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EOC Launches Citywide Campaign to Promote Racial Equality & Integration

08/03/2018

This March, get ready to meet the colourful characters of the children storybook series Tally & friends at the MTR stations, as the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) rolls out a citywide campaign to promote racial equality, diversity and inclusiveness. Featuring MTR advertisement, public event, talks and seminar throughout the month of March, the month-long programme of events and activities aims to provide a platform for citywide action against racism, discrimination and intolerance, in observance of the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (IDERD) on 21 March.

Professor Alfred CHAN Cheung-ming, Chairperson of the EOC said, “Diversity is an integral part of Hong Kong and our city’s core value. Yet racism, xenophobia and intolerance remain common in our society, and discriminatory practices can be seen in different sectors, robbing ethnic minorities of the opportunities that they should have in education, employment and other aspects. Taking the opportunity of IDERD, the EOC is organising a series of activities in March 2018 to raise awareness of the importance of racial equality and inclusion, respect and acceptance in our society.”

“The campaign aligns with the Government’s effort to address racial inequality in the city. As announced in the Policy Address last October and the recent Budget, the Government is committed to enhancing the support for ethnic minorities, with $500 million earmarked for the purpose in the 2018/19 Budget. In addition, the Chief Secretary for Administration will set up a steering committee to coordinate, review and monitor the work in the area. The EOC has also received an additional one-off funding of $3 million from the Government to strengthen the promotion of racial integration. We have already made plans for various initiatives in 2018/19 to engage the community, and mobilise multi-sector effort to push forward the agenda of racial equality.”

To make the messages of racial diversity and inclusion visible, the EOC has arranged for posters of Tally & friends to be installed at the MTR stations of the East, West and Ma On Shan Line, and on the Kwun Tong, Island, Tseung Kwan O, Tung Chung and South Island Line, as well as the Light Rail, during 9-23 March 2018. Coming from Planet Diversity to make friends on Earth, Tally and his friends are the best ambassadors to spread the message of diversity and inclusion.

Furthermore, the EOC has lined up a number of activities to engage different sectors of the community. These included a talk to secondary school students on 7 March, during which students learnt about the Race Discrimination Ordinance, and heard from Mr Jeffrey Andrews, the first registered Indian social worker in Hong Kong, as he shared his experiences of racial integration in the city.

On 10 March, the EOC will co-organise a public event with Radio Television Hong Kong Radio 2 at Lok Fu Place, Kowloon from 2:30pm to 3:40pm. Featuring colourful cultural and singing performances, speeches and sharing, the event will join the voices of community members from different backgrounds, as they stand up against racism. The event is free and open to public participation.

As for the business community, the EOC has lined up a seminar on “Corporate Role in Promoting Racial Diversity” on 21 March, with the support of HSBC. The seminar capitalises on the latest business trend, as more and more enterprises are recognising the benefits of workplace diversity. By highlighting examples of good practices, the EOC hopes that businesses of all sizes will be inspired to take positive steps of promoting diversity in the workplace, notably increase the employment of EMs.

Meanwhile, in order to support the EOC’s advocacy for racial equality, the Commission is going to announce the findings of an internal survey on kindergarten admission and practices on 14 March. The survey will cast the spotlight on the education issues facing children of ethnic minorities. This follows the recent submission by the EOC to the Legislative Council Subcommittee Meeting on Rights of Ethnic Minorities on 27 February 2018 on education for EM children, when the EOC urged the Government to have a comprehensive set of indicators that can be used in a systematic manner for assessing the effectiveness of the “Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework”, and report the progress in a transparent manner.

As well as rolling out the above events and activities, the EOC will also take part in those organised by various NGOs and related organisations. The EOC hopes that the concerted effort and wave of publicity can drive home the messages of racial diversity and integration among citizens of Hong Kong. For further information about the above-mentioned events and activities, please visit the EOC website www.eoc.org.hk.

 

EOC Launches Citywide Campaign to Promote Racial Equality & Integration

Promotions on Racial Equality & Inclusion by the EOC in March 2018:

Date Promotion Remarks
7 March 2018 Talk on the Race Discrimination Ordinance and sharing by Mr Jeffrey Andrews, the first registered Indian social worker in Hong Kong to secondary school students about breaking stereotypes  
9-23 March 2018 MTR advertisement featuring characters of children storybook Tally & friends Posters at various MTR stations
10 March 2018 Public event in celebration of International Day on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Time: 2:30pm – 3:40pm Venue: Podium Food Square, Lok Fu Place

Event open to public participation
14 March 2018 Release of findings of internal survey on kindergarten admission and practices Press conference held at the EOC office
21 March 2018 Seminar on “Corporate Role in Promoting Racial Diversity” with support from HSBC For the business sector (by invitation mainly)

 

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Equal Opportunities Commission
8 March 2018

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