About Viva

One of the first things VIVA Vice-President Jasmine Keel did on moving to Beijing was to look for a women's networking group similar to the one she had found invaluable in Zurich. To her surprise, there wasn't one. Jasmine went on to found INSPIRED, offering life transition support, career guidance and professional development for expatriate accompanying spouses in Beijing. Through her new business she saw on a daily basis the need for a vehicle through which professionally-minded women could further network and support each other in their professional growth.

At the same time, business associate and career coach Sarah Cooper (VIVA President) was meeting a large number of aspiring women business owners looking for a platform which would enable them to ask questions about common issues, share resources and keep motivated.

Encouraged by the obvious need, Sarah and Jasmine decided to found a women's networking group. From the beginning, they were clear that this would be a membership community where women provided each other with mutual support, actively contributing to other members' career goals. The events would include a learning element, but also provide an opportunity for members to forge professional alliances, make new friendships - and above all have fun.


Members

We take pride in the diversity of our membership. Members represent a wide spectrum of corporate and professional life within the expatriate community in Beijing.

Unfortunately due to government regulations we are only able to offer membership to foreign passport holders. However, English-speaking Chinese professional women are very welcome to attend our events as guests.

All our members are committed to contributing to the network’s success and therefore prospective members’ applications need to be pre‐accepted by the Executive Committee. Please see Membership to find out more about joining Viva.


Format

Events take place on the last Wednesday of the month (10 months of the year). There is a 40‐minute seminar followed by networking and socialising.

Visit our Events page for details of the next Viva events.


Seminar topics

Topics are tailored to the specific needs of women professionals, as advised by the responses to regular member surveys. Typical seminar topics include:
  • Finding a mentor
  • Maintaining a healthy balance between your professional and family or personal life
  • Cross-cultural communication
  • Building self‐belief
  • Effective networking

There is a standard event fee of RMB 180 for members and 250 RMB for guests, which includes wine and canapés.


Pricing

To become a member of Viva, there is an annual membership fee of RMB 350. Please contact us to find out more.

Viva is run as a non‐profit organisation


Our Sponsors

Thank you to our kind sponsors for their support of Viva:




Find out more about our sponsors:
www.dragonfly.net.cn
www.timeout.com/cn/en/beijing
www.rutgers.cn

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of Viva. please contact us.