Women's Voice, the official Chinese-language mobile app of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), was launched on Sept. 20 in an effort to build stronger ties between the organization and the female citizens of the country.
The app launch coincides with celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, which opened in 1995 in Beijing. The historic event marked China's official announcement of gender equality being a basic state policy.
Women's Voice is a step forward for women's groups all over China to integrate their online and offline activities in the age of "Internet Plus," the government's movement to make more use of the latest digital technologies.
An ACWF official said that "the reputation and the vitality of any organization depends on its closeness to its target audiences. Getting through to its audience at the 'last mile' hinges on the services and products it designs."
According to the ACWF, the app aims to reflect women's voices, cater to women's needs, facilitate women's development and protect women's interests. It integrates news and interactive services with other functions, allowing it to bypass geographic hindrances and provide news concerning women, as well as services like legal, marriage and parental counseling.
NetDragon Websoft, a leading Chinese software developer, created the app. According to the company's chairman Liu Jiande, China has 594 million netizens, with almost half of them women.
As of now, the app if focused on being a news provider to women, but the interactive platform is set to open in the near future.
The ACWF has already taken advantage of the Internet before by creating official accounts on Sina Weibo and WeChat. The new app is seen as a way to continue those efforts.