Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong

We are now living in the digital age, when anyone with a smartphone or a digital camera can record video footage and instantly broadcast it on social media and share it with everyone. But have you ever considered sharing your stories and ideas with the world in the form of a mini-movie and perhaps paving the way to a career in the movie industry at the same time?

Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong, Magna Education Centre and the Hong Kong Micro Movie Institute have teamed up once more to organise the sixth Hong Kong Secondary School Mini-Movie Competition. In light of the fact that the Hong Kong government and schools across the SAR are promoting STEAM projects which use animation and computer design to resonate with students, the theme of this year’s competition is “My City, My Creation”, and participants will be allowed to present their mini-movie in animated and infographic forms in addition to the traditional video form. This will give the participants expanded room for creativity and hopefully attract even more entries.

“The ingenuity of the mini-movie comes from using limited resources to express endless ideas”, says Mr Hui Yik Piu, Coordinating Secretary of Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong. Mr Hui encourages this year’s participants to pay attention to the details of their everyday lives and look for inspiration by closely observing their surroundings.

Taking part in the mini-movie competition has led many students to identify their goals in life more clearly – for instance, 16-year-old Jasen Ho, who won three gold awards in the individual group with his film “View Founder” in last year competition, had no idea that he had a passion for making movies until he was asked to submit a five-minute video clip as part of an English assignment in school. From then on, Jasen began learning film techniques in his own time.

“There is not much dialogue in my work; I prefer using music and lenses to tell story. I like to give my imagination room, and I want to gradually create a distinctive style for my work,” says Jasen. He believes that having a passion for creating things and shooting video are the most important elements in the movie-making process. Besides always trying to learn new things, Jasen is committed to learning from his teammates ¬– expressing that embracing disagreement is a good way to get the best results.

“View Founder” was also nominated for the Second Golden Jubilee Award at the Chinese Youth Micro Film Festival; while his father, the movie’s protagonist, was crowned Best Actor at the event. His film also won the Best Editing award at “Inno-Action!”, the seventh HKBU Academy of Film Seeds Project Digital Short Video Competition, and the film has also been nominated for the New York Festivals Award – TV and Film Awards and the New York Festivals International TV and Film Awards Gala (Student Group) award, both of which will be presented in March of this year.

Jasen has not only benefited from the experience of making his mini-movie and participating in various competitions; he has also found his future direction. He told us that, “After the DSE, I’d like to apply to a film studies course in Germany to prepare for my future career”.

To ensure that their work is of competition-worthy quality, participants in this year’s competition are suggested to refer to the winning entries of past competitions. Mr Hui relates that, “the story structure of the entries in recent years has become much more detailed and sophisticated. Since renowned filmmakers have been invited to share their filmmaking tips and tricks with the participants, and since the winners will have the opportunity to take part in international film festivals and overseas exchanges; I believe that this year’s competition will draw a lot of film enthusiasts, adding further positivity to the industry.”

To learn more about the 2019 Hong Kong Secondary School Mini-Movie Competition, please click here.

Cycling for Love is an annual charity cycle ride held by Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong , this year, we will jointly organize with the Hangzhou YMCA. This year’s event will take place between 17 and 23 April at Qiandao Lake, Hangzhou. In addition to delivering love and warmth to left-behind children and senior “empty nesters” in Zhejiang province, this year’s team of riders will also visit members of the “She” ethnic group and plant camellia trees at a local school during Earth Day on 22 April. As usual, all proceeds from the event will go to the Coach Kindle Hopes Mobile Classroom project, and will also be used to purchase and install hot water heaters in schools.

Members aged 15 and above are welcome join us on this ride during what will be a meaningful Easter Holiday for all participants. To learn more about the event, please click here.

The deadline for registration is 31 January.
For enquiries please call: 2705 2725

On top of pretty flowers and colourful Chinese New Year home decorations, this year our social enterprise YM Balloon, has another way to create a wonderful atmosphere for this year’s holiday: balloons! YM Balloon has artistically designed a number of balloons to look like mandarin oranges, daffodils and peach blossoms. Don't miss out on this unique festive opportunity – the last orders will be taken on 31 January 2019.

For enquiries and order, please call: 2528 2938

The Year of the Pig is fast approaching and to celebrate Chinese New Year, our New Creation Depot has specially prepared three types of cakes for you: a radish cake with dried scallops, a coconut sticky rice cake and a taro cake with bacon. Shipping is free if you order 20 cakes or more!

To learn more or to place an order, please call: 2420 0266 (extension 135)

Hang Seng Bank, one of our Y-Care Corporate Partners, dispatched a team of corporate volunteers to teach ethnic minority families and children from low-income families the knitting skills for six months. Recently, the same volunteer team visited elderly people living alone and families in need – taking them items that were hand-knitted by the families visited previously. This visit underlined the importance of a caring community, positivity, teaching children about civic responsibility and the vital principle of “it is more blessed to give than to receive”.

Last month, our Y-Care corporate partner Nexify sent a volunteer team to our Shek Kip Mei centre to give gifts and play games with primary students in the neighbourhood. The team also learned balloon art techniques from a YM Balloon instructor and spent a joyful afternoon having Christmas fun with the participants.

As part of our partnership with YMCA the Netherlands and Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle in the Netherlands, in November and December of 2018, Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong was delighted to host a second cohort of undergraduate students majoring in Global Project and Change Management. The five students from Netherland – Arjo, Joke, Lars, Mara and Marc – conducted a credit-bearing group research study project focusing on the current status of the implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Hong Kong; specifically on the goals pertaining to “no poverty”, “reduced inequality” and “sustainable cities and communities”.

Before the students arrived in Hong Kong, they performed desktop research and gathered data, and during their stay here they conducted a number of interviews with people in the private, government and non-government sectors. After months of hard work, they identified some of the best practices being implemented in Hong Kong to achieve the SDGs, and produced an advisory report which presented the various opportunities and underlined the significance of cross-sector collaboration when tackling the many challenges inherent in implementing the SDGs in the local Hong Kong environment.

It is clear that the UN’s SDGs provide a blueprint for a better and more sustainable future for everyone. It is also clear that these SDGs are highly relevant in the local Hong Kong context. With the government setting a target of achieving all these SDGs by 2030, Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong will continue to develop services that are focused on implementing the SDGs in conjunction with our existing “Be a Global Citizen” Campaign. Together, these services will empower our young people to contribute to the betterment of both our local community and the wider global community.