Pharmaceutical and Medical Packaging News Magazine
PMPN Article Index

Originally Published March 1998

OUR VIEW

Delegation on the Road to China

Women in Packaging invites women packaging executives to meet with Chinese leaders and to tour Chinese companies.

JoAnn R. Hines, founding executive director, Women in Packaging Inc.

Women in Packaging Inc. (WP; Kennesaw, GA) was recently selected by the China Women's Association for Science and Technology (CWAST) from more than 600 international women's professional organizations to assemble a delegation of packaging professionals to visit China. To execute this historic event, WP has partnered with the China Association for Science and Technology and CWAST. WP members and professionals in the packaging and related science industries are encouraged to become part of this unique experience.

This delegation has the potential to open many doors for U.S. packaging companies. What we accomplish during this trip can affect many generations of women in the United States and China. It also allows us to learn firsthand about women in business in Asia as well as internationally. Any company participating in this delegation will reap its investment tenfold.

If you are doing business or are interested in competing in China, a delegate can be your liaison to introduce your company to Chinese leaders. We will make arrangements to pair delegates with Chinese professionals for a day-long individual exchange. They will also visit a Chinese company with similar professional interests. The impact of this distinctive global partner-ing will encourage long-term business opportunities. Participants should return home with strategies, applications, and methodologies to improve their business.

The mission of this delegation is to

• Develop a strategy for each delegate's participation.

• Establish a continuing relationship between the delegate and her direct Chinese professional counterpart that bridges cultural differences.

• Gain an understanding of women's experiences in business development and the professional opportunities for women in China.

• Strengthen the wealth-creating abilities of delegates and promote economic development to create innovative and effective change in the business culture.

• Ensure the effectiveness of the executive development programs, educational seminars, and cultural-exchange workshops upon our return to the United States.

• Provide delegates and their partners with information, training, and technical assistance to enable them to improve their economic status.

• Create a document as evidence of the collaboration between two entirely different countries to share information, stimulate change, and foster understanding.

• Encourage women to participate in packaging technology and marketing in North America and Asia.

• Encourage companies and universities to utilize the relationship developed with Chinese experts to address packaging and environmental issues.

Beginning in Beijing on April 24 with an introduction to women's experience in business in China, the visit will include discussions on women's issues in business development, women in the workplace, women in Chinese society, and the advancements women have made in business. Chinese experts in packaging and environmental issues will give formal presentations based on the status and perspective of commodity packaging in China.

The delegation will visit Nanjing, Wuxi, and Shanghai. In each city, delegates will tour packaging facilities ranging from the highly automated to the less modern.

JoAnn R. Hines is also president of GlobalPak, a packaging consulting firm. For more details on the delegation to China, visit WP's Web site at http:// www.napco.com/wp/index.html, E-mail WP at Pack WM@aol.com, or send a fax to 770/ 928-2338.