"I was Born a Girl" Exhibition Arrived in Beijing

On the 15th September 2025 - Beijing, "I was Born a Girl", a poetry and portrait exhibition jointly presented by the Embassy of Finland in China, the GlobalMoms Initiative (GMI) and Genesis Beijing, held the VIP reception and the opening ceremony, and unveiled the first East Asian female portraitist of this world tour exhibition.

Mr. Mikko Kinnunen, Ambassador of Finland to China, delivered a welcome speech and thanked the guests for their support. Ms. Yang Yang, China's first Winter Olympic Gold Medalist, Member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the first East Asian female portraitist of the exhibition, delivered the keynote speech, she told the stories of her championship career and explorations and achievements in different public spheres, on how to break through gender stereotypes, fight for opportunities for women, and as a mother, how to influence children with social actions.

The exhibition is also a cultural diplomacy initiative patronized by the current Finnish first lady, Ms. Suzanne Elizabeth Innes-Stubb, and a follow up event after the President and first lady's state visit to China in October 2024. Ms. Jane Li, the founder of GMI, was invited to a tea party with Ms. Suzanne, where the participants discussed who should be nominated for the portrait subject for the exhibition's arrival in China, which would be its first footprint in Asia.

Among the vip guests are Ms. Smriti Aryal, UN Women Representative in China; Ms. Sophie Muller, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representative in China; Mr. Per Augustsson, Swedish ambassador to China, and representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs; diplomats from other embassies; the exhibition sponsors Ms. Zhou Mingming and Daniel Zhou, founder of Jinghua club; And many other leaders from different fields.

Besides the role of co-organizers, the GMI Design Innovation Center also provided spatial and visual design support throughout the exhibition preparation, the stories and poems for the exhibition are translated by Ms. Fei Yang, senior editor of GMI's MomStory100 program, who is also a mother of three children.

Every day and every step of GMI is aiming to contribute to the mission of Investing Women and Empowering Mothers, and to close the gender gap for all.

Download Bilingual Exhibition Brochure Here.

Art and Poetry: Minna Pietarinen

Co-organizers: Embassy of Finland and GlobalMoms Initiative

Factual Texts: UN Women Finland & Peppi Stünkel

Chinese Translation: Fei Yang

Executive Director: Peppi Stünkel

Venue Support:Genesis Beijing

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