As Robin Williams said in the acclaimed film Dead Poets Society, “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” The moving power of stories is evidenced by the winners of EOC’s “Employment Equality Project – Writing Competition”, recently announced at a fun-filled public event at Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre on 19 May that aimed to promote equal employment opportunity for people with disabilities (PWDs). Co-organised by the EOC and Radio Television Hong Kong Radio 1, the event was graced by the presence of The Hon SHIU Ka-chun, Chairman of the Legislative Council’s Panel on Welfare Services, who presented certificates and prizes to the winners; Mr David LEUNG, Commissioner for Rehabilitation; Mr David HO Chung-yan, Head of RTHK Radio 1; and Ms Teresa MO, Best Actress winner at the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards. They joined Professor Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming, Chairperson of the EOC, to perform the launch ceremony.

Comprised of a Youth Division and an Open Division, the competition invited members of the public to write about their experience being PWDs or living and working with PWDs. From a light-hearted self-portrait of a visually impaired girl to an inspirational account of the attentive service of a waiter with intellectual disabilities and a daughter’s affectionate recollections of her wheelchair-bound father, the winning entries all showed how much difference a little empathy could make. During the event, these heartwarming stories were adapted into lively drama performances by members of Hand in Hand Capable Theatre, a troupe set up by The Nonsensemakers in 2013 to foster mutual understanding between PWDs and the able-bodied through theatre training and performance.

Professor Alfred CHAN said, “The Employment Equality Project is one of EOC’s territory-wide initiatives this year, and we are truly grateful for the support of 22 rehabilitation organisations. We hope that different sectors will join hands with us to create an inclusive society where PWDs can realise their talents and potential to the fullest.”

Read the winning stories of the writing competition
Watch EOC’s latest documentary Let Their Talents Bloom on YouTube
Learn more about Hand in Hand Capable Theatre

On 25 May, winners of the inter-school competition under the Jockey Club Equal Opportunities Drama Project 2017/18 received their well-deserved awards at Youth Square in Chai Wan. Teams hailing from primary and secondary schools across the territory went on stage once again to deliver their winning performances and spread the message of love, respect and equality.

Organised by Prospects Theatre, the project is a three-year initiative sponsored by Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and supported by the EOC since 2015. Aimed at cultivating a sense of self-worth and promoting values of equality and inclusion among the next generation through theatre, it encompasses a wide variety of activities, from summer camps and competitions to talks and workshops about anti-discrimination and equal opportunity.

Learn more about the project (in Chinese only)
About Prospects Theatre (in Chinese only)

According to Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2016, 1.35 million people in this city are living in poverty, of which over 50% are women (728,400). Carrying the heavy burden of looking after family members, many Hong Kong women toil away at part-time jobs, whose meagre benefits further put them at a disadvantaged, stressful and vulnerable position.

To support women in need, Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) has given training to more than a hundred mothers on creating hand-made bags and leather goods in partnership with Les Beatitudes over the past few years. They even took a step further and encouraged men to donate their neckties as materials for reuse and recycling, turning it into a “HeForShe” project to call for mutual support between men and women.

From now until 1 July 2018, Les Beatitudes and SoCO are presenting a spin-off exhibition entitled “Her．Tie．Journey．她” at 1/F, 269 Yu Chau Street, Sham Shui Po to showcase the exquisite works by local artists and grassroots mothers who sew. An extension event, “Human Library – Dialogue with Grassroots Women Living in Sub-divided Flats”, will also take place on 10 June 2018 (Sunday), from 2:30 to 4pm at the same venue. The talk is free for admission on a first-come, first-served basis.

Learn more about the exhibition and enrol for the talk
Visit SoCO’s homepage
More about Les Beatitudes

When tabloid journalism and populist politics rule the day, it is not easy to stay in touch with our humanity, not least around the issue of refugees. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, the world is now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record, with an unprecedented 65.6 million people forced from home. Nearly 22.5 million are refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. Every minute, 20 people are forcibly displaced as a result of conflict or persecution. As residents of a relatively peaceful city, we may not be able to readily relate to the extremity of the terror refugees have undergone, or the confounding sense of alienation that comes when one sets foot on unfamiliar ground. Yet, at one point or another in our lives, we have all experienced feelings of helplessness and despair; and World Refugee Day (20 June) serves as the perfect occasion for us to put ourselves into the shoes of refugees at home and around the world, and find out what we – as individuals and a society – can do to lessen their pain and answer their hopes.

This year, several organisations are heralding the day with different awareness-raising events:

- 11th Charity Refugee Film Festival (7 – 20 June), a film programme organised by UNHCR to offer refreshing perspectives through cinema on the plight of refuges, a subject often misunderstood or misrepresented;

- World Refugee Day Film Screening (19 June), a screening of AI Weiwei's documentary on the global refugee crisis, Human Flow (2017), organised by Justice Centre Hong Kong and accompanied with a panel discussion;

- Celebrating World Refugee Day: Human Library (20 June), a forum hosted by Community Business and Centre for Refugees – Christian Action where expert panelists will share insights into refugees’ employment rights and the process of seeking a work permit;

- World Refugee Day 2018 (23 June), a celebratory event organised by Table of Two Cities and BiteUnite featuring refugee cuisines and pop-up sales of arts and crafts by female asylum seekers

Learn more about World Refugee Day
Find out more about the film festival
Get tickets now and watch Human Flow
Register for the “Human Library” panel talk
Join Table of Two Cities at the celebration