sustainability

Green Summer: Rendez-Vous with Paris Olympics

In Paris, where summer Rendez-Vous is wide open,
on Seine, at Eiffel Tower, along Champs-Élysées,
blue for liberty, white for Equality, red for fraternity,
5 rings connect each other, and Olympic spirit shines over,
sports unite world and green dreams take flight.

Olympic Games, record-breaking season, gold victories, purple track, pink design, green arenas, yellow torch and red flame…Paris 2024 is absolutely one of top headlines for this summer, millions of world audience are watching, experiencing and cheering the spirit and celebration of sports.

Now September has just started, summer continues until the end of month. Paris 2024 returned for the 2nd summer rendez-vous with the Paralympic Games, which opened last Wednesday at the Place de la Concorde, following by the popular athletes parade walked through the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It was nearly 2 kms from the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile to Place de la Concorde, a super big ceremony full of music, dance, carnival lights and evening sunset.

For the 1st time in history, the Paralympics had the opening ceremony outside of a stadium, in the open space and crowded streets right at the heart of Paris. 2 weeks after the Summer Olympics’ successful completion, the French capital was transformed into a huge sports ground again in tricolor style of blue, white and red.

17th Summer Paralympics (Wed Aug 28 – Sun Sept 8, 2024)

Paris hosts its Paralympic Games for the 1st time, it’s also the 1st Summer Paralympics and the 2nd Paralympics to take place in France, after the 2 cities of France held the 1st Winter Paralympics in 1992. This summer, Paris games bring together around 4,400 athletes from a record of 168 delegations all over the world, to compete each other in 549 medal events across 22 sports.

The Paralympics history began 76 years ago in Stoke Mandeville, a village in England as the historic origin and symbolic birthplace. In 1960, the very 1st Paralympic Games was held in Rome, Italy. Since then, the para sports have developed quickly alongside the Olympic Games.

Paris 2024 set a new tradition in Paralympics history, to promote Stock Mandeville as the official starting place for the Paralympic flame from this year. The Paralympic Flame was lit in Stock Mandeville 4 days before the opening on August 28, embarked a unique journey and crossed the sea to France. 24 British athletes symbolically carried it from UK, and entered the Channel Tunnel to meet halfway with 24 French athletes, who took over the flame and went through the Channel Tunnel to Calais, a port city in northern France.

Then it’s split into 12 separate flames, which were spread widely and formed a ring around the country to launch the torch relay on day 3. One of them was lit specially in Paris on Aug. 25 to pay tribute to the history, and commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of the French capital during World War II.

On opening day, 12 flames were all delivered to Central Paris to match 12 days of the Games. A total of 1200 torchbearers carried the flames over 50 cities in different parts of the Relay, including key volunteers, former and future Paralympians, disability support workers and caregivers etc.

The relay was ended and 12 flames became only one again to ignite the modern cauldron balloon, which is designed like a 30 meter tall helium sphere and represents freedom as part of French National motto: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, fraternity). In the opening ceremony, the hot air balloon was lighted up in glowed gold and rose into the sky, to keep floating above Jardin des Tuileries. While the Paralympic flame shines over Paris with the flying cauldron, the Paralympics continue on day by day with the intense competition until this Sunday.

Spirit in Motion is the Paralympic motto, to represent Paralympian’s

strong will and inspiring performance: always moving forward and

never giving up.

33rd Summer Olympics (July 26 -Aug. 11, 2024)

As the biggest event ever organized in France, Paris 2024 launched a unique outdoor ceremony to open up the Games on July 26. For the 1st time in Olympic history, the opening ceremony was held on a flowing water outside of an arena, featuring the athletes parade sailed along the river Seine by electric boats through the center of Paris.

The both banks were covered by a big crowd of 2200 spectators, star-filled shows, artistic performance and splendid fireworks…From Eiffel Tower to Louvre Pyramid, from Notre Dame Cathedral to Grand Palace, many iconic monuments and landmarks were illuminated as a perfect backdrop, the beautiful river Seine was transformed to a world stage in French tricolor of blue, white and red.

100 years later, Paris hosted Summer Olympics again, much bigger and wider. 206 countries joined Paris 2024, over 10 thousand athletes participated in 329 medal events, for a total of 32 sports and 48 disciplines including 4 newly added sports: skate boarding, sport climbing, surfing and breaking.

In 1900, Paris had its 1st Summer Olympics with 26 nations, around 1200 athletes competed 19 sports and 21 disciplines in a total of 95 medal events. In July 1924, Paris held its 2nd Summer Olympics with 44 participating nations, around 3000 athletes competed in 126 medal events for 17 sports and 23 disciplines. More special about Paris 2024, which also marks a centenary of the 1st Winter Olympics in France’s Chamonix. With Paris 2024, the French capital became one of the 2 cities in the world to host 3 times of Summer Olympics right after a century.

19 days of competition and 754 sporting sessions, Paris 2024 has 120 Olympic records broken in 10 disciplines, and 32 world records broken in 8 disciplines including swimming, track cycling, sport climbing, archery and athletics etc. About 10 millions of spectators gathered in Paris, packed over 30 sports venues and tons of celebration sites, plus billions of worldwide viewers and followers, Paris is truly this summer’s sporting capital of the world.

Besides 328 gold medal winners in Paris 2024, a total of 5084 medals were won by over 80 NOCs (National Olympic Committees), and each of them is made by using 18 grams of original iron from the Eiffel Tower. With an environmental approach and sustainable purposes, the production of medals are 100% recycled and certified with reusable metal and materials.

As the most prestigious award of Paris 2024, medals are designed to make a symbolic and eco-friendly craft, with a creative concept inspired by Olympic history and French heritage. On the front side, a piece of genuine iron of the Eiffel Tower is formed a hexagon in its original color, to display France’s geometrical shape and Paris 2024 emblem in the middle, surrounded by smooth lines and radiant colors. On the back side of, it’s the Greek goddess of victory Athena Nike and the Panathenaic Stadium in the middle to represent the modern Olympic Games history since 1896, images of the Acropolis of Athens and the Eiffel Tower are shown as the backdrop, for a combination of the ancient Games in Greece and the rebirth of modern Olympics by French initiative.

L’important, n’est pas de gagner, c’est de participer.
The important thing is not to win, it is to take part.

