YMCA 2024 July Perspective
29-07-2024
Cover Story
YMCA joins hands with corporate partners to support physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing
Organised by Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong, the "Y-Care CSR Scheme & Sport-Friendly Action Award Presentation Ceremony" was successfully held on 28 June. This year's award presentation was themed "The Key to Success: Embracing Health-Friendly Workplace, Caring for Sustainable Development". In addition to honouring our corporate partners, we have also introduced the newly launched "H-Care Health-Friendly Scheme" to promote employers' concern for the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of their employees.
Officiating at the ceremony along with Dr. Arnold Cheng, President of the Association, Mr. Karl Lau, General Secretary of the Association thanked our corporate partners in his welcoming speech for their continuous support over the years, and called on corporate organisations to value the health of their employees in addition to the wellbeing of the community: "In last year's Policy Address, the Government has stepped up measures to support people with mental health needs. By paying attention to the physical, mental and spiritual wellness of employees, companies can more effectively promote their corporate social responsibility to care for the underprivileged in the community. Employees are always the most important assets of enterprises and organisations. Having employees in good mood and shape will yield great productivity. I encourage enterprises to take actions in motivating their employees with care for their physical, mental and spiritual wellness."
Apart from awards presentation, we were honoured to invite Dr. Jerry Yeung, Associate Professor of the School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, to share his views on “Emotional Wellness - The Way to Enhance Team Performance", explaining the importance of quality sleep to health and debunking the myth of "less sleep = great employee", so as to encourage employers and employees to boost their performance at work by improving their health.
On the occasion of the ceremony, YMCA also revealed the results of a questionnaire survey conducted earlier to gauge the views of more than 1,000 employees on the health and wellness initiatives provided by their employers. According to the survey results, 41% of the respondents hoped that their employers could provide activities to enhance their physical and mental health, such as yoga and interest classes, while 14% of the respondents expected their employers to provide psychological support and counselling to employees. In response to the needs of enterprises and their employees, our "H-Care Health-Friendly Scheme" provides a wide range of services including Chinese medicine and healthcare, Health Care Professions services, rehabilitation and exercise, recreational and sports programmes, counselling and treatment, and other services for enterprises to support employers in financing their employees to take part in activities for their physical and mental wellbeing and creating a healthy and friendly workplace environment. To learn more about the scheme, please scan the QR code below.
Over 80 companies and organisations were awarded this year. We are grateful to the awardees for their continuous cooperation with YMCA, of which two were honoured as "Y-Care CSR Diamond Partners" for organising a series of activities to cater for the physical, mental and spiritual wellness of the general public, and the needs of the grassroots. The honoured companies are:
(i) Hongkong Land HOME FUND
The two-year community programme "Empowering Youth to Fly" is sponsored by Hongkong Land HOME FUND to provide support services for grassroots students and their families in the West Kowloon district in the areas of academics, physical and mental health, student development and caregiving. Under the programme, over 2,000 grassroots students were served by the programme to improve their learning ability, problem-solving ability and resilience, as well as to broaden their horizons and support networks, so that they can grow up healthily and happily with greater upward mobility opportunities. For more information, please visit:https://www.ymca.org.hk/zh-hant/empoweringyouthtofly
(ii) Tencent Charity Foundation
The Tencent Charity Foundation and Gaw Capital People's Place endorsed the launch of the one-year "全民騰飛" charity sports programme by YMCA, which provided basketball, street workout, mountain craft and many other sport training opportunities for young people and underprivileged women to enhance their physical and mental health. The programme also organised the largest non-academic youth 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Hong Kong to promote sports for all in the community, benefiting more than 5,000 participants. For more information, please visit:https://www.ymca.org.hk/zh-hant/YMBuzzer
Learn more about "H-Care Health-Friendly Scheme"
What's News
JC InnoPower: Nature4Mind programme shortlisted for the 2024 Social Prescribing Awards
The JC InnoPower: Nature4Mind programme adopts the UK's Social Prescribing model of healthcare-community partnership to connect children suffering from anxiety with healthcare and community services, and to support children's mental and physical health through nature-related activities. In addition to its successful implementation in Hong Kong, the programme has been selected as one of the Best International Social Prescribing Projects in the 2024 Social Prescribing Awards. Mr. Karl Lau, General Secretary of YMCA, and staff member Mr. Anthony Cheuk attended the award presentation ceremony in the United Kingdom, while Anthony as the programme lead has been invited to be one of the panelists on "Innovations in Natural and Cultural Heritage" to share our social prescribing programme with global participants.
