insurmountable challenges

Symposium Navigation and Takeaways

Panel Discussion
Obtain different professional viewpoints and perspectives while being
cognizant of issues impacting girls and women
Breakout Sessions
Relate to the scenes drawn by the session leaders
Engage in the workshops led by the facilitators
Map action items to be implemented/applied (based on the breakout
tracks)
Personal Sharings and Sessions
Be inspired by the sharing and motivated to take positive actions for
self-improvement
Be "jolted" to awakening by new knowledge gained
 WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
IvY Awards
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
nominations.
Women, like the evergreen IvY, are able to rise and thrive under difficult
circumstances. The spirit of women is a source of nourishment for other
women to reach greater heights. The IvY is versatile and ornamental, but
some species are poisonous and like women, must be respected.

Ms Juliana Teh Ms Tania Lee Ms Navi Indran Pillai Ms Millie Yong

Beng Choo

Dato Dr Florance Rachel Yeoh Li Wen Dr. Nithiya

Manoranjitham Sinniah Thiahhan

Ivy A W A R D

Dato’ Shyamala Nik Nasha Damia Ms Kalavathy

Alagendra Khan Raman

Ms Puspavali Madam Su Se Hwa Ms Prema Thiyagu Ms Selvamalar

Mahalingam Selvaraju

Puan Sri Siew Yong Ms Sarojeni V. Ms Yogeswary S Datin Emeritus

Gnanalingam Rengam Veloo Professor Dr Lucy
Lum Chai See
 WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Foreword by the
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
guest of honour.

It is an honour to gather with you all as we celebrate the incredible women who
have made a difference in our communities.

As an esteemed global service organisation with a strong track record of

humanitarian efforts, Rotary International District 3300 has been making a
significant impact in empowering women. Particularly noteworthy is the work of
the District Action Group on Women Empowerment, which has been
instrumental in organising this event and introducing the Ivy Award to honour the
unsung heroines who have significantly contributed to serving others.

In this context, it is heartening to note that the Malaysia Madani initiative of

promoting women's empowerment aligns with Rotary International's efforts. By
recognising women’s important role in society, both Rotary International and
Malaysia Madani are committed to providing women with equal opportunities for
economic and social advancement.

The theme of this conference, Ignite Your Vibes, encourages us to tap into the
energy within ourselves and unleash our full potential. As women, we often
underestimate the power we hold and the impact we can make. But when we
come together, we create an unstoppable force.

Throughout this conference, we will hear from women who have blazed trails in
their respective fields, broken down barriers, and overcome obstacles to make a
difference in the world. We will learn from their experiences, gain inspiration, and
leave with renewed purpose.

I encourage you to embrace this opportunity to connect with like-minded women

and celebrate the incredible achievements of the unsung heroines in our
communities.

Let us ignite our vibes and create a brighter future for all..

YBrs. Dr. Wan Nur Ibtisam binti

Wan Ismail
Director General
Department of Women Development
Ministry of Women, Family, and
Community Development, Malaysia
 The Program
WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
(morning).

8.30 am Registration
9.00 am SYMPOSIUM OPENING

Welcome Address by MS KIRENJIT KAUR / Chair, District Action Group on

Women Empowerment and Past District Governor, Rotary International
District 3300

My Story - Against All Odds by MS NEROSHA KRISHNAN / Rotary WoW

Inspiration Recognition Recipient

Award Presentation by DATO' BINDI RAJASEGARAN / Past District

Governor, Rotary International District 3300

WoW Projects – Empowering Women by MS SUSAN TU / Chair, WoW

Funding with Yayasan Kelab-Kelab Rotary Malaysia

Officiating Address by YBRS. DR. WAN NUR IBTISAM BINTI WAN ISMAIL /
Director General, Department of Women Development, Ministry of
Women, Family, and Community Development, Malaysia

