The local charity VolTra and the Asian social enterprise Empact jointly organized the "Hong Kong Social Innovation and Development Camp", bringing 29 secondary school students from Shanghai, Beijing and other places to Hong Kong for a 6-day study tour, including visiting homeless people in Sham Shui Po, experiencing the lives of people with disabilities, participating in food recycling and meal distribution activities, etc. Some students said that this activity allowed them to recognize the other side of Hong Kong besides its prosperity and understand the local community issues in Hong Kong. Some students also praised the good development of social enterprises in Hong Kong and will bring the experience gained in Hong Kong back to the mainland to develop themselves in the future.
Student Feng: The simulation of disabled people left the deepest impression on me
Feng Yiming, a student from Shanghai, said that when he was a child, he would go to Disneyland, Ocean Park and other places to play in Hong Kong. This time, he participated in the "Hong Kong Social Innovation and Development Camp" and came into contact with many social enterprises. He learned that there are many people in Hong Kong who need help and saw another side of Hong Kong. When talking about the most impressive itinerary, he said that he and his group of classmates participated in a game simulating disabled people at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Disabled Camp of the Hong Kong Association of the Disabled. They blindfolded themselves to simulate the perspective of a blind person and relied on the help of their group of classmates to move forward. The helplessness of losing sight left a deep impression on him. He also said: "I used to see the positive side of the world, but this time I changed my perspective and saw the back of the world."
17-year-old Chiu Tin-yu is very interested in environmental issues, so she participated in this event. She said that during this visit, she learned about many charitable organizations in Hong Kong, among which the food recycling organization "Food Ethics" was very unforgettable to her. She also hopes to visit local environmental protection organizations after returning to her hometown.
Comparative experience helps students understand the multifaceted nature of society
Assistant Director of the I-Tour Group, Ma Yiyi, said that the theme of this event was SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). In order to provide students with a contrasting experience, they were arranged to visit subdivided flats and bustling places in Sham Shui Po during the itinerary. They were also taken hiking to experience the rural scenery in the city.
Ma said that most of the students came from wealthy families and many had visited Hong Kong before, but most of them only experienced the tourist side of Hong Kong. This activity allowed mainland students to see Hong Kong from another perspective and also made them reflect on how to achieve sustainable development in their daily lives. She hopes that this activity will strengthen the exchanges between mainland students and Hong Kong.
Empact's director, Yeung Ching-wai, said that the students in this activity came from public schools, inclusive schools and international schools in Beijing, Shanghai and other places, and their ages ranged from 12 to 18. She said that these children lived a wealthy life and rarely saw the other side of society, and hoped that through this activity, they would increase their understanding of the multifaceted nature of society. She also pointed out that Hong Kong has a good social innovation environment, and that enterprises, the government and non-governmental organizations are all working towards sustainable development goals, so she brought the students to Hong Kong for inspection.
Yang Zhenhui went on to say that in the future there will be opportunities to bring more mainland students to visit Hong Kong. "Hong Kong is also part of the Greater Bay Area. In the future, we can bring Guangdong students to experience it more frequently."
Source: Sing Tao Daily
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