The rationale behind the programme stems from research studies in recent years, which revealed a worrying prevalence of anxiety symptoms among primary and secondary school students in Hong Kong. In view of this, YMCA has been adopting different intervention modes and programmes to improve the mental health of young people, while ensuring accessibility to children from underprivileged backgrounds. The award has given us a boost to continue our efforts in providing relevant services in response to "Community Wellbeing" in the YMCA Vision 2030, and working closely with community and welfare organisations to make use of our natural environment for physical and mental wellbeing and strengthening the community bonding.
Chinese YMCA College and CityUHK R&D project wins Bronze Award at 49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva
Chinese YMCA College (CYMCAC) has been jointly developing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) sports assessment system with City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) since 2022 to bring an immersive and digitalised sports experience to students. After more than a year of research, the completed system has been awarded a Bronze Medal at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva (IEIG) held in Switzerland in April 2024. CYMCAC students and teachers attended the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva (IEIG) Hong Kong Ceremony in CityUHK a few months ago to share their research findings.
Headed by Prof. Yan Hong, a leading AI expert in China, the Centre for Intelligent Multidimensional Data Analysis (CIMDA) of CityUHK has worked with teachers and students of the Physical Education Section of CYMCAC to develop two new AI technologies - the "Sports Assessment System" and the "AI Running System", which can monitor the warm-up running of 35 individuals simultaneously, so that teachers can track the progress of students' exercise with greater precision. This will provide teachers with efficient and accurate monitoring in their daily complicated and heavy assessment work, and students with a fun and efficient physical education programme. In addition, CYMCAC students were able to conduct research in the Science Park under the project and learn about programming AI programmes and the use of AI recognition systems for identification purposes. This has effectively enhanced students' STEAM knowledge and stimulated their interest in the innovation and technology industry, which in turn nurtures Hong Kong's future scientific and technological research talents and creates a fruitful career path.
Two Chinese YMCA College students awarded in the "2023-2024 National Secondary Schools Writing Competition"
Organised by the Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture, the "National Essay Writing Competition (Hong Kong)" is the largest writing competition in China, attracting more than 5 million secondary school students nationwide to take part in the competition. A total of 217 secondary schools with 79,897 students participated in this year's competition in Hong Kong, making it the most recognised and largest essay competition in the Hong Kong school sector. A total of 11 senior secondary students and five junior secondary students won the National First Prize in the local competition and entered the national finals. Chinese YMCA College S2 student Zhang Jiabao was one of the winners who was awarded the"Star of Literature" honour in the junior secondary division of the local competition. Another winner, S1 student Chan Yee Shek, was awarded the Gold Prize in the junior secondary division of the local competition, making him the youngest Gold Prize winner in the junior secondary division amongst the nine other S3 winners.
Congratulations to the two students, who owe their success to the guidance of the Chinese Panel Head, Ms. Lie Nga Kam. The award presentation ceremony was held on 29 June 2024 at the Hong Kong Central Library, and the winning entries of the two students will be published on the competition website at www.hkipcc.org.hk.
Featured Programme
"Once Upon a Time in HKDSE" film screening and panel discussion
The film production team of "Once Up on a Time in HKDSE" documents the journey of a Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) candidate from the preparation to the release of the HKDSE examination results in eight months' time. In addition, Hui Yin, an actor who used to be one of the final Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination candidates, took part in HKDSE as a part-time student and learnt about the difficulties faced by the candidates and the problems of Hong Kong's education system from the real life experience. Come and join us as our Counselling Unit will invite the filmmakers to share their experience and discuss with participants how the examination system affects the growth of young people through the film screening and panel discussion.
Date: 2 August 2024 (Friday)
Time: 7:00pm - 9:30pm
Venue: Golden Scene Cinema (2 Catchick Street, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong)
Content: 1. "Once Up on a Time in HKDSE" film screening; 2. Film panel discussion with filmmakers on how the examination system affects young people's development (45 mins).
Guest speakers: Hui Yin, Leung Yik Ho (Jencfu)
Price: $150 per participant (Free seating, max. 4 tickets per purchase, first come, first served)
Registration Form: https://forms.gle/azqdKaKnzn637TiF9
For enquiries: 2332 4899 (Counselling Unit)
Programme Highlights
"Be a Global Citizen Campaign" Award Presentation Ceremony 2023-24
The "Be a Global Citizen Campaign" Award Presentation Ceremony 2023-24 was successfully held on 22 June 2024 at the Sports Complex on 6/F in YMCA Kowloon Centre. Mr. Andy Tsang, GBS, PDSM, JP, Chairman of the campaign's Steering Committee, was invited to officiate at the ceremony. Together with members of the Steering Committee, Prof. Edwin Chan, Dr. Janet Chan, Ms. Irene Ng, and Dr. Bonson Lee, Deputy General Secretary of YMCA, the ceremony saw the presentation of awards to a total of 146 Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal winners in this year's campaign.
