International Women’s Day Shanghai
“Leadership starts with conversations”
On March 8th, HER IN MOTION: The Power of Becoming will be held at S创 Space in Shanghai, co-presented by ACYA and the Shanghai Australian Football Club.
Meet our keynote speakers:
Michele Aboro is a living legend in the history of Boxing & Kickboxing. she retired as undefeated world champion in Boxing with 21 wins (12 KO) & Kickboxing with 32 winning fights (23 KO). Michele was also voted Pound-for-Pound Best Female Boxer of the Year for four consecutive years who later transitioned into coaching and founded ABORO Boxing in Shanghai to promote the sport globally.
Jill Tang is a social entrepreneur, community builder and ESG advocate, founder of SHE REWIRES - a global STEAM community connecting over 70,000 members and 130 co-builders, dedicated to reshaping a more inclusive future of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics for all.
Heidi Dugan is an Australian media personality, writer and Chair of Arete Group, widely recognized as one of the earliest foreign TV hosts in China. Based in Shanghai for over three decades, she became known for her culinary program Youyang Kitchen and continues to bridge Australian and Chinese cultures through media, business and lifestyle platforms.
Beyond the keynote sharing from our three distinguished speakers, we are also honored to welcome female representatives from four international sports clubs for a cross-club conversation. From personal journeys to team dynamics, from finding identity to building community, they will share what it truly means to create a sense of belonging in Shanghai, a city where cultures meet, overlap, and constantly evolve.
Kayla from Dallas, Texas has been involved in sports her entire life, from American football to competing in NCAA Division I track at university. She moved to Shanghai in 2019 and soon joined rugby, where sport quickly became more than fitness, it became community.
Lauren, the founder of SWIFC - the first international women’s soccer club in Shanghai, founded in 2016. She also founded Foodie Fun Runs, co-founded The Rooster Run and is a lululemon Ambassador. She helped open the three F45 Training studios in Shanghai and was the former General Manager before joining ABORO. She actively promotes wellbeing and sport, andhopes to encourage women to move and feel better through sport and community.
Orlaith Ryan is from County Tipperary, Ireland, and has been playing Gaelic Football since the age of eight. Over the years, she has represented teams in Ireland, London, Vietnam, and now Shanghai. As a Physical Education teacher, she is deeply passionate about women in sport and is committed to creating opportunities for young girls to thrive in all areas of fitness and athletic development.
Gigi Guan ACYA Shanghai Chapter Director and the Co-founder of the Shanghai Dockers Australian Football Club and currently serves as Vice President of AFL China. With years of experience in digital art curation and cross-disciplinary cultural projects, she has been dedicated to building platforms for cross-cultural dialogue through art and sport, fostering the growth of diverse communities.
Living and building in this fast-moving, ever-changing city is not always simple. It requires courage, connection, and consistency. For the first time, multiple international sports clubs will stand side by side under one shared theme, bringing their voices together in one space.
If you’ve ever wondered how to find your people in Shanghai, how to build something meaningful beyond work, or how to feel at home in a global city, this conversation is for you.
You might just hear a story that feels a little like your own.