YMCA 2024 December Perspective
20-12-2024
Cover Story“Plastic-Free Hong Kong 2024” promotes a sustainable society
YMCA actively responds to the “Sustainable Planet” goal set out in the YMCA Vision 2030. The “Plastic-Free Hong Kong 2024” environmental protection campaign, organised by the YMCA Environmental Protection Working Group, has adopted the theme of “Green Travel”. An open call for posts and short videos was held earlier, allowing participants to share their suggestions for going plastic-free, reducing carbon emissions and practising green living when going out through their works. The campaign received over 100 posts and dozens of short videos, many of which were very well thought out and responded to the theme in different ways, proposing various specific green actions to encourage a green lifestyle among the public.
“Plastic-Free Hong Kong 2024” concluded with the “Green Travel Fun Day” held at Kowloon Centre in late November. On the day, the public was invited to participate in green experience booths and energy saving and carbon reduction quiz games for free. The event also featured the "Project Be W.I.S.E. Green Tour” and " Green Travel Post and Video " awards ceremony, jointly officiated by our General Secretary, Mr. Karl Lau; the Chairman of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, Dr. Cheung Tin Cheung, SBS; and our Social Services Committee member, Dr. Janet Chan. A short video about our recently completed “Project Be W.I.S.E.” energy saving and carbon reduction plan was shown at the ceremony, introducing the functions and effectiveness of various green facilities and witnessing the process of transforming our Yau Ma Tei headquarters into a green building. Following was the " Green Travel Post and Video " awards ceremony, where the award-winning outstanding works were screened for the audience to enjoy. After the event, the award-winning posts and videos were also uploaded to our website for everyone to share. The organiser hopes that through the “Plastic-Free Hong Kong” campaign, the seeds of environmental protection will be rooted in the hearts of participants and together we can build a sustainable society.
In addition, the public are welcome to visit the YMCA Green Zone next to the entrance to Kowloon Centre on Waterloo Road, where visitors can make an environmental pledge and take a photo via an interactive LED screen. Simply present the photo at the reception on the first floor of the centre and you will receive a free reusable umbrella bag (available while stocks last).
Featured ProgrammeWu Kwai Sha Youth Village – Christmas Market 2024
This Christmas, we invite you to join us at the Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village Christmas Market to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. In this Christmas-themed market, we have prepared a wonderful event for you, including booths offering a variety of handicrafts and Christmas food, craft workshops and camp activities. Admission is free, and the public is welcome to bring their friends and family to join. Those who join the membership on site can also enjoy new membership gifts and discounts on everlasting flowers workshop. Come and share the joy of the holiday.
Details of the Christmas Market 2024 are as follows:
Date and time:
25 December 2024 (Wednesday)
12:00 noon to 5:00 pm
26 December 2024 (Thursday)
10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Venue: Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village (2 On Chun Street, Ma On Shan, New Territories)
Handicraft Market: Arts and crafts made by local artists and creators
Family Activities: A variety of fun handicraft workshops, including perfume making, Christmas wooden box DIY, ceramics making, potted plant workshops, beaded decorations, and aroma stone workshops.
Camp activities: Various optional camp activities, including bungee trampolines, outdoor rowing machines, low event challenge courses, rock climbing, go-karting, and crate climbing.
Special surprise: A special balloon made by our social enterprise YM Ballon will be given away, along with 3D latte art coffee prepared by the camp.
For enquiries: 2642 9420
What's NewsTwo YMCA hostels awarded Partner Employer Award 2024
As a partner organisation of the Partner Employer Award organised by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business, YMCA has been creating employment and training opportunities for the underprivileged. Both of our hostels, The Cityview and The Harbourview, were awarded in the Partner Employer Award 2024 in recognition of the employment opportunities they provided for different people, such as graduates and ethnic minorities, to accumulate work experience and cultivate a positive work attitude, so as to enhance their competitiveness in the workplace. In the future, the two hostels will continue to fulfill their social responsibilities and promote the spirit of social inclusion.
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Member Privileges
From now on, YMCA members can enjoy a 10% discount on regular-priced tickets when purchasing tickets for Hong Kong Dance Company's major stage performances (excluding co-presented performances) at URBTIX or designated ticketing platform outlets by presenting a valid YMCA membership card, or entering the discount code YMCAMA10 on the URBTIX website. The discount is valid until 31 December 2025.
The offer is also applicable to Hong Kong Dance Company's latest Hong Kong martial arts dance drama STORM CLOUDS. Hong Kong Dance Company once again teams up with the comic creator of Storm Riders and renowned manhua artist Mr. Ma Wing-shing, to bring the classic martial arts dance drama STORM CLOUDS back to the stage after nearly ten years. Interested members can enjoy a 10% discount on regular-priced tickets by entering the above discount code when purchasing online through the URBTIX website.
Programme HighlightsYMCA fully supports the international music event “HKGNA Music Festival 2024”
Organised by Hong Kong Generation Next Arts (HKGNA), The HKGNA Music Festival 2024 was held in November 2024 with the theme “Musical Inspirations!” featuring four music spectaculars. We are honored to be a supporting organisation of the music festival, along with the Tourism Commission, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Brand Hong Kong, and The Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing and Tianjin Liaison Unit, to promote the development of local music!
