Service-learning has been recognized as a unique teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. This is primarily a western learning concept, but is now gaining awareness across cultures. In becoming a world-wide experience, service-learning has been increasingly adopted by educational institutions and social organizations in Asia-Pacific regions. Yet in this transition, Asian countries realized the unprecedented need to modify and adjust to this concept. In Hong Kong, Lingnan University and OSL play a crucial role in introducing the concept of service-learning. With the aim of constructing a model for academy-student-community partnership, we have made a remarkable attempt to truly put the inspirational slogan “Serving to Learn and Learning to Serve” into practice.
By highlighting service learning as an Asia-Pacific issue in the conference theme: ‘Cross-Cultural Service-Learning Experiences in the Asia-Pacific Region: An Evolving Integration of Theory and Practice’, we hope to involve and engage key stakeholders in theoretical development, and sharing of experiences and challenges faced in service-learning. In nurturing service-learning, this process of engagement can be achieved within the context of multi-locale perspectives and their respective social and cultural environments.
The Conference and related programmes expect gaining invaluable benefits from the inspiration, knowledge, and experience in service-learning within the Asia-Pacific region, national and international NGOs (especially in the field of community service-learning), and public and educational sectors involvement around the world. We would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to individuals and organizations around the globe whose contribution will make this the most stimulating and pioneering programme ever delivered to our delegates.
We are sure that your participation in this Conference will be fruitful and enjoyable, and that we will all return to our own countries inspired, stimulated and filled with new ideas and models to improve the environment, practice and understanding of service-learning related issues.
Prof. Alfred Cheung-Ming CHANDirector
Office of Service Learning
Lingnan University
Dr. Carol Hok-Ka MA
Service-Learning Coordinator
Office of Service Learning
Lingnan University
Browse the contents of The 1st Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Service Learning: Theory and Practice of Service-Learning: Cross-Cultural Service-Learning Programme in Asia-Pacific Region:
- Plenary session 1 (Keynote speeches): Establishing a global perspective on service-learning: thoughts, issues, engagement and operation model
- Plenary session 2: Cross-cultural, cross-sectors, cross-countries, experiences in organizing service-learning programmes
- Breakout session 1: Service and learning: what are the students' experiences?
- Breakout session 2: Institutionalization of service-learning
- Breakout session 3: The building of a harmonious society and the nature of partnership between community and institution of higher learning
- Breakout session 4: Service-learning models in the Asia-Pacific region: implication on theory and practice
- Breakout session 5: Research design and findings on the impact of service-learning