“Walking with” the Youth

In the previous issue of our newsletter, we gathered the social issues that everyone is concerned about. The responses we received mostly revolved around “youth” and “community involvement”.  Undoubtedly, youth plays a crucial role in the continuation of society, but not every young person believes in their ability and confidence to create social changes. Therefore, more encouragement and support are needed. More and more companies and organisations are utilising various social media platforms to actively engage with young people. Additionally, they offer scholarships, entrepreneurship funds, and other avenues to encourage youth to actively participate in social affairs, thereby allowing the creativity of the next generation to flourish. As we walk alongside and nurture young talent, do you have any effective methods that you can share?

To Make the working carers seen to the society

It is difficult for the working carers to maintain the balance between career, personal life and caregiving. They need to take care of the job duties and caregiving at the same time. The HKCSS Co-Creation Stakeholders Engagement team has organised a seminar to address the needs of carers and how companies could support the working carers comprehensively in terms of clothing, food, accommodation and accompanying, and seek opportunities for collaboration.

In addition, the involvement of both businesses and communities is essential to establish a comprehensive carer support network. The team has collaborated with Chinachem Group to initiate a carer support pilot project in Golden Lion Garden Phase II which aims to establish a support platform within the residential estate. Through various booths and experiential activities, the residents can reach different community resources, enhance their awareness of healthy life style and thus to release the stress of the carers.

The Team will continue to encourage different stakeholders to explore diverse methods to co-create solutions in response to different social agenda.

Building Community Strength through Co-Creation and Mutual Support

In recent years, Hong Kong Federation of Women’s Centres Limited Jockey Club Tai Wo Centre has been dedicated to serving the community while also actively engaging in cross-sector collaborations, bringing together a group of women volunteers from the Tai Po district and local farmers to create greater social impact.

Recognizing the challenge of limited sales channels for local agricultural products, the organization has empowered women volunteers to assist farmers in cultivation, harvesting, and promoting local vegetables through community group purchases. They have established a local sales network platform to address the community’s demand for locally grown vegetables. For now, they have successfully organized six group purchase events in partnership with six local farms, with a goal of selling 600 kilograms of local vegetables.

The project also emphasizes community education. 60 women, farmers, small merchants, restaurants, and Agri-food education organizations have been invited to work together on publishing a book of various recipes using local veggies as ingredients, thereby raising awareness about the value of “ugly food” and reducing food waste.

Through various forms of involvement, such as assisting local farmers, promoting local agricultural development, and sharing their learning outcomes with the public, this initiative enhances women’s social engagement, as well as showcases the collaborative potential among different organizations and institutions. It is believed that more organisations will echo and follow in the future to generate greater impact and change to the community through co-creation.

The above project is supported by the HSBC Hong Kong Community Partnership Programme.

NGO Changemaker Incubation Scheme – From Imagination to Implementation

The successful completion of the first two cohorts Incubation Scheme, with themes focused on “Food and Social Inclusion” and “Arts and Culture and Social Inclusion,” indicates that the approach is yielding positive results. The pilot project from the first cohort, which involved a collaboration between the Homeless Service of the Changemaker and a local organic farming organization, not only received support from other funds but also expanded and sustained its development. This demonstrates the potential for these collaborations to have a lasting impact.

The ongoing collaboration among the five changemakers of the second cohort, utilizing the Ideas for Practice Fund provided by the Incubation Scheme, shows a proactive effort to leverage the arts as a platform for cross-sectoral exchanges. This approach aims to enhance understanding of the arts and cultural sector among their colleagues, create opportunities for collaboration, and address social issues through different interventions. While the outcomes of this pilot project are yet to be seen, the intention to utilize the arts for social impact is commendable.

Secret Chat

“Secret Chat” is a co-creation project organized by two departments under HKCSS, “Children and Youth” and “Co-creation – Solutions Hub,” with sponsorship from the Lee Kum Kee Family Foundation. It is a cross-sector co-creation project aimed at providing support for the mental health of young people, involving the business sector, social welfare sector, academic sector, and the general public. This project aims to co-create a professional online chat service protocol and tool to make online chat counseling more accessible and youth-friendly.

ESG Trivia

ESG vs. Sustainability: Understanding the nuances

The terms “ESG” and “sustainability” are frequently mentioned together and often used interchangeably, yet they embody subtly different concepts.

The United Nations defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” In other words, sustainability focuses on the impact of individuals and businesses on the world, aiming to preserve the viability of environmental, social, and economic systems. It raises questions like: How do business and investment decisions affect our society and environment’s sustainable development? Do these decisions lead to greenhouse gas emissions that exceed planetary boundaries, and do they contribute to a just society? Sustainability hinges on creating systemic value, flourishing within a market that supports robust economic and financial stability.

In contrast, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) zeroes in on the risks and opportunities presented by environmental, social, and governance factors to businesses and investors, particularly in terms of their financial implications. It ensures that businesses and investments yield sustainable long-term financial returns. Companies and investors may evaluate the risks, reputation impacts and new opportunities that issues like climate change, community engagement and the treatment of employees could pose to a business or investment portfolio. While system sustainability may result as a secondary benefit, but not the primary focus.

James Chan,
Co-founder, PIE Strategy

（The above ESG Trivia is provided by PIE Strategy, the Knowledge & Strategy Partner of the Caring Company Scheme.)