10.15 am HELLO!COFFEE

10.45 am PANEL DISCUSSION

Building Resilience - Creating A Positive Environment
Moderator: MS ANNIE TAN / Inspirational Speaker, Trainer, Coach & Author
Panelists:
DATO' DR HARTINI ZAINUDIN/ Founder, Yayasan Chow Kit Child-Crisis
Center
DR ZAHURIN MOHAMED / Entrepreneur & Women Empowerment
Advocate
MR EDWARD KHOO / District Governor-Nominee Designate, Rotary
International District 3300
MS FU-EN YEE / International Celebrity, Psychotherapist, Speaker &
Author

11.45 am THE WORLD OF CYBERCRIMES: THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY

Session Leader: MS GEETHA RUBASUNDRAM CA (M) ACMA. CGMA MSC./
Director-Governance and Sustainability, Advicecube Consultancy
Moderator: MR POO CHING LOONG / Exco Member, Rotary International
District Action Group on Women Empowerment
 WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
The Program
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
(afternoon).
12.15 pm IGNITE YOUR VIBES WORKSHOPS

TRACK 1: ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRACK 2: WORKPLACE

Empowering Yourself and Making Building Resilience during Challenging
Yourself a Priority Times

Session Leader: MS CELINA JOSEPH/ Session Leader: MS SIAMY TAN /

Entrepreneur, Self-Taught Culinary Architect turned Community
Wizard and National Association of Leader,Personal Development Trainer
Women Entrepreneurs (NAWEM) and Corporate Team Building Coach
Moderator: MS RAJI RATNAM / District Moderator: MS ALICE IMM / District
Action Group on Women Empowerment Action Group on Women Empowerment

TRACK 3: YOUR BRAND TRACK 4: BEING A WOMAN

Connecting Your Heart and Your Mind Be the Woman You Choose to Be

Session Leader: MS ADELINE HAYDEN / Session Leader: DATO' DR FLORANCE

Chief Corporate Consultant, Rantau PR MANORANJITNAM SINNIAH /
Moderator: MS VANESSA CHONG / District Founder/President, Pertubuhan
Action Group on Women Empowerment Kebajikan Sneham Malaysia, Board of
Directors, Penang Women's
Development Corporation
Moderator: MS YOGES VERASUNTHARAM
/ District Action Group on Women
Empowerment

1.15 pm NETWORKING LUNCH

2.15 pm CHALLENGING THE NORM – DEDICATION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Season Leader: DCP DATO' SASIKALA DEVI A/P SUBRAMANIAM/ Deputy Chief
Police Officer, Selangor
Moderator: DATO' AZLIN AHMAD SHAHARBI / Managing Partner, Azlin Shahrabi
& Associates. and Founder, SembangLegal.com

2.45 pm THE SILENT STRUGGLE – MAINTAINING A BALANCE

Season Leader: Dr AMEER SIDDIQUE / Consultant Psychiatrist, Department of
Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya
Moderator: MS HERY DEHAAN / District Action Group on Women
Empowerment
 WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
The Program
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
(afternoon).

3.15 pm PANEL DISCUSSION

Empowering Girls through Education and Volunteerism
Moderator: MS SAMANTHA TANG /Community Manager of Women Will
Penang (a Grow with Google Program)
Panelists:
DATIN DR (H.C) HARTINI BINTI OSMAN / G100 Global Chair for
Philanthrophy Business and Poverty Eradication, President and
Group Managing Director of Prihatin Group of Companies
MS ANJA JULIAH ABU BAKAR / Board of Studies, Albukhary
International University, Adjunct Professor-Social Entrepreneurship,
UNITAR, International Fellow-Women Studies, Universiti Sains
Malaysia
MR GURMEET GILL / Charter President, Rotary Club of Mont Kiara
Gateway, Rotary International District 3300 Youth Leadership
(RYLA) Chairman
MR HANK KHOO / Founder and CEO of HANKidz; and Chief Trainer,
Transforming Children to Leaders

4.15 pm PRIORITISING DIGITAL LITERACY AMONG WOMEN

Session Leader: MR CHARLES SANTIAGO / Former Klang Member of
Parliament
Moderator: MS TERESA BENEDICT / District Action Group on Women
Empowerment

4.35 pm SYMPOSIUM CLOSING

Conference Review by MS SITI SUBAIDAH MUSTAFFA / Symposium

Programme Director and Past District Governor, Rotary
International D3300

Lucky Draws

Closing Address by DR KRISHNA KUMAR / District Governor, Rotary

International District 3300

5.00 pm EVENT ENDS - NETWORKING TEA

 Words of Wisdom

Ladies, don't ever let

anyone tell you
you are past your
prime.

Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh

Best Actress Oscar
Winner 2023

WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
 About District Action Group
on Women Empowerment.

Overview
District Action Group for Women Empowerment was established on 22
February 2022. However, it all started with a women fellowship group Voice
of Influence (VOI) under the District Committee for Women Empowerment.

The first major endeavor was in establishing the Women Empowerment

Funds, with funds raised totaling to RM102,500 and supported by Yayasan
Kelab-Kelab Rotary Malaysia (YKKRM) on 27 March 2022.

As at October 2022, 18 Rotary Clubs, corporations and individuals have

contributed a total of RM104,500.00 to Women Empowerment Funds (WEF)
since the launch.

Objectives
Expand Rotary’s outreach to change lives by supporting more projects
benefitting girls and women especially abused women, single mothers
and needy community.
Engage Rotarians, Rotary Clubs, public, etc. to support our mission of
empowering girls and women by contributing to WEF/YKKRM.
Encourage corporations to carry out big CSR projects with Rotary Clubs
nationwide by contributing to WEF/YKKRM.
Engage with Ministry of Women, Family & Community Devt, NGOs, etc.
with Rotary Clubs to carry out projects empowering girls and women.

Our Strength
Under Rotary International District 3300 only (which is covering half of
Rotary Malaysia's total population), there are >2,200 Rotarians. Out of
this, 500 (or 25% of the Rotary population) are women.
District 3300 has 88 Rotary Clubs in Negeri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur,
Selangor, Perak, Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Perlis, Pahang, Terengganu and
Kelantan

WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
 WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Our Journey &
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
Funding Avenues.

Milestones
14 FEBRUARY 2022
Yayasan Kelab-Kelab Rotary Malaysia supported the Women
Empowerment Funds wtith District Action Group on Women
Empowerment's RM100,000 donation

22 FEBRUARY 2022
District Governor Dato' Bindi Rajasegaran approved the
establishment of District Action Group for Women
Empowerment (DAG-WOW)

24 FEBRUARY 2022
Fund-raising mobilised in full steam!

4 MARCH 2022
DAG-WOW FB group was set up and in 4 days garnered 500
members

27 MARCH 2022
Launching Women Empowerment Funds with its first RM100,000.

The journey continues in changing the lives of children and

women.....

Resources

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT GRANT

Project Value: Less than or up to RM10k

ROTARY GLOBAL GRANT

Project Value: RM150 k - 200k

CIMB GRANT
Project Value: Up to RM50k

JABATAN PEMBANGUNAN WANITA (JPW)

Project Value: To propose within JPW focus areas
 Women Empowerment
Projects by Rotary Clubs.

UNDER THE WOMEN EMPOWERMENT FUNDS WITH

YAYASAN KELAB-KELAB ROTARY MALAYSIA

Accounting & Tax Planning Course

by the Rotary Club of Cheras
Partnering with Pusat Wanita Berdaya Balakong, ADUN Balakong and
Excellent CFO Sdn Bhd, this project will benefit 30 committed women.

Beauty and Spa Diploma

by the Rotary Club of Bandar Utama
This is a guaranteed job placement by BG Wellness Sdn Bhd and
stands to empower 10 aspiring women.

WAO Grub Hub Project

by the Rotary Club of KL City Centre
Targeting 15 dedicated women to develop their confidence and
entrepreneurship with Women Aid Organisation as the project partner.

Sewing Classes for Single Mothers

by the Rotary Club of Teluk Intan
Training 15 talented women with guaranteed employment at Nyok Lan
Garments Sdn Bhd.

