Members of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) met today (Thursday, 19 March 2009) at the 76th EOC Meeting and discussed various matters related to the Commission’s business including the following:

EOC Members discussed the preliminary report of the “Thematic Household Survey on Racial Acceptance”, which was an exercise under the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD)’s Thematic Household Survey Scheme. The purpose of the said survey was to elicit the public perception of racial acceptance under different areas such as employment, education, provision of goods, services and facilities and disposal of premises. It was expected that a press briefing on the key survey findings would be held in April 2009.

 

In order to follow up on the “Study on Public Perception of Portrayal of Female Gender in Hong Kong Media”, the EOC would organize a Seminar titled, “Gender Equality and Gender Respect --- media and societal culture, where do we go from here ?” jointly with the Women’s Commission (WoC) with the support of the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education (CPCE). The EOC released the findings of the above-mentioned study in October 2008, which revealed that there was an imbalance between current media practice and what the public found acceptable regarding female portrayal in local print media. The Seminar, which was an effort to involve various stakeholders in the society to discuss the issue, would be held on 17 April 2009.

 

Members reviewed the work progress in 2008, and discussed the thematic work plan for 2009/2010. In planning the work for 2009/2010, the Commission put emphasis on the enforcement and promoting understanding and compliance of the Race Discrimination Ordinance; promoting understanding and addressing needs of persons with disabilities with a special focus on accessibility issues; strengthening awareness and achieving realization of gender equality; mainstreaming the culture of equal opportunities in Hong Kong and strengthening organizational capacity.

 

Members also discussed the production of a new series of 6-episode docu-drama on equal opportunities jointly with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) in 2010. The EOC and RTHK had jointly produced six series of educational TV docu-drama since 1998. Broadcasting at prime time on TVB Jade Channel, the series attracted an average of 1 to 1.2 million viewers per episode.

 

Brief reports from the Commission’s four Committees were discussed, charting the progress of various aspects of the EOC’s work in the past quarter.

 

Minutes of the 76th EOC meeting will be uploaded to the Commission's website at http://www.eoc.org.hk following Members' confirmation of its content at the next meeting on 18 June 2009.

 

Media Enquiries : Ms. Mariana LAW (Tel No. : 2106-2226)

 

 

Equal Opportunities Commission

19 March 2009