Honorary Chair
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Prof. Anna Pao Sohmen
Honorary Chairlady
Prof. Anna Pao Sohmen is Chairman and director to a number of companies including shipping, real estate and education. She has been awarded Hong Kong Outstanding Women Entrepreneur in 1999 and Leading Women Entrepreneur of the World in 2000.
On the community front, her activities range from business chambers, environmental groups, arts and culture and Prof. Sohmen has been Council Chairman of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (APA) for 10 years; Honorary Chairman of The Chinese Manufacturer's Association of Hong Kong (CMA); Chairman of SME and the Environment Protection Committees of CMA. Member of Town Planning Board; Member of Hong Kong Business Coalition on the Environment; Chairman of Hong Kong Eco-Products Award; Member of the Culture and Heritage Commission; Member of the Hong Kong Government Industry Department's Small and Medium Enterprises Committee; Member of the Hong Kong Financial Secretary's Business Advisory Group; Founding Member of Helping Hand; Founding Chairman of the Hong Kong Liver Foundation; Founder of the Chinese International Schools Foundation.
In mainland, on the political front, Mrs. Sohmen is Member of the National CPPCC; Standing Committee Member of CPPCC of Zhejiang and Heilongjiang Provinces; and the Advisor to Ningbo City. Academically she is well respected and is the Honorary Professor of Tong Ji University in Shanghai; the Honorary President of Ningbo University; and Honorary Professor and a trustee of Jiaotong University in Shanghai. She has also been awarded Honorary Doctorate Degree of Letters by Purdue University, her Alma Mater. Recently she has been awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. She is the Chairman of the Sino-British Friendship Scholarship Scheme (supporting thousands of Chinese scholars to UK) and Convenor of Hua Xia Educational Trust (a mainland charitable Trust supporting education of hygiene, agriculture and teaching). She was formerly a Hong Kong-Macau Affairs Advisor, and a member of the Hong Kong Election of Chief Executive Committee.
In addition, she has been an advisor to the Beijing Music Festival and the Berlin Festival. She has been a trustee of the Royal Opera House and was a Board member of London House in UK. She has been awarded the Mont Blanc Award, the Hong Kong Silver Bauhinia Award, Zhejiang Model Citizen Award and Heilongjiang Jasmine Orchid Award.
Having learned ballet, and later modern dance and choreography, she has kept up her interest in ballroom dancing. In 2005 she won as Champion of the American International Ballroom Pro-Am Competition. She has demonstrated Ballroom dance in China, US, Hong Kong and Japan.