(March 8, 2013, Guangzhou) The first phase of “Love Ideas – Women’s Project Guangdong” is open to public voting for two week beginning from March 8. A ceremony was held today in Guangzhou to kick off the voting period.
The Guangdong Provincial Government and the Li Ka Shing Foundation each contributed RMB 10 million to launch this innovative project aimed at improving the well-being of women. The project is implemented by the Provincial Working Committee for Children and Women and encourages social participation by various social groups as well as the larger Guangdong community to work towards a more gender equality environment.
Social organizations in the Guangdong Province were invited to submit proposals online from December 17, 2012 to February 8, 2013. Of the 1,000 proposals received during this period, 60%, or 603, fall under the community welfare category, 17%, or 169, fall under the education category, and the remaining 227 applications belong in the healthcare, culture and other categories. The innovative ideas aim to serve a wide spectrum of underprivileged women beneficiaries in over 20 cities and municipalities in Guangdong.
Applicants requested grant amounts ranging from RMB 50,000 to RMB 1 million to advance their objectives of building capacity in Guangdong. 25%, or 253 proposals, requested RMB 50,000 less. 47%, or 472 proposals, sought RMB 50,000 – 100,000. Another 187 applicants, or 19%, requested RMB 100,000 to 500,000. And 9%, or 88 applicants, requested RMB 500,000 to RMB 1 million. Following a screening process to ensure that proposals met the stated terms and conditions, 779 have been uploaded to a proprietary online platform for public voting. 88 projects spanning the different categories are expected to receive grant amounts ranging from RMB50,000 to RMB 1 million to advance initiatives in education, healthcare, culture and welfare.