-Pierre de Coubertin, pédagogue français et fondateur visionnaire des Jeux Olympiques modernes / French educator and the father of the modern Olympic Games

Sports for all

Born in Paris, Pierre de Coubertin is known as the founder of the Olympic Movement and former president of the International Olympic Committee(IOC). He was a French historian and a champion of sport in education, which led his path to be a key figure in the modern Olympic Games history over 100 years ago.

In June 1894, the 1st Olympic Congress took place in Paris to resume the Olympic Games, and the IOC was officially founded by Pierre de Coubertin’s initiative. In 1896, the 1st Summer Olympics happened in Greece, where is the home of ancient games with the birthplace of the Olympic Games in Olympia. Since then, the quadrennial Olympics have taken a Greek tradition of lighting a sacred fire for the Olympic flame, which is lit in Olympia to start the Torch relay from Greece to the host nation and city, ahead of the Games’ opening.

By unifying Olympism and Paralympism, the torch is a symbol of ancient and modern games, to carry the flame as the light and energy throughout the relay across the world. They spread the positive message of peace and unity, manifest widely the Olympic spirit and Paralympic values about sports without barriers.

The torch relays vary in time and distance for different Games, usually come with a large number of torchbearers through the routes. In Olympic history, the shortest relay occurred only about 2 days for Oslo 1952, and the longest relay lasted 142 days for Athens 2004. The longest relay was 137,000 km (85,000 mi) for the 29th Olympics, it’s Beijing 2008 global relay entitled by the Guinness World Record. Also Beijing 2008 holds a record of the most torchbearers in a single relay, where 21,800 torchbearers officially handled the torch along the route, helped bring the flame around the world to China and its capital.

This summer, the Olympic torch relay was taken 68 days and covered 3100 miles for Paris 2024, over 10 thousand torchbearers participated in the relay with a gender parity between men and women. From gender parity to equality, the torch itself also represents the Games’ identity and vision through a unique and radiant design:
– a perfect symmetry between upper and lower parts, as well as left and right parts for equality and unity of men and women respectively
– 3D waves and vibration effects on the bottom match water ripples and movements of the Seine as the heart of the city, to reflect the iconic river and its pivot role for Paris green games in open and natural spaces
– a curved shape and rounded lines with gentleness and radiance convey peace and harmony, generosity and solidarity

For the 1st time, the Olympic and Paralympic Games shared the same torch design, as well as the emblem and mascots, equality was just a driving force behind the torch making and the both Games. Besides the 3 themes of equality, water and peacefulness, the torch is distinguishable primarily by its champagne color, which drew inspiration from French wine culture with natural light to present the image of Paris 2024. The reflections of light on its polished surface, particularly showcases Paris for being known as the City of Light. Made from recycled steel, the torch became a piece of green art to embody French culture and impact through Olympic history and Paralympic movement.

Women in Sport

Over a century ago, when Pierre de Coubertin was the 2nd president of the IOC from 1896 to 1925, Paris hosted its 1st Olympics and the 2nd modern Summer Olympic Games in 1900. It was the 1st Games to include women participants, who were 22 out of nearly 1000 athletes to participate in sailing, tennis, golf, croquet and horse riding. Among them, Swiss sailor Helene de Pourtales was the 1st female Olympic champion, a historical moment was made in Paris Games.

In 1924, Paris held its 2nd Summer Olympics with the 1st Olympic Village for all athletes to stay inside. 135 women athletes attended comparing to a number of 2950 sportsmen, they participated in diving, fencing, swimming and tennis without being admitted in track and field events. In the same year, the 1st Winter Olympics took place in Chamonix, France, with a participation of around 260 athletes representing 16 nations for 16 competition events, and 11 female olympians competed in figure skating for ladies’ singles.

Right after 100 years, Paris 2024 made history as the 1st Olympics to achieve full gender parity. 5250 male and 5250 female athletes competed on the field of play with a numerical balance of 50:50, the equal representation demonstrated a great progress of diversity and inclusion on a global scale for the Olympic participation, irrespective of social background, gender, race, physical appearance, sexual orientation or political belief etc.

A total gender parity was also realized in the Paris 2024 organizing committee and the executive board, with the same number of male and female staff members for 50/50 gender balanced. Among 45,000 volunteers, women were accounted as a half. The women’s marathon was done on the final day of Paris Olympics, 3 female medalists were awarded in the closing ceremony to highlight women athletes and their performance in the Games.

From the athletes parade on the opening night to the athletes marching to close out the Games, around 196 delegations (96% of NOCs) selected a due of flag bearers with one male and one female olympians, to carry their respective flag in front of a global audience, including Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, China, UK and USA etc.

Just one day before the closing of the Summer Olympics, Paris 2024 organized a Marathon for All (Marathon Pour Tous), and more than 48,000 runners took part in this first-ever mass public event. Again, the spots were split equally between male and female participants of all abilities with a gender balanced proportion.

2 routes were open to the massive public participation, one had a longer distance of 42km to run across the Parisian region, it’s designated as a special tribute to the Women’s March from Paris to Versailles during the French Revolution in 1789. The other one was a 10km race from City Hall (Hôtel de Ville) to House of Invalides (Hôtel des Invalides), and additional 20,000 runners participated in this shorter route around the heart of Paris for a midnight marathon.

Open to all and open big, Paris 2024 made its efforts to reduce the gender-based imbalance in the both Olympic and Paralympic Games. In Paris’ 1st ever Paralympics, a record number of nearly 2000 female competitors joined this summer than ever before. Among them, 2 notable athletes include Australian Melissa Tapper and Brazilian Bruna Alexandre, who are both table tennis players to compete in both Games at Paris 2024.

As one of the world’s biggest multi-sports event, Paris Paralympics took women’s sport and the largest sports into a new dimension. Para athletics had the most competitors of 1135 athletes in 164 medal events, Para swimming was the 2nd one starring 608 athletes in 141 medal events, the 3rd one was Para table tennis with 281 athletes in 31 medal events. During the 11 days of competition, the Games were featured more medal events for woman than ever before, female paralympians represented 45% of the total athletes and contested in 235 events, which were 8 more than the last one 4 years ago.

