The EOC welcomes the Government’s appointment of four new Members. The newly appointed Members are Mr. Holden Chow Ho-ding, Dr. Trisha Leahy, Dr. Joseph Lee Kok-long and Ms. Su-Mei Thompson. Twelve incumbent Members have been re-appointed. We look forward to working with all the re-appointed and newly appointed members to mainstream equal opportunities in our society. The EOC also extends our sincere gratitude to the three outgoing Members including Ms. Carmen Chan Ka-mun, Ms. Maggie Chan Man-ki and Mr. Lee Luen-fai for their support, guidance, and commitment to advancing equal opportunities.

Read the Government’s Press Release
Read the EOC’s Press Release

In response to the judgment of the Court of Final Appeal in favour of the plaintiff known as “W” for the right to marry in her identified gender, the EOC issued a press statement to call on the Government to concretely and promptly take action to address the issues faced by the transgender community. The EOC welcomes the judgment of the Court and believed this case demonstrated the need for more public understanding and dialogue in order to remove stigma and misunderstanding about diverse gender identities and to facilitate the end of discrimination and prejudice against transgender persons.

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Mental illnesses impose great challenges on our society as a whole. In order to provide a platform for various stakeholders to discuss issues related to the promotion of mental health, the EOC and the Hong Kong Mental Health Council jointly organized the Seminar on Mental Health Policy on 9 May 2013. In a session moderated by Dr. John TSE Wing-ling, the Convenor of the EOC’s Policy and Research Committee, a wide spectrum of stakeholders was invited to share their views, including service users and their family members, healthcare professionals and social workers. The seminar’s participants urged the Government to formulate a comprehensive and long term policy for the enhancement of mental health services and the elimination of stigma attached to mental illness in our society. “Mental Health Policy is not just a policy for mental patients. Mental Health Policy is a policy for all of us,” said Dr. York CHOW Yat-Ngok, the EOC Chairperson.

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Recently, the EOC has conducted a number of talks and outreach activities to various ethnic minority communities with the objective of widening awareness and understanding about everyone’s rights and responsibilities under the anti-discrimination ordinances. In particular, we are aware that many in the ethnic minority community still face difficulties in accessing housing, goods, facilities and services because of cultural and linguistic barriers as well as racial stereotypes. On 2 April 2013, in collaboration with the Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Workers (Kowloon), the EOC conducted a talk on the topic of equal opportunities in access to housing and premises. The aim of the talk was to ensure that those in the ethnic minority community can equally access premises, as well as to broaden understanding of their recourse under the law should they face discrimination. Please contact us at 2511 8211 if you would like to arrange a workshop on a topic related to anti-discrimination for your organisation/group.

What You Should Know as a Real Estate Agent, Landlord, Tenant, or Home Buyer
A World of Colours: the EOC’s Resource Webpage for Ethnic Minorities

The EOC was awarded the Gold Award for Volunteer Service by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) in recognition of our participation in volunteer service to the community in 2012. A total of 56 EOC employees and their families and friends participated in the EOC volunteer service in 2012, performing nearly 1,200 hours service. In addition, five EOC volunteers were awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards individually in recognition for their many hours of service throughout the year. The EOC is proud to be a part of the SWD’s Volunteer Movement and to support the community as a caring and socially responsible organisation.

About the Volunteer Movement

To empower persons with disabilities is to empower societies as a whole, but this calls for the right policies and legislation to make information and knowledge more accessible through information and communication technologies (ICTs). Building on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, this new Global Report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proposes strong recommendations to all stakeholders – from decision-makers to educators, civil society and industry – on how to concretely advance the rights of people living with disabilities to access information and knowledge using ICTs and Assistive Technologies (ATs). The Global Report also calls on Governments to adopt a holistic approach to view ICTs as an important means of empowerment of persons with disabilities and as a way to achieve international goals and commitments.

Read the Report