Happenings

There is growing recognition that sustainability is necessary in everything we do, and more examples of various functional roles integrating accountability into organizational systems are becoming evident. The SLG Programme offers you multiple ways to integrate sustainability into your career path empowering you to make a difference on bigger, critical issues our communities face. Join us for a discussion with our alumni who will share their experience with integrating the values of sustainability into what they do, and how they see themselves contributing to societal well-being. Date: 28 February 2025 (Friday) Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y... (Zoom link will be sent 1 day prior to the event)

The Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong would like to invite your company to participate in a questionnaire survey to gauge Hong Kong corporations’ DEI policies and practices, as well as inclusive employment for people with disabilities. The survey is part of the Jockey Club Collaborative Project for Inclusive Employment, funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The Centre has commissioned Social Policy Research Limited (SPR) to carry out this survey and organisations will be selected through the random sampling method. SPR will conduct interviews with participating companies from February to April 2025. Interviewers will carry identification badges issued by SPR for verification. We kindly request your company to assist and provide information to the survey team. If you have any questions regarding the survey or the identity of the interviewers, please contact Ms. Kwok at the " Jockey Club Collaborative Project for Inclusive Employment" research survey hotline: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.: 2511 1548 Monday to Friday, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: 9448 0715

The “Forest Village Festival” is an annual celebration organised towards the year-end to provide fun-filled events for the public to appreciate the revitalisation effort of Mui Tsz Lam and Kop Tong. The festival offers visitors the unique experience of living with nature and culture through various thematic workshops, ecotours, and overnight camping. By featuring the countless natural, social and cultural capitals and assets at the two villages, we hope the public can be inspired and join us in protecting the valuable landscape of our countryside. This year, there will be a two-day carnival, a first sunrise of the year tour and a camping-and-trekking event to explore the rural treasures. The “Forest Village Festival” will be conducted in Chinese and details are only available in Chinese.

The demand for sustainability professionals keeps growing! There’s increasing pressure on individuals and organisations to make informed decisions and take action, both individually and collectively to attain the positive impact our society and