With a fair participation and equal share of representation as much as possible, Paris 2024 has set new benchmarks for sportswomen to shine more brightly on the world stage. This Summer Olympics belonged to women athletes, who led males in the medal standings and beat many records along the way. More and more countries have women dominance to win more medals with their excellent competition:
– Australia, 30 female medals, 20 male medals, 53 total medals including 3 mixed gender medals
– Canada, 17 female medals, 9 male medals, 27 total medals including 1 mixed gender medal
– China, 50 female medals, 34 male medals, 91 total medals including 7 mixed gender medals
– Netherlands, 21 female medals, 11 male medals, 34 total medals including 2 mixed gender medals
– South Korea, 17 female medals, 10 male medals, 32 total medals including 5 mixed gender medals
– USA, 67 female medals, 52 male medals, 126 total medals including 7 mixed gender medals

At Paris Paralympics, 15 Para sports boast more female competitors than the last Summer Games, such as archery, athletics, badminton, cycling, shooting, swimming and table tennis etc. 2 of them have more females than males, 4 of them have achieved gender parity for the competitors, and 3 Para sports are almost gender balanced for the competition events:
– female competitors > males: equestrian (61F/17M), powerlifting (90F/89M)
– female competitors=males: badminton, goal ball, rowing, wheelchair basketball
– almost female competitors=males: teakwondo (60F/61M), wheelchair fencing (48F/49M), sitting volleyball (91F/96M)

Furthermore, 35 NPCs (National Paralympic Committee) featured a record number of female athletes, and 27 delegations have more female than male paralympians for competition, they are Canada, China, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden and so on. Some delegations like Mauritius, Nepal and the Refugee Paralympic Team, even made history by winning their 1st ever Paralympic medals. Among the top 5 largest delegations, China topped the medal table for the 6th consecutive participation since their debut at Athens 2004, followed by Great Britain and USA, the host nation France finished at the No. 8 position:
– China is the largest team with 282 athletes: 124 men and 158 women
– Brazil is the 2nd largest team with 255 athletes: 138 men and 117 women
– France is the 3rd largest team with 237 athletes: 155 men and 82 women
– USA is the 4th largest team with 220 athletes: 110 men and 110 women
– Great Britain is the 5th largest team with 201 athletes: 109 men and 92 women

Paris Rendez-Vous

Paris is well known for its rich history and revolutionary heritage, iconic monuments and beautiful scenery along the river Seine, feminine influence and Parisian culture of liberty, equality and fraternity (Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité).

In 18 century, Paris was the symbolic center of French Revolution for major change in social and political movements. In 19 century, Paris had the July Revolution to remove the King and fight for freedom. The historic moment of people’s marching and fighting was captured by the French artist Eugène Delacroix at that time, in his Romantic painting of Liberty Leading the People (La Liberté guidant le peuple) as one of masterpieces in that Romantic era.

A brave woman holds aloft the French tricolor flag as the Goddess of Liberty, and leads a group of people forward over the bodies of the fallen…The concept of Lady Liberty represents the rise of people’s power, and is viewed as Marianne who is the glorious symbol of the French Republic. Throughout the following 200 years, the leading female figure has presented largely in French culture and values.

This summer, Marianne as the renowned feminist symbol is the face of Paris 2024, to reflect French identity and heritage on this global platform. Marianne is the personification of France, and a universal icon embodied by influential and determined women for strength, youth and feminism. Her image was shown and designed on the emblem for Paris 2024, to represent the same values in sport: humanism, fraternity, generosity and sharing.

From lips to hair, Marianne’s face is combined with the gold medal color and the shape of the flame to signify the Olympic spirit and feminist inspiration: championship, energy, freedom and strength. More inspiration and bold creativity were unveiled at Paris 2024, 10 statues of golden women were installed to emerge majestically from the river Seine, they are feminist figures and activist heroines in the last centuries, including Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), Olympe de Gouges(1748-1793), Simone Veil(1927-2017), Alice Milliat(1884-1957), Gisèle Halimi(1927-2020), Paulette Nardal(1896-1985), Jeanne Barret(1740-1807), Christine de Pizan(1364-1431), Alice Guy(1873-1968) and Louise Michel(1830-1905).

With an equal share of the spotlight and leading heroine figures, Paris 2024 opened a new era for women in sport, women played important roles in French history and ruled this sporting summer. The successful Games sustained the strong commitment to equality, accessibility and inclusion at the largest sporting event in the world. From gender inequality to gender parity, it takes more than 100 years to develop and achieve through generations. Achieving gender equality in full takes strength, perseverance, leadership and courage, it’s a long way to come here and another long way to go further, for universal sports with inclusivity, solidarity and resilience by everyone’s participation.

Along with Marianne’s face, 2 little red Phrygian caps are also seen all over the places as the official mascots of Paris 2024. Popular and active at the major sports events around Paris, they are designed and distributed by a French sme(small and medium-sized enterprise) like soft plush toys and collectible objects, which are shown in pair to carry French spirit and values for togetherness and revolution through worldwide sports.

Historically, the Phrygian cap is a revolutionary symbol of French Republic with a renowned long tradition in many important movements. From the building of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in 1163 to the French Revolution in 1789, its appearance and strong meanings started a thousand years ago through the country’s rich history. This summer, it has a mission of liberty and freedom to get the world moving up to the Games and beyond.

Sport in all of its forms is a creator of social ties and inclusion, sports for all enable people to get involved with sport, as many as possible on a regular basis. Paris 2024 demonstrated a new progress to make the Games accessible to everyone, and welcome the entire world, from athletes to spectators, who benefit as much as possible the positive impact of the universal Games.

Associating with French motto “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”, the universal concept emphasizes the 3 Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship, which are the foundation of the Olympic movement to promote sport, culture and education for a better life. At Paris 2024, the 15 thousand athletes accessed to free medical treatment by French universal healthcare coverage. A polyclinic opened in the Olympic and Paralympic Village to accommodate the athlete residents with a wide range of free healthcare services, including cardiology, orthopedics, physiotherapy, podiatry, dermatology, sports medicine and dental etc.

This multi-functional medical centre also offered 24 hours emergence service in collaboration with the Greater Paris University Hospitals (AP-HP: Assistance publique – hôpitaux de Paris). To ensure 700 medical visits per day, nearly 3000 volunteer health professionals from all over the world worked at the center, plus about 8000 first-aiders were mobilized across the sports venues for Paris 2024.

