On Friday, October 13, 2017，Asia Initiatives organized its 16th annual gala. Yue-Sai Kan along with two inspirational women, Gloria Steinem and Eva Haller won the Ban Ki-moon Award.
The award was instituted in Mr. Ban Ki-moon's name to honor the Secretary General’s important contributions to women’s issues, including his important role in the creation of the UN Women, his participation in the establishment of the first high-level panel on women’s economic empowerment, and his work reducing the gender wage gap within the UN itself while increasing the number of women in senior management by over 40 percent.
The delightful evening honored multifaceted elements of courage and compassion and took the audience on an enlightening journey. Panel discussions featured icons like the honorable Mr. Ban Ki-moon the 8th Secretary General of the United Nations, Yue-Sai Kan, Gloria Steinem and Dr. Eva Haller, all of whom brought amazing and unique perspectives on their generosity, perseverance, and commitment to closing the gender gap. A well-attended event with personalities from all walks of life such as New York City leaders, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Ambassador Cho Tae-yul (Permanent Mission of Republic of Korea to the UN), Madame Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka(Executive Director of UN Women) and Madame Ban Soon-taek to name a few.
Secretary General Ban stated, “It is such an honor for me to be able to recognize these amazing women. During my tenure as Secretary General, I always worked to make women’s empowerment a top priority and I can see that Asia Initiatives is carrying on that legacy.”
Yue-Sai Kan was awarded the Ban Ki-moon Social Entrepreneurship Award. As a veteran television personality in China and America, she is an entrepreneur as well as an Emmy-winning Chinese-American television producer/host. She served as a ‘Say Yes to Children’ Ambassador of UNICEF, and has dedicated her life to many humanitarian causes, including building libraries and schools for underserved communities in China. She also moderated the panel discussion and graced the stage with her poise and sense of humor.
It was a night to remember, where philanthropy and leadership came together and held the hourglass of the future in the name of vision, commitment and action to uplift humanity.