Press Releases
EOC Organises Accessible for All@Hong Kong Symposium to Foster an Inclusive Smart City
15/07/2024
Everyone has a dream. For 15-year-old Snail CHEN Tsz-kin, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and relies on his wheelchair for mobility, his dream is to break limits and explore different places without barriers, as he relayed to the participants of the Accessible for All@Hong Kong Symposium today. Will his dream come true? In the face of a rapidly ageing population, how can Hong Kong transform into an inclusive and accessible city that enables people of different abilities and ages to live independently and participate equally in society?
With an aim to encourage different sectors in society to explore ways of enhancing Hong Kong’s barrier-free environment and facilities, thereby fostering an inclusive, accessible, and age-friendly city, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) today (15 July 2024) organised the Accessible for All@Hong Kong Symposium at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Acting as the Guest of Honour was Ms Winnie HO Wing-yin, Secretary for Housing of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The event featured expert speakers from the architecture, housing, information and innovation technology, academia, banking, and healthcare sector, as they shared their experiences and insights with representatives from various Government departments, Legislative Council Members, and around 300 participants of the Symposium. Additionally, two experts from the mainland gave presentations on the development of barrier-free cities in the country.
In her opening speech, EOC Chairperson Ms Linda LAM Mei-sau said, “Accessible, barrier-free environment and facilities are the prerequisites for people with disabilities to participate equally in society. As population ageing gathers pace in Hong Kong, the demand for barrier-free facilities is becoming increasingly urgent. Ensuring that people of different ages, abilities, and physical conditions can access premises, use transportation, enjoy various public facilities and services, and fully participate in society is a present and future challenge for Hong Kong. The EOC is hosting the Symposium to gather diverse insights, facilitate in-depth discussions, encourage the sharing of experiences, and explore ways to eliminate various visible and invisible barriers in society, such that we can transform Hong Kong into an inclusive, accessible, and age-friendly city.”
As the statutory body responsible for enforcing the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO), the EOC has been facilitating different sectors to improve accessible environments and facilities in Hong Kong through law enforcement, research, policy advocacy, and public education ever since its establishment in 1996. Over the years, the EOC has handled over 10 000 complaints under the DDO, conducted several research studies on the situation of people with disabilities, as well as produced different guidelines and leaflets to help the public understand the needs of people with different disabilities and ways to provide appropriate accommodation for them. In 2010, the EOC published the Formal Investigation Report: Accessibility in Publicly Accessible Premises, which mobilised different Government departments to carry out improvement works, fast-tracking the development of barrier-free facilities in Hong Kong.
In recent years, the EOC has stepped up efforts to promote the concept of universal design, which has been included as one of the work priorities in its Strategic Plan 2024 – 2026. Last October, the EOC published the How to Support Persons with Disabilities: Practical Guide on Universal Design for Catering Services, which provides simple yet practical guidelines for the catering sector. This was followed by the launch of the Universal Design Award Scheme 2024/25 in February 2024. The Scheme recognises public and private organisations that have made outstanding contributions in creating accessible built environments, thereby encouraging different sectors to widely adopt universal designs. The EOC has received applications from over 270 organisations during the enrolment period, and will announce the results at a later date, with an award ceremony scheduled for November 2024.
Ms Lam said, “Improving the accessibility of Hong Kong will definitely be beneficial for the development of our society. Apart from enhancing the liveability of our city and elevating residents’ sense of wellbeing, it will also help attract talents and tourists, especially with the growing popularity of ‘barrier-free travel’ on the mainland in recent years. With more accessible developments, we can improve livelihood and economic development, and transform Hong Kong into a great place to live, work, and travel.”
“The EOC’s mission is to create an inclusive, discrimination-free society. We are fully committed to eliminating the barriers people with disabilities face, enabling them to move freely and exercise the right to live independent lives. Accordingly, the EOC will actively collaborate with various stakeholders and serve as a facilitator to advance the work of transforming Hong Kong into an accessible city,” she continued.
The Symposium featured three thematic panel discussion sessions. The speakers’ presentations and discussions covered ways to enhance the accessibility of Hong Kong’s built environment, foster a barrier-free and inclusive digital environment, and improve inclusion through the development of a smart city. The EOC also invited three experts from Hong Kong and the mainland to share their views on the development of assistive technology in Hong Kong, developing barrier-free cities in the Greater Bay Area, and the development of a barrier-free index in China. For more details on the topics and the speakers, please visit the Symposium’s website.
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Equal Opportunities Commission
15 July 2024
Ms Linda LAM Mei-sau, EOC Chairperson delivers welcome remarks at the Accessible for All@Hong Kong Symposium.
Guest of Honour Ms Winnie HO Wing-yin, Secretary for Housing of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region gives a keynote address at the Symposium.
Ms Winnie HO Wing-yin, Secretary for Housing (ninth from left, front row) and Ms Linda LAM Mei-sau, EOC Chairperson (eighth from right, front row) join in a group photo with guest speakers of the Symposium, Legislative Councillors, Members and management team of the EOC, as well as other guests.