Although the complimentary healthcare has been available to participating athletes since the 1932 Los Angeles Games, France’s UHC (Universal Health Coverage) played a big part for Paris 2024 and beyond. According to WHO (World Health Organization), France is ranked one of the highest healthcare systems to run a universal coverage for its residents, by covering most costs on hospital, physician and long term care. Today, France is one of the 73 countries in the world providing universal healthcare, along with Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Singapore and UK etc.

Sports unite the world

Ce qui est olympique est universel.

What Is Olympic Is Universal.

-Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937)

Open and green, Paris 2024 goes down in history for their colorful venues in and around Paris, record-breaking performance by athletes, impressive sustainability and inclusive on and off the field. To make it the most colorful, most diverse and most sustainable Games ever, Paris 2024 worked massively on its image and legacy with more accessibility and full gender parity, while endeavoring to promote younger, inclusive, urban and sustainable sports with the global community.

Through the modern Olympic Movement, sports have contributed to the harmonious and well-balanced development around the world. Blue, yellow, black, green and red, the 5 Olympic rings interconnect each other to represent the 5 continents united by Olympism. Plus a white background, the 6 colors symbolize the colors of all the nations and all the world’s flags for a true international emblem.

The interaction between sport, education and culture is particularly highlighted by Paris 2024, with a focus on bringing more sports to more people for local and international communities. Since day one, the Games were wide open, and delivered with the Olympic flame, which symbolizes the light of spirit, knowledge and life, then continued with the Paralympic flame that signifies peace, goodwill and hope to inspire the world.

With the groundbreaking slogan of Games Wide Open (Ouvrons Grand les Jeux), Paris 2024 was transformed into a huge open space for pubic participation and everyone can be part of it. Openness is everywhere in blue, white and red: outdoor openings, fireworks over the Seine, Parisian architecture and historic monuments, open air sports arena and tons of celebration sites…After 4 weeks of athletic achievements and sports celebrations, the flame is extinguished for Summer Games, and the torch will forever remain as the symbolic and iconic object of the Paris 2024 Games.

Now the exciting competition is finished in Paris, epic Games and unforgettable experience were created with the largest international sporting events this summer: New world records were set in many sports, accessible and inclusive competition took the stage where unity and equality succeed, more and more women take part to close the gender gap in the world of sports…There is nothing like sports, which build bridge and bring people together with exciting action and emotional celebrations.

At Stade of France, the dazzling closing ceremonies for both Games were filled with spectacular shows, artistic performance, music, dance and fireworks. The Olympic and Paralympic flags were officially handed over to the next host city – Los Angeles, where the Summer Games will take place in 4 years. After London and Paris, Los Angeles will be the 3rd city in the world to host the Summer Games for 3 times in 2028.

We spent a summer rendez-vous with lots of good times and inspirations: Olympic dreams, sporting excellence, athletes’ achievement, sustainable games, low-carbon construction and temporary infrastructure for reusing and reducing emissions…what do we remember about Paris 2024?

Open wide and going green, sustainability is the key before, during and long after the Summer Games in Paris. High tech sports gear for high performance, from chip-embedded technology to 3D digitalization, more and more green manufacturing are used for sporting products. Renewable energy, ecological transformation, circular economy, eco-friendly facilities and environmental initiatives are largely developed by Paris 2024 in many innovative ways:
– Powered by biofuel, H2 or batteries, 100% renewable energy were used for the Games, to limit diesel generator usage, and reduce a carbon footprint by half than that of previous one
– 95% preexisting venues were used and renovated, to grid-connect renewable power and offer twice as many plant-used food options
– About 5000 sq. meters of rooftop were covered with solar panels at the aquatic centre, and the seats were made with local recycled plastic
– At cafeterias, coffee tables are made from recycled badminton shuttlecocks and drone-like buoys for ecosystem
– Medals are done by the Monnaie of Paris as an eco-friendly production, each of them contains a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower. The gold and silver ones are both produced with 100% recycled and certified materials, the bronze ones are made from reused metal scraps, like an alloy of copper, tin and zinc
– The official podiums are featured with the look of the Eiffel Tower and Paris rooftops, an eco-friendly design is created with French wood and 100% recycled plastic
– Silicone replaced plastic as a highly durable and more ocean friendly material from many manufacturing, e.g. a million of silicon bracelets are made in China for the Games and they are recyclable
– Made in China, chip-embedded soccer balls are intelligent for game dynamics, to track the speed, strength and movement in real time
– The nano-coated judo mattresses are resist stains and are easier to be cleaned, they are made in China with high quality and durability to enhance protection and reduce environmental impact
– Produced by local and international manufacturers, the official mascots “ the Phryges” are plush toys using eco friendly materials: 100% recycled stuffing fibers, stitching, embroidery and packaging
– 35 thousand ping pong balls are sent from China to Paris, they are made with top quality with higher elasticity, weight and hardness tolerances. Additionally, a precise ball-serving machine debuted its automation technology in the Olympic Games for the 1st time
– 1200 drones were made in China for the opening ceremony of Paris 2024. Drones are proved as a green technology in many industries, they consume up to 94% less energy than diesel vehicles for efficient transportation
– The Olympic Village will become a new residential district of 4000 homes for 6000 people, including 25% social housing
– In the Paris metropolitan area alone, the economic activity can be generated by the Games between 6.9 and 11.1 billion in Euros.
– Around 180 thousand people got employed in Games-related jobs
– About 80% of Games suppliers are small and medium-sized businesses

vive le vert, vive la lune

A sporting summer with Paris 2024 is nearly ending, but the legacy remains for more ecosystem and sustainability, and green living is never ending. Last month, the annual Perseids lighted up the night sky with a spectacular show as one the most popular metro shower, which even had the peak time on the closing night of Paris Olympics. Up to 100 meteors per hour were visible on the night of August 11-12 in Northern Hemisphere, they were bright and colorful, what a wonderful sky show alongside of Paris Games!

This is only the beginning, more exciting sky wonders are on the way through the following months. A rare super blue moon appeared on the 19th last month as the 2nd full moon in the same month, the combination of the 2 lunar events usually occur once every 10 years, when the moon orbits at its closest point to earth. A full moon generally comes with the lunar cycle of 29.5 days in every month, and supermoons are full moons but much bigger and brighter, only about 3 or 4 ones in a year when the moon gets closer to our planet. A seasonal blue moon is also a full moon that doesn’t appear blue in color, it’s the 2nd full moon in the calendar month, more rare to display only once very 2-3 years.