One of the debut performances in Hong Kong was by the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra, which not only came to our Chinese YMCA Secondary School for rehearsals, but also gave an inspiring demonstration for our students, led by the orchestra's conductor Mr. Ken Lam and a group of talented musicians.
In addition, our Home of Love - Yung Shing Lion Dance Team was also invited to perform at the outdoor concert on the evening of 29 November on the same stage as local singer Hins Cheung and Korean singer Sung Si Kyung. Many members of the lion dance team with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities gave their all in the performance, which won them a big round of applause from the audience. The Habourview also sponsored accommodation for the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestra's music artists, supporting the exchange of musicians from different regions and inspiring young musicians to forge ahead on their musical journeys.
HOY TV's “City Focus” features our social enterprise barbershop YM HAIR
Our social enterprise YM HAIR was recently featured on HOY TV's popular series “City Focus”, where two young hairstylists shared their experiences of learning and gaining at YM HAIR. They also went to our Po Shek Wu Neighbourhood Elderly Centre to film a segment on their free haircut service for the elderly. One of the young hairstylists, Anson, shared that under the guidance and encouragement of senior hairstylists, he provided free haircuts to people in need, and he grew up quickly in the process. He was happy to receive praise from his customers.
Ms. Shirley Sham, Coordination Secretary of YMCA Youth Outreaching Services, shared the concept and story behind the establishment of YM HAIR during the interview. She pointed out that in the process of volunteering haircuts, young people not only learn how to get along with others, but also begin to discover their interests and dreams. These skills are important for personal growth and career development.
Interview clip:
https://youtu.be/GxNTdZvekHU?si=pVdW4a8A6BOlbaN0
Beyond the Barriers: Promote college students' awareness of social inclusion between the able-bodied and disabled
The Alliance of University & College YMCAs organised the “Beyond the Barriers - Joint-U Experiential Day ” in November 2024. Students from eight tertiary institutions acted as visually impaired and physically disabled persons in community orientation activities, and experienced disability sports such as bocce, goalball and seated balloon volleyball at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, which helped them develop empathy for people with disabilities and raise awareness of developing barrier-free facilities in the community.
The event also invited Mr. Daniel Chan Ho Yuen, MH, silver medalist in badminton - men's singles WH2 event at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, to share his journey of becoming an athlete and how he persevered and rose to the challenge in the face of adversity, finally becoming the first wheelchair badminton athlete in Hong Kong history. He inspired the tertiary students to face various challenges in life with courage. In the final reflection session, participants worked together to conceive an ideal barrier-free community and come up with innovative ideas to promote the integration of the able-bodied and the disabled.
ESG Focus
Our commitment to the principles of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) since 2019 reflects the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in our organisation's approach to development and the YMCA 2030 Vision for sustainable development in Hong Kong. Apart from publishing the ESG Impact Report, YMCA also endeavours to integrate ESG concepts into our daily operations. This column is dedicated to sharing with our members our ESG initiatives regularly.
28th Six YMCAs Conference
This year marks the 28th Six YMCAs Conference. We are delighted to host the event in Hong Kong from 29 October to 1 November 2024. With the theme of “ESG - Partnership with Public and Private Sectors”, we were excited to have 23 representatives from YMCAs in Hawaii, Singapore, Osaka, Seoul and Taipei to exchange ideas and learn from each other, sharing the key developments and social prescription projects of YMCAs in different regions and discussing future cooperation opportunities.
The Association was honored to have Professor of Practice (ESG, FinTech and Sustainable Finance) of School of Accounting and Finance at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Mr. Lapman Lee, as a guest speaker at the conference. Through interacting with the audience, he explained the importance of ESG and the SDGs to organisations and encouraged cross-sector collaboration to achieve sustainable development goals. He also invited representatives from various YMCAs to share the ESG projects they have promoted and the difficulties encountered.
Another speaker, Ms. Natalie Wu, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Hongkong Land, shared from the perspective of corporate sponsorship on how Hongkong Land has partnered with different NGOs to build a sustainable community and practically help the disadvantaged groups in society, so as to fill the gap between government support and social service needs. The sharing of the two professional speakers greatly benefited the representatives of YMCAs worldwide.
The conference also included visits to our service units and workshops and introduce participants to our latest services and the development of social enterprises.
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.
Adolescent Scoliosis
Scoliosis is a condition characterised by an abnormal curvature of the spine, which appears as a C-shaped or S-shaped curve when viewed from the back
Scoliosis appear more often occurring in adolescents with no clear cause identified. Other health conditions, such as degenerative spine, could also cause scoliosis in elderly.
Most mild cases of scoliosis are asymptomatic and do not impact quality of life. However it could cause cosmetic issue like high-low shoulder, asymmetric scapula and hip height. Detailed checking is made through physical examinations and imaging tests (such as X-rays) to determine the degree and location of the spinal curvature. Doctor or physiotherapist would advise for further follow-up checking, Brace treatment or even for surgical correction.
Considering Effect of “Growth” and “Gravity”, regular check-up for monitoring degrees is especially important to adolescent of known scoliosis.
Growing in Body height and gravitational force acting on deformed spine give varied unknown effects on spine development.
Understanding impact of Scoliosis, Early Identification and intervention are essential to prevent irreversible spinal deformity. Appropriate physiotherapy core exercise and “Schroth Method” could help to control spine deformity. Please approach your physiotherapist for further information.
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＊Some of the activities were subsidised by the Social Welfare Department
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