As Ethnic Minorities (EM) have been living here for generations, how is their cultural integration in Hong Kong? Or how is Hong Kong’s cultural diversity so far? The upcoming Christmas in December is always widely celebrated by devoted religious followers to the general public. Comparatively, it seems less common for Hong Kong citizens to know and partake in the celebration of so-called EM festivals, e.g. India's Diwali, and Thailand’s Songkran. The vibrancy of cultural diversity does need active participation by both Chinese and EM to promote Hong Kong which is renowned as an international city. To materialize cultural diversity in the work setting, cultural competence is the cornerstone to building a good multicultural team. For example, most Pakistani EMs are Muslim, and they fast during the daylight as the religious practice during the month of Ramadan. Adjustments in work schedule or duty during Ramadan can be a crucial support to show the mainstream’s cultural acceptance. Therefore, a training session called Ethnic Minorities' Culture and Diversity in Hong Kong's Christmas is arranged to share the pragmatic daily practice in appreciation of cultural diversity. Ethnic Minorities' Culture and Diversity in Hong Kong's Christmas Date: December 22, 2022 (Thursday) Time: 10:00-12:00 Venue: Zoom Language: English  Rundown: https://tinyurl.com/mw4xxr6n ...

The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (The Council) has launched the 3-year "Jockey Club Project IDEAL" funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust since September 2020. Through collaboration with Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the partner NGOs, the project aims to bring out the concept of "Parent Empowerment" and "Transformative Learning Approach" in the sector and larger community. It is envisaged that mindset change on parenting education among the professional sector and larger society would be fostered ultimately. Moreover, the annual theme of 2023 is "Grow together with your children". It is hoped that through the Thematic Community Programs, parents could explore their potential and interests, and grow with their children. All interested members are cordially invited to attend the Mid-term Sharing Forum & Briefing of Participating NGOs for the Thematic Community Programs 2023 of "Jockey Club Project IDEAL". (It will conduct in Cantonese.) The details are as below: Date： October 24, 2022 (Monday) Time： 2:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. Venue： ZOOM Online Platform Content： The mid-term research sharing by the CUHK Department of Social Work The practical experience sharing by practitioners of the Transformative Learning Platform The Briefing for Participating NGOs for the Thematic Community Programs ...

The pandemic has been catastrophically impacting people's lives. For the Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong, the impact has become severe yet invisible. As the pandemic-related news and measures are disseminated in Chinese first, Ethnic Minorities have been receiving a delayed update. With the concerted efforts among NGOs, translation into infographics, Ethnic Minority languages and even audio messages have been in place to assist the information delivery. For the infected Ethnic Minorities who are hospitalized for treatment and quarantine, a team of linguistically and culturally sensitive professionals has been urgently needed. In view of the border shutdown and economic downturn, there have been constant strains on Ethnic Minority Communities, resulting in family conflicts, marital conflicts, and even multigenerational domestic violence. The mental health of Ethnic Minorities is demanding the health care professionals' attention. This also heightened the attention to kick start the discussion on the necessity of implementing a culturally sensitive support in the public health care infrastructure. Therefore, a training session called Ethnic Minorities' Mental health and physical health affected by the pandemic is arranged to raise the sector's awareness and cultural competence in providing Ethnic Minorities with the timely and appropriate health services. Ethnic Minorities’ Mental health and physical health affected by ...

The “2022 National Symposium on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control” is organized by Chinese Association of Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment in collaboration with the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Social Welfare Bureau of Macau SAR Government and Young Men Christian Association Macau.  The objective of the Symposium is to facilitate the knowledge exchange of best practices of the service among the districts with the theme of “New Chances, New Challenges, New Future” in this year.  The organizer has already finished the invitation of related fellow workers of the field to submit paper, as well as to participate in verbal paper presentation and plenary sessions before. Due to the pandemic situation, the symposium has been rescheduled to November 17th & 18th.  The event will be held via ZOOM platform and the registration fee is free of charge.  The details are as below:  DATE    :    November 17 & 18, 2022 (Thursday & Friday) TIME    :    Please refer to official rundown in the Symposium webpage (Chinese only) OFFICIAL LANGUAGE    :    Putonghua Enclosed please find the Symposium Notice for your easy reference.  Interesting parties who would like to attend the symposium, please register online on or before 13 November.  For enquiries, please contact Mr Toby Yip, ...

“Self-consumption of illicit drugs is legal”, “There will be only slight legal consequence for young drug trafficker” … Although above messages are prevalent among drug abusers, they are just myths. Disseminating correct legal knowledge among the community is helping prevent people from falling into drug traps. Also, as helping professionals, we may also have chance to interact with clients who are abusing drugs. What are our responsibilities from the legal perspective? What are the reminders to support our clients with drug-related offences?  The council and Community Drug Advisory Council (社區藥物教育輔導會) co-organize a sharing session with sharing from experienced social worker and lawyers, aiming to equip social service practitioners, especially those from the Ethnic Minority community, with drug-related legal knowledge. Details are as follows: Objectives: To learn the basic knowledge on drug-related criminal liability and judicial procedures To dispel misunderstanding of drug abuse To know the legal lability when interacting with drug abusers Date: 23 September 2022 (Friday) Time: 2:30pm – 4:00pm Language: English Mode: Online Fee: Free of Charge Target: Ethnic minorities (Ethnically diverse social service practitioners are highly recommended) Our Speakers: Mr. Raymond N.H. Chan (Solicitor, Mayer Brown) Mr. Julian H. Y. Tam (Solicitor, Mayer Brown) Mr. Jason Huang ...