Full moons are beautiful and shinning, with scientific values about potential effects and influences on earth. If you missed the one last month, there are 3 more full supermoons coming up in a row:
– Super Harvest Moon on September 18, about 357 thousand km between the moon from earth
– Super Hunter’s Moon on October 17, about 357 thousand km between the moon from earth
– Supermoon on November 15, about 360 thousand km between the moon from earth

Green summer will be ended this month, golden autumn is just around the corner, more natural adventures and seasonal celebrations are coming next for green living: International Observe the Moon on Sunday Sept. 14, Mid-Autumn Festival and Harvest moon on Sept. 17-18, autumn equinox on Sept. 22…

From French tricolor of blue, white and red to open games, from powerful sports to green living, Paris time is unforgettable, and sports united the world. It has the power to make dreams and break dreams, it gives people hope, and a voice, it brings people together and gives people a place to belong. There is no one who wins big or less in the major sports movements, where only the revolutionary spirit shines and drives change on everything: people, games, world, health and green living.

Les Jeux Olympiques ne sont point de simples championnats mondiaux, mais bien la fête quadriennale de la jeunesse universelle, du “printemps humain”, la fête des efforts passionnés, des ambitions multiples et de toutes les formes d’activité juvénile de chaque génération apparaissant au seuil de la vie.
– Pierre de Coubertin, père des Jeux Olympiques modernes

Best of fall harvest: moon, land and sky

Harvest: a noun comes from the Old English word for autumn as hærfest and means the season of gathering crops and celebrating golden nature at its best.

Fall season is usually from late September to early December as a busy time for farming work. After many months of planting and tending crops, it’s the harvest time for farmers to reap, collect and store annual crops like wheat and corns with the accumulation of hard work. Filled with abundance and joy, the harvest season is a culmination of what has been grown to be celebrated around the world.

Now we are in the midst of the harvest season, which is a perfect time to work on magic for prosperity and gratitude. From growing crops to harvesting food, the seasonal celebrations are associated with a social importance and nature events found in many cultures and places, such as fall equinox, Harvest Moon, Mid-Autumn Festival, World Food Day and Thanksgiving.

Fall sky wonders

A rare ‘ring of fire’ eclipse is coming this week across the Americas. Look up the sky on Saturday October 14 for a partial or full annular eclipse experience, and don’t forget to view it with proper eye protection.

An annular solar eclipse occurs when the New Moon moves in front of the sun and appears smaller than the sun, so the moon doesn’t completely cover the sun’s disk as it is farther away from Earth. As a result, both of them overlap each other to produce the glowing ring in the sky and create a “ring of fire” at certain times and places.

It is a special celestial display since not every New Moon can be visible to make an eclipse happen. Normally we don’t see the New Moon from Earth except during solar eclipses, where it passes the sun and silhouettes against the Sun for a total, partial, annular or hybrid effect. For any solar eclipse to take place, it has to be around New Moon near its farthest point from Earth, when the Sun and Earth are aligned on opposite sides of the Moon to form a straight line of Earth-Moon-Sun.

The upcoming annular eclipse has a typical 5 stages of contact from partial beginning to full eclipse like the annularity, when the moon doesn’t block the sun entirely and instead leaves its bright outer edges visible, until covers its centre with a fiery ring or annulus around the moon like a narrow circle shape, then annularity and partial eclipse ends one after the other. From start to finish, the total duration lasts about 6 hours along the way and about 3 hours in locations where it is visible.

It will start over the pacific ocean around 8am PDT and move on west coast to southeast along a swath about 125 miles wide for the best viewing of annularity. The narrow path travels about 4000 mph across North to South America through part of Canada and US, all the way down Mexico and Central America to Colombia and Brazil. During this eclipse path, the estimated time of darkness is about 5 minutes, when the moon like a dark disk on top of the sun’s larger and bright disk, only a ring of light is visible in the sky.

If you plan to view it, remember to protect your eyes and never look at the bright sun directly without right protection for solar viewing. Otherwise your eyes could be severely injured in an instant, as the Sun’s rays can burn the retinas in the eyes leading to permanent damage or even worse. A safe way to watch a solar eclipse is to wear protective eclipse glasses or to project an image of the eclipsed Sun using a pinhole projector. If you use a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope to view and photograph, be sure to place a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics for doing so.

Well, this celestial phenomenon won’t happen again in North America until 16 years later, so catch it this week safely!

This fall harvest, the ring of fire is the 1st eclipse but certainly not the last one. Actually an eclipse never comes alone, and we are in the eclipse season to highlight the October skies. Every eclipse season is about 35 days with 2 to 3 eclipses in a row including 1 lunar eclipse at least, and a solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Solar eclipses only happen with a New Moon, which passes between the Earth and the Sun. And lunar eclipses only happen at full moon, which is on the opposite side of Earth to the Sun. In other words, Earth comes between the sun the the moon to block the sun’s rays unreaching the moon directly, since the moon shines by reflecting the sun’s rays on its surface without own light. Therefore lunar eclipses are very safe to look at with the naked eyes, unlike solar eclipses exposing some risks to bare eyes.

Depending the weather conditions, 3 kinds of lunar eclipses can be visible in the night sky including total, partial and penumbral ones. A lunar month takes about 30 days to go through all of 8 phases from new moon to full moon, so the next and 2nd eclipse this season will occur 2 weeks later at the end of the month as a partial lunar eclipse, which can be seen greatly in Europe, Asia, part of North and South America etc.

Along with this lunar eclipse, the October full moon is called Hunter’s moon and visible everywhere on the night side of the world. It will rise together with planet Jupiter close to each other, so look up these 2 brightest objects in the sky for quite an impressive sight. The Hunter’s Moon is the first full Moon after the Harvest Moon, which usually happens at the end of September as the full moon closest to the autumn equinox. The both full moons are part of fall harvest to mark a time of preparing and gathering food before winter season comes.

Besides the eclipse season, some other celestial bodies like Saturn and Venus will also show up in the night sky to accompany the moon closely. In the astronomy news, we can look toward the south 1 hour or 2 after sunset to find the Moon about 70% illuminated, hanging just beneath the planet Saturn on October 23.