On the day of the ceremony, a special session of "Inequality Experience Game" was organised in the form of a table game for participants to experience the inequalities and difficulties faced by different groups in society, and to learn more about "Just World" in the YMCA Vision 2030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Goal 10 "Reduce Inequality".
In addition, a team of university students under the campaign has been selected as the recipients of this year's "Be a Global Citizen: Ultimate Tour" grant. They will travel to Finland during the summer holidays to explore the key to happiness of the local residents, and share Hong Kong's story as a global citizen to promote Chinese culture and connect with young people from all over the world with an eye on the world.
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Olympic Day 2024 - "Athletic Challenge Day"
To celebrate the 33rd Olympics Games, YMCA organised the "Athletic Challenge Day" on 23 June at Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village as part of the special events organised by the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China for the Olympic Day 2024 series, to promote the spirit of holistic wellbeing and Olympism whilst igniting the Olympic fever.
The heat on the day of the event did not deter the participants from joining in the fun as runners in the parent-child and children's age-group raced around the village to break a sweat. A number of sports booths were set up at the camp, including mölkky, kendama, dodgebee, floor curling, cornhole, indoor rowing, walking football, crate climbing and rope course, where participants of all ages could experience the fun of playing sports together. In addition, the Jockey Club's "Sport, Animal and Youth Pilot Project" provided interactive experiences with dogs at the venue, adding to the fun of the participants. The event attracted a total of 150 participants, who enjoyed the scenic natural environment of the campsite and the opportunity to exercise their bodies and minds through sports, and were enthusiastic about joining similar events in the future.
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Walking Football Exhibition Match cum Sports Experience Carnival
On 22 June 2024, YMCA held a "Walking Football Exhibition Match cum Sports Experience Carnival" for the 'To・Gather'@ Sam Shing Transitional Housing Project in Tuen Mun. Accompanying Mr. Victor Tai, JP, Acting Secretary for Housing; and Ms. Donna Tang, Executive Manager, Charities (Sports & Institute of Philanthropy), The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Dr. Jim Hui, Assistant General Secretary of YMCA, witnessed the introduction of Walking Football into transitional housing for the first time through "Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong - Jockey Club Walking Football Project", which provides short-term Walking Football classes for middle-aged and elderly residents to help them develop healthy living habits, improve their physical and mental wellbeing, and promote community bonding in combination with sports and social interaction.
On the day of the event, residents of 'To・Gather' @ Sam Shing Transitional Housing Project in Tuen Mun and members of the women's team under the Walking Football Project played an exhibition match in a lively atmosphere, together with a number of new sports for the public to try out, so that more people in the community can maintain their physical and mental health and contribute to the community's holistic wellbeing through Walking Football and other sports activities. In addition, the project provided three walking football classes for the 'To・Gather' @ Sam Shing Transitional Housing Project from 8 June to 29 June, while four Walking Football classes will be provided for the Transitional Housing Project at Pok Oi Kong Ha Wai Village in September for women aged 40 or above and men aged 50 or above, with a view to bringing the sport of Walking Football to the community
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PAIN Kick Zone
As city dwellers who often work overtime and frequently perform repetitive motions, we are more susceptible to joint pain or sports injuries that can affect our quality of life. The Association’s Health Care Professions Department is launching a regular monthly column and publishing short articles about self-care. Topics covered will include arthritis, joint pain and self-healing. For more detailed health-related information, please visit our website www.ymca.org.hk/hcp or call 2783 3616 for inquiries.
<Knee brace: Which one is the most suitable for me?>
There are several types of knee braces.
The first type is soft knee brace (Picture 1), which is used to compress and protect the knee joint. This type of brace can be used in mild knee osteoarthritis or chronic, mild knee pain cases.
Another type of soft knee brace is the Open Patella soft brace (Picture 2), which is for anchoring the patella, and can be used in patella mal-tracking condition.
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The second type is a hinged knee brace (Picture 3), which is used to restrict knee side bending and rotation, and only allows knee extension and flexion. If it is equipped with a locking plate (Picture 4), it can further limit the extension-flexion angle. These types of braces can be used in conditions like ligaments or meniscus tears, fractures, or severe muscle strain.
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Some believe that prolonged wearing of a knee brace is good for healing. However, prolonged wearing of a knee brace may cause compression over the skin, and cause interruption in blood circulation.
Wearing time of the knee brace varies in different conditions, details shall refer to respective medical practitioners or physiotherapists.
Discovering YMCA Channel
Louis Cheung: Happiness is where dreams never end! A dream of acting for secondary school students
＊Some of the programmes are subsidised by the Social Welfare Department
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