WOW Symposium BEST Skills Training

by the Rotary Club of Central Damansara
With training partners Microsoft Malaysia, Brickfields Asia College (BAC)
and National Coalition for Mental Wellbeing (NCMW), BEST aims to train
50 ambitious and committed women.

WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Special Mention
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
and thank you.

Trustee Chairman Dr Paul CK Lee &

Yayasan Kelab-Kelab Rotary
Malaysia
Supporting in the establishment of the Women
Empowerment Funds (WEF) and also projects
undertaken by Rotary Clubs through WEF.

Edward Khoo
Rotary Club of KL City Centre
Contributing RM10,000.00 to event organising.

Shereen Bon
Rotary Club of Royal Dhaka
Contributing RM5,100.00 to event organising and
the production of the souvenir bags

Rotary Club of Damansara

Partnering with District Action Group on Women
Empowerment in organising WOW Symposium
as the Project Partnership Club.
 WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Acknowledment
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
and appreciation.

Heartfelt gratitude to partners and sponsors.

DATO' JIMMY LIM

Rotary Club of KL DiRaja @ RM2,000.00
KSI STRATEGIC INSTITUTE FOR ASIA PACIFIC @ RM1,000.00
KHOO BOON HAN
Rotary Club of Bukit Bintang @ RM1,000.00
DATO' DR SIVA ANANTHAN
Rotary Club of Greater Kuala Lumpur @ RM1,000.00
MAPLE SIM
Rotary Club of Cheras @ RM500.00
SUSAN TU
Rotary Club of Cheras @ RM500.00
JUDY CHONG
Rotary Club of Bandar Utama @ RM500.00
ALLISON FONG
Rotary Club of Bandar Utama @ RM500.00

Sincerest appreciation
YBRS. DR. WAN NUR IBTISAM BINTI WAN ISMAIL
Director General, Department of Women Development
Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development, Malaysia
DR. KRISHNA KUMAR & PUSHPA
Rotary International District Governor and First Lady
SPEAKERS
PANELISTS
MODERATORS
EXHIBITORS
THE PEARL, KUALA LUMPUR

And most importantly thank you to all our

wonderful and amazing participants
 WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Behind closed
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
scene and stage.

District Action Group on Sympoisum

Women Empowerment Working Committee.

Chair: Organising Chair:

Kirenjit Kaur Thilagavathy Pillai
Honorary Treasurer: Advisor:
Premjeet Kaur Kirenjit Kaur
Deputy Treasurer: Program Director:
Muges Siti Subaidah Mustaffa
Honorary Secretary: IvY Award Director:
Yasmin Yusof Dato' Bindi Rajasegaran
Deputy Secretary: Sponsorship:
Alison Tan Susan Tu
Fundraising Coordinator: Accounts & Finance
Susan Tu Premjeet Kaur & Muges
Deputy, Fundraising: Secretarial, Design and Publications:
Stephanie Wong Alison Tan
Projects Coordinator: Media:
Judy Chong Hery Dehaan
Deputy, Projects: Emcees:
Fong Seow Kai Chuan Mahendran & Bronya
NGO Liaison: Floor Managers:
Siti Subaidah Mustaffa Alison Tan & Yoges Verasuntharam
Deputy, NGO Liason: Stage Managers:
Cordelia Tan Raji Ratnam & Cordelia Tan
Government Liaison: Breakout Rooms:
Henry John Sangkari, Fong, Angelina & Muges
Public Image/IT: Front Desk - Registration and Reception:
Poo Ching Loong Michelle, Vivian & Ily
Deputy, Public Image/IT: Table Setting and Ushering:
Alison Tan Teresa, Ghaurry & Shanthi
Decor, Theme and Booths:
Angelina
AV Controls:
Poo Ching Loong
Mementos:
Fong & Ghaurry
Videography and Photography:
Johnson Wey
Rotaractors and Volunteers:
Raji Ratnam
 WOMEN
EMPOWERMENT
SYMPOSIUM
Ignite Your Vibes
13 TH MAY 2023
THE PEARL HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR

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