Eclipses, full moon, perseids and other cosmic highlights, what are your skywatching favorites this harvest season?

Space is calling

Each October, the World Space Week takes place at the beginning of the month with lots of educational workshops, innovative talks and celebrating activities. The theme is Space and Entrepreneurship for this year to highlight the importance and contributions of space science and technology.

The annual event is held to commemorate 2 important dates about space development: one is the launch of the 1st human-made Earth satellite – Sputnik 1 on Oct 4 in 1957 to open the way for space exploration; the other is in recognition of Oct 10 in 1967 entry into force of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies.

Over the decades, the space exploration and international cooperation in outer space have incredibly advanced in shaping global economies and technologies. From rockets to satellites, from moon landing to mars mission, space is not only a driving force to change the world and address global challenges with innovative solutions, and also a great opportunity to achieve the global goals and a more sustainable future for humanity and our planet.

Besides public agencies and services in space research and development, the commercial space industry is getting bigger and wider with more and more entrepreneurial businesses and private companies to design, manufacture and invest for the betterment of the human condition. With a big ambition of colonizing Mars, SpaceX is one of the most well known private space companies that has successfully sent satellites and people to space, including NASA crews to the International Space Station. It’s the 1st manufacture in the world to build the reusable rockets that can carry cargo and astronauts into orbit. It also works on a starship system on a way for lunar landings and crewed mars missions.

Science and technology are the cores of space entrepreneurship and industry, both of public and private sectors have become increasingly involved in space exploration. There are some leading agencies like National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA), China National Space Administration(CNSA), European Space Agency (ESA) and Canadian Space Agency(CSA), who are interested in the commercial business and working with the private space services for different programs such as crewed spacecraft, lunar research, space travel to Mars, data products and services etc.

The red planet is calling, what a liftoff @NASAPersevere to #Mars amid pandemic #CountdownToMars
From crewed dragon spacecraft @SpaceX to #perseverancerover @NASA, from astronaut launch to mars mission, rock this summer w/perseverance & exploring #Mars2020 https://t.co/1UxZh5atAy pic.twitter.com/HfwmpfhMwT

— LefTech (@leftechs) July 30, 2020

The rise of commercial space brings arguably a robust and competitive progress to heat up the race to space exploration and sustainability. So far the US has the record for the highest number of commercial space launches, followed by the European Union and Russia. China and India have also made it to the list of countries with successful commercial space launches in recent times.

Sky has no limit and space has no border

Get closer to other celestial bodies and land on some planets nearby are one of space dreams for many of us. Just like what happens in the real life, much more failures occur and fewer success has achieved. Landing on another planet is technically challenging and many attempt landings have failed. A human mission to Mars or living on the moon doesn’t work for now, but it doesn’t stop scientific research and technological innovation for Mars landings by robotic and unscrewed spacecraft.

As of today, Russia was the 1st country to conduct Mars probe with its soft landing, followed by United States and China to land on the surface of the red planet successfully for prob activities. Plus 3 countries that have reached Mars by entering into orbit and they are European Union, India and the United Arab Emirates. The moon landing has made more progress with both crewed and robotic missions. 4 nations have successfully achieved soft landings on the lunar surface including Russia with Luna probe, US with Surveyor program, China with Chang’e program and India with Chandrayaan-3 module. Russia was the 1st country to land the moon with an unscrewed rover as Luna 2, and the US is the only country to have conducted a crewed landing on the Moon as Apollo 11.

Starry skies, galaxy wonders, the moon and other cosmic planets…going to space and discovering the universe beyond our planet are much more exciting than ever. Fly to the moon and travel on Mars…more sky wonders and space advancements await us to keep exploring and dream big for humanity and sustainable planet.

Connecting with the land and nature

Occurring every 6 months, the equinox splits Earth’s day nearly in half as the natural marker of seasonal change.

A solar equinox is a moment when the Sun appears directly above the Earth’s equator, neither in north nor south of the equator. It’s a time to divide Earth equally with illuminated northern and southern hemispheres for almost 12 hours of both daytime and nighttime. Equinoxes are the start of the spring and fall with the vernal equinox in March and autumnal equinox in September. Like the summer solstice in June and winter solstice in December, equinoxes are celebrated by people since ancient times.

The September equinox ushers in the arrival of fall, now the fall harvest is in full swing with plenty of seasonal food and nature activities. Harvesting is simply the process of gathering mature crops and collecting plants, animals or fish for food. Fall harvest is truly a time to enjoy a wide variety of fresh produce in season: corns, pears, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, beets, onions, mushrooms, squash, pumpkins…what are your favourite veggies and fruits?

Build resilience and diversity for a winning year

The popular Lantern Festival takes place today to celebrate the first full moon night on this 15th day of Lunar New Year. It’s a tradition that started over 2000 years ago for the family reunion and harmony importance. Along with Yuanxiao, the small sweet rice balls in round shape are eaten as a typical holiday food on the day for family gathering time. On the same time, the full snow moon occurs this weekend as the Moon of Purification and Renewal to spark the Year of the Ox with peace and blessings.

Lantern Festival is known as a treasured occasion to enjoy folk dances, popular folklore and illuminating fun within families and social gatherings. Lighting and appreciation of lanterns are main festivities for the holiday celebration. Beautiful and colorful, the red paper lanterns are symbols of good luck, hope and love for a brighter year and future. Being a wonderful art of lights, the lantern has an important meaning to help lead the way forward and push aside the darkness towards the future. Throughout the long history, the lantern has been used not only as a source of light or simple paper decoration, but also a modern form of celebration and worship. From the ancient age to the legend, the lantern has become a cultural icon and national pride in many Asian countries including China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam etc. There are Chinese painted paper lanterns, glowing sky lanterns in southeast Asia and floating water lanterns in Japan…whichever are at homes or in public spaces, all has the significations of honoring deceased ancestors and best wishes for family reunion and joy, living reconciliation as well as the return of spring.

