Keynote Speaker

Prof Chan Heng Chee
Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to the United States

Prof Chan had previously served as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and was concurrently the High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to Mexico. She has been conferred a number of awards including Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Letters from the University of Newcastle (Australia) and the University of Buckingham (United Kingdom).

Named International Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women in 1998, and winner of Singapore’s inaugural Woman of the Year Award, Prof Chan will share her wealth of experiences with WLN participants in her keynote address titled “Women in APEC: Challenges & Aspirations for the Future.”

Special Guest Speaker

Dr Noeleen Heyzer
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and
Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

Dr Heyzer is the first woman to be appointed to this UN position. Since taking office in August 2007, she has championed institutional change and development effectiveness. She has also  positioned ESCAP as the regional hub assisting countries to build the economic and social foundations for inclusive and sustainable societies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Dr Heyzer was a Nobel Peace Prize 2005 nominee and has received several leadership awards, including the UNA-Harvard Leadership Award and the Woman of Distinction Award from the UN-NGO Committee on the Status of Women. She holds a Bachelor and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Singapore and a Doctorate in Social Sciences from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.