Focus issue
PRAISE Finale - Dream Big, Make Change, we can!
Date of issue: 2024-03-07
Ethnic minority groups have always been an integral part of Hong Kong society and they are regarded as the valuable stakeholders. The PRAISE project adopts a bottom-up, family-based model to encourage ethnic minorities of different ages to bring changes not limited to themselves but also to their ethnic groups and communities. They are achieving empowerment. Ethnic minorities are no longer the service receivers, they actively participate and have become a part of Hong Kong's diverse and inclusive culture.
The Hong Kong Council of Social Service has partnered with the Hong Kong S.K.H. Lady MacLehose Centre and Yuen Long Town Hall to organize a PRAISE finale at the Central Market on March 2, 2024, with the theme of "Dream Big, Make Change", hoping to highlight the efforts of ethnic minorities and make their contributions seen to the society. The event invited Mr. Peter Paul de Groote (Director of the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation), Mr. Ricky Chu Man Kin (Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission) and other guests to witness the growth of outstanding youth leaders and model families in the program. Both the officiating guests and the ethnic minorities also shared a common vision to co-create a more inclusive society where everyone can develop their potentials and fulfill their dreams.
Video Highlights
Participating minorities are agents of changing. In the video, youth leaders and model families share their ways to make changes in the society in order to achieve inclusion.
Click to view the video highlights
Certificate Ceremony
Each certificate is unique that it is up to the project ambassadors to choose their favorite design and color in order to convey the message that everyone has the choice to pave their own path for the future.
The program has cultivated more than 60 youth leaders and 70 model families. Among them, 80 outstanding youth leaders and model families received the certificates on the day to commend their active participation and demonstrate what they have achieved in the first phrase of the program.
In the dialogue, whether the youth leaders as the emcee or interviewees, they were all outstanding members of the program. Everyone was familiar with the background of the program, making it was easier for them to express their thoughts during the sharing session. The participants were impressed for this dialogue.
The youth leaders coincidentally shared their happiness to meet many good friends with common interests. Through various activities like flag selling to raise fund, watching movies or forming teams in ball games, a precious friendship has been built up.
The Sharing of Model Families
Unike the youth leaders, the sharing of model families focuses on the changes brought to their families after participating in the program. Parents are grateful for PRAISE's support to their families, such as homework tutoring for their children after school, some interest classes or parent-child workshops specially designed for mothers. All the measures are also helpful for their social inclusion.
2F Exhibition Hall
Have you ever thought of anyone having a chance to be a minority? It depends on where you are! The reason why you are of a few is mainly because there is a relative majority!
Alongside with the ceremony, an exhibition on the "Adaptation, Integration and Racial Inclusion Plan for Ethnic Minorities" was held at the 24-hour pedestrian walkway on the second floor of the Central Market. The youth leaders and model families participating in the project made use of paintings to share what they experienced and how they view Hong Kong as a place of living. At the same time, there are also exhibits introducing the culture of ethnic minorities.
In addition, youth leaders also served as docents to introduce the culture of ethnic minorities to the public.
Band Show Performance
Music is of no boundaries. The atmosphere of the carnival was getting intense with the music. The enjoyable faces and the tacit understanding among the band members indicated music is indeed the best way to shorten the distance between people besides wordings.
Cultural Booth Experience
The booths were operated by the young leaders of Hong Kong S.K.H. Lady MacLehose Centre and Yuen Long Town Hall. The booth experience enabled the public to understand and experience the culture and art of ethnic minorities. The content included luggage tag painting in Urdu, Mehndi body painting, Mandala coaster painting and knot weaving. Many local families with children participated. Under the guidance of youth leaders, the children could handmade their favorite patterns and ornaments. It also gave an expression of social inclusion.
This Finale was not only a brief summary of PRAISE, it also witnessed a group of young leaders thriving in these three years. From being a passive participant at the very beginning, with the passage of time and the accumulation of experience, he was capable to pick up the leadership role and to bridge between the ethnic group and the community. The youth leaders have connected their families and motivated their friends to participate in more activities and thus to integrate into the community; On the other hand, through the sharing of young leaders and model families, we are also happy to see that connection with local community has been built up through different channels such as music, sports, artistic creation etc.
Please click here for more photos of the event day