Happy #LanternFestival and the first full moon on the 15th day of #LunarNewYear Lanterns bring light and hope for a brighter year ahead, and look up at the night sky to catch the full snow moon this weekend to spark #YearOfTheOx for peace and renewal🏮🌕✅ https://t.co/SNlJcTeuuP

— LefTech (@leftechs) February 27, 2021

Watch the glorious full moon shinning in night sky with the dazzling lights and joyful colors of memorable Lantern Festival, what do you wish for an amazing holiday and the year to come? This year, Chinese New year celebration has started at new moon on February 12 to mark the beginning of the Year of the Ox. In many cultures, the Ox is a faithful animal and lucky symbol with many good values including health, strength, courage and perseverance. According to the 12-year Chinese zodiac calendar, it’s the Year of the Metal Ox which represents positive movements of booming life and prosperous business. Nowadays, the Lunar New Year aka Spring Festival is celebrated across Asian communities such as China, South Korean and Vietnam…The entire festival celebration lasts 15 days in some Asian nations with the highlight of ancient Lantern Festival on the last day. After having experienced the past year full of challenging and hardship, many people are more than happy to welcome the Lunar New Year of the Ox for change and move forward for a healthy and strong year ahead.

Traditions, families and Valentine’s Day, we enjoyed February full of holidays and love, now we get into the month of March as spring time with a lot of natural activities and global movements on the way.

Leadership for change

March is Women’s History Month, time to commemorate and celebrate the achievements of women throughout our history and culture. By highlighting International Women’s Day on March 8, the annual month-long event focuses on the important contribution and vital role of women in all aspects of our life and society to recognize the countless women making an impact in their communities, their nation, and the world. As the global recovery is starting slowly from the devastating pandemic, this year’s International Women’s Day is like no other with the theme of Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.

Women’s rights are human rights. These are the rights about making moves for gender justice and a call to action for accelerating gender parity, such as to live free from violence and discrimination, to access the quality healthcare, to be educated and have the equal pay, to vote and get the equal opportunity of leadership in political and business worlds. Today, women remain concentrated in the lowest paid jobs across the world, they are nearly twice as likely than men to lose their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis, and the pandemic has dramatically increased the women’s poverty rate and widened the gap with men…The economic security and independence are necessary for women to engage more deeply in the decision makings for the change, there’s still a long way to work on historic obstacles and social economic barriers, gender inequality and lack of female leadership positions. For instance, women are Heads of State or Government in 22 countries, and only 24.9 per cent of national parliamentarians are women. In only 14 countries where 50% or more of government cabinet members are women, just over 1 in 4 managers across all sectors are women globally……It’s the time to demand change and make a commitment to women everywhere to stand up for human rights and join the fight for an equal future. Change laws, take action, transform gender relations and challenge discriminatory norms, the generation equality can rise in the way we lead, talk, support, question and think to make sure that resources and power are more equitably distributed for women.

Women are the active members of the global community with valuable social, economic, cultural and political accomplishments, they want and deserve a freedom with equal rights and opportunities for all. Being a woman, we are capable to wear many different hats from home to public life: girlfriend, wife, daughter, sister, mother, grandma, aunt, granddaughter, babysitter, cook, baker, gardener, driver, teacher, student, warrior, nurse, doctor, mentor, handywoman, engineer, technician, lawyer, judge, filmmaker, artist, entrepreneur, volunteer and leader……On this global day, every woman needs to be appreciated for her hard working inside and outside of family and empowered by a world of possibilities to follow her dreams. We need women to build a better world together, we thank all women from bottom of the heart for all things you do, support women’s rights and leadership in all areas of life.

Happy #WomensDay 👏#InternationalWomensDay #WomensHistoryMonth https://t.co/2mOR1PorWf

— LefTech (@leftechs) March 9, 2021

Resilience for strength

Loyalty, intelligence, strength, determination and confidence, women have many admirable qualities and they have the power of game changing to inspire people and shape the world. From the past to present, from the East to the West, some legendary women warriors like Mulan and Joan of Arc made the history with their inspiring stories and willingness to fight.

Mulan who is female hero in Chinese ancient era, she dresses and acts as a military man to go to war instead of her aged father, fights along with other male soldiers for the country against the northern invaders. A symbol of loyal, brave and family devotion, she’s one of the most popular Chinese hero as an honored woman warrior who protects her family and defends the homeland as well. The recent Disney’s drama feature and its earlier animated movie are the adaption based on the Chinese poem titled the Ballad of Mulan, it’s a very beautiful folk song which was created several thousands years ago and shows a female fighter with strong and independent spirits:

(The sound of creaking)
Mulan sits in the doorway in front of her loom.
When the loom grows silent, We can only hear the sound of her sighs.
Girl, who are you thinking about?  Girl… who do you long for?
(Mulan replies) 
“There is only one man I think about , There is only one man I long for
Last night I saw the conscription notice, The Khan is issuing a great draft –
A dozen volumes of battle rolls,  Each one with my father’s name.
My father has no son old enough to take his place, I, Mulan, have no elder brother.
I’m willing to buy a horse and saddle,  I will take my father’s place in battle.”
(Mulan went to war)
She buys a fine steed at the east market;  A saddle and blanket at the west market;
A bridle at the south market;  And a long whip at the north market.
At dawn, she leaves her parents’ home, and camps beside the Yellow River before dusk.
From far away, she cannot hear the sounds of her parents calling for her
Only the rushing waters of the Yellow River.
She leaves the Yellow River at dawn,  And reaches reach Black Mountain before dusk.
From far away, she cannot hear the sounds of her parents calling for her
Only the cries of the enemy cavalry in the Yàn hills.
She traveled ten thousand li,  She flew over mountains and through mountain passes
The sound of a war gong pierces the air,  The winter sun shines brightly on her coat of steel.
The general dead after a hundred battles,  The warriors return after ten years.
They return to see the Son of Heaven,  Sitting in the royal court
He unrolls the scroll of merit a dozen times , Giving hundreds and thousands of rewards
(Mulan was rewarded)
The Khan asks Mulan what she desires
(Mulan replies) I have no need to be promoted to a prominent position
I only ask for a camel that can travel a thousand li , That can take me back to my hometown
(Mulan returned home)
Her parents hear that their daughter has returned,  They welcome her at the entrance to the town.
When Elder Sister hears of Mulan’s return,  she stands in the doorway wearing a beautiful dress
When Little Brother hears that his sister has returned,  He sharpens his knife to slaughter a pig and a lamb.
(Mulan speaks) “I open the door to my eastern chamber,  And sit on the bed of my western chamber. I take off my military robes And put on my old clothes. I sit in front of the window as I comb my long flowing hair , And look into the mirror as I apply makeup, I go outside to see my comrades , They are all shocked and astounded.
“We traveled together for twelve years,” (they say),  “But we never suspected that Mulan was a woman!”
(Mulan’s rabbit couple)
Most people tell the gender of a rabbit by its movement:
The male runs quickly, while the female often keeps her eyes shut.
But when the two rabbits run side by side,  Can you really discern whether I am a he or a she?

feature movie and animation by Disney Movies

As a national heroine of France, Joan d’Arc was a peasant girl living in medieval France, believed that God had chosen her to fight against the Anglo forces. She led the French army during the 100 Years’ War with England and achieved a momentous victory, then she was captured by the enemy and died at the age of 19. She was canonized lately as the Maid of Orléans and had been considered one of history’s greatest saints, an enduring symbol of French unity and nationalism. Being a village teenage girl, Joan d’Arc rose prominence with divine guidance to challenge the Royal power and legitimate of war. Even faced with death by fire, she followed her belief and voices from God to be a fighter against the darkness.

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc by UniFrance

Women are strong, women are power. The legacy of heroines is not only the memory of great names and also the inheritance of a great examples and inspirational figures over centuries. Hardship and difficulties can never stop the fearless fighters to keep following their passion and dreams, pushing for things to get better. From icon of popular nationalism to creator of change and peace, fighters don’t stop asking why, they’re naturally inspiring and courageous, often idealistic, driven by a desire to make the world a better place. When there’s fighting spirit on women, there’s resilience and strength to the leadership.

These women had a vision leading out of the darkness shrouding their world. They were women of action, prepared to defy authority to make their vision a reality bathed in the light of the day…
–Justice Ginsburg, The Heroic and Visionary Women of Passover

Diversity on the rise

American lawyer and jurist Ruth Bader Ginsburg who served as an associate justice of the Supreme court of the United States until her death last year. She was the first Jewish female justice and second woman to serve on the Court. She spent a lifetime flourishing in the face of adversity before being appointed a Supreme Court justice, where she successfully fought against gender discrimination in some male-dominated fields. By being named one of 100 most powerful women, one of 100 most influential people by Time magazine, and a lifelong trailblazer for human rights and gender equality, she was recognized for having profoundly shaped human self-understanding and advancement in a rapidly changing world with the ideas and law credits.

Justice Ginsburg, credit to CNN

From voting rights and stop discriminatory changes, to combating racial and gender-based discrimination, Ginsburg contributed much of her legal career as an advocate for gender equality and women’s rights, presenting a strong voice in favor of equal education and fair pay, action on policies of exclusion and inclusion, interest in diversity. She expressed her support for the Me Too movement, which encourages women to speak up about victim experience of sexual harassment. With her own experiences with gender discrimination and sexual harassment, she said that it’s about time. For so long women were silent, thinking there was nothing you could do about it, but now the law is on the side of women, or men, who encounter harassment and that’s a good thing.

Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.
— Justice Ginsburg

Women’s full and effective participation and leadership in of all areas of life drives progress for everyone. So how to break down systematic barriers, speak up for more women decision makers and build an equatable future for a generation equality? Around the world, some of the most efficient covid responses have been led by women including diverse and inclusive movements online and on the streets for social justice, climate change and equality in all parts of the world. They are also at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, as healthcare workers, scientists, doctors and caregivers all over the communities. Now let’s call to action to provide support to all women on the front lines of the fight against this pandemic, promoting flexible working arrangements, prioritizing services to prevent gender-based domestic violence, and building a future that’s sustainable and peaceful for all.

It takes a village to raise a child, it takes the world to work on the generation equality and everyone can mobilize to bring changes. Leaders, visionaries, activists and artists everywhere, virtually or not, have pushed for transformative and lasting change for generations to come. Recently UN Women launched a global call to creatives and their original artwork that visualizes and celebrates artivism for gender equality. Creative women are part of the diverse world, they have passion for the arts, drive to experiment, courage to change and make the history together.

We need women’s representation that reflects all women and girls in all their diversity and abilities, and across all cultural, social, economic and political situations. This is the only way we will get real societal change that incorporates women in decision-making as equals and benefits us all.
— Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director

The 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards just happened last month and it’s a historic year for female directing and leading film production. For the first time in the organization of HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association), 3 women directors were nominated in the category of Best Director Motion Picture including Chloe Zhao for Nomadland by starring of Frances McDormand, Regina King for One Night in Miami and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman. Chloe Zhao won the prize as the first woman of Asian descent and made a history about diversity. She’s also the second woman ever to win the directing prize at the Globes.

What a historic award for female filmmakers #WomensDay A positive change for all creative women to keep up the good work, follow your dreams and passion 🎞✴️ #InternationalWomensDay #WomensHistoryMonth https://t.co/iNBsuYLivl

— lei (@leidesigner) March 9, 2021

Nomadland, her movie is also won the award for Best Picture Drama. It’s a beautiful story about life on the road, discovering and exploring the own way of living with freedom and connection to the nature: After losing everything in the Great Recession, a woman embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. The film has heart of diversity to show a special group of people and their different lives in the authentic and realistic ways, just like the spirit of road life: never says goodbye, only see you down the road.

Compassion is the breakdown of all the barriers between us. A heart to heart bonding. Your pain is my pain. It’s mingled and shared between us. Now, this is why I fell in love with making movies and telling stories. Because it gives us a chance to laugh and cry together, and it gives us a chance to learn from each other, and to have more compassion for each other. — Chloe Zhao

Women create, women direct, women lead, women change and women make the history. When women lead, we see positive results. Pandemic is a turning point for people’s life and also for the world too, something has changed and many changes are on the way. It cannot simply return to the world we had before, we need to do things differently for women and generation equality. Strong ox, lucky lion dance and rising women’s power, this year has started with many blessings and hope to make a winning year of healthy life, so people can control the pandemic and finally live coronavirus-free. It is also a winning year to build resilience and diversity for a more equal, more inclusive and more sustainable future with the power of women’s leadership. On the occasion of many celebrations from lunar year of the ox to global movements, we’re committed to supporting diversity and generation equality for a strong and thriving community filled with goodness and warmth, wish you all health and happiness, success and prosperity in the years ahead.

LefTech International