Start Date
6-6-2013 1:45 PM
End Date
6-6-2013 2:55 PM
Description
With the real estate boom stoking millions of fortunes, Hong Kong is constantly nurturing the rich to become richer. While this seems to be good news to the soon-to-be leading global financial centre, we cannot ignore the fact that the poverty-stricken family is not sharing its fruits. This phenomenon is contributing to an even wider gap between the rich and the poor, resulting in growing social concerns in this ostensibly glamorous city. In view of alleviating the plight of Hong Kong’s poverty from bottom-up, as an educator, I am determined to instill compassion and mindfulness among many other positive qualities in our young people’s mind by introducing “Glocal Social Innovation Service-Learning Program” at University level. This is a 12-week internship program where students are required to spend the first six weeks interning at either the Yunus Centre in Dahka, Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata or Live to Love Foundation in Kathmandu. They will then assemble in Hong Kong in the 7th week to present in groups their experience from overseas, as well as to plan ahead their proposed project through the remaining internship program. In addition, students will receive academic workshops on research methods, report writing and presentation skills to facilitate their completing the academic deliverables. From Week 8 onwards, students will then be re-grouped in groups of six, 2 from each organisation where they intern during the first six weeks, to work on their final project. During the next four weeks, each group will be sent to one of these organisations: Society for Community Organisation, St. James’ Settlement and Wofoo Social Enterprises in Hong Kong for local internship. On top of the findings they observe during their local internship experience, they are also required to carry out research to identify the root-cause of the poverty issue in different levels and to find out what the needy really need, hence propose innovative solutions inspired by what they learn abroad to resolve the poverty issue in Hong Kong in the long run. Lastly, in the 12th week, students are to work on their report and proposal for final submission and presentation.
Project Proposal
Recommended Citation
Sin, F. (2013, June). Glocal social innovation service‐learning program. Paper presented at the 4th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Service-Learning: Service-Learning as a Bridge from Local to Global: Connected world, Connected future, Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.
Included in
Glocal social innovation service‐learning program
With the real estate boom stoking millions of fortunes, Hong Kong is constantly nurturing the rich to become richer. While this seems to be good news to the soon-to-be leading global financial centre, we cannot ignore the fact that the poverty-stricken family is not sharing its fruits. This phenomenon is contributing to an even wider gap between the rich and the poor, resulting in growing social concerns in this ostensibly glamorous city. In view of alleviating the plight of Hong Kong’s poverty from bottom-up, as an educator, I am determined to instill compassion and mindfulness among many other positive qualities in our young people’s mind by introducing “Glocal Social Innovation Service-Learning Program” at University level. This is a 12-week internship program where students are required to spend the first six weeks interning at either the Yunus Centre in Dahka, Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata or Live to Love Foundation in Kathmandu. They will then assemble in Hong Kong in the 7th week to present in groups their experience from overseas, as well as to plan ahead their proposed project through the remaining internship program. In addition, students will receive academic workshops on research methods, report writing and presentation skills to facilitate their completing the academic deliverables. From Week 8 onwards, students will then be re-grouped in groups of six, 2 from each organisation where they intern during the first six weeks, to work on their final project. During the next four weeks, each group will be sent to one of these organisations: Society for Community Organisation, St. James’ Settlement and Wofoo Social Enterprises in Hong Kong for local internship. On top of the findings they observe during their local internship experience, they are also required to carry out research to identify the root-cause of the poverty issue in different levels and to find out what the needy really need, hence propose innovative solutions inspired by what they learn abroad to resolve the poverty issue in Hong Kong in the long run. Lastly, in the 12th week, students are to work on their report and proposal for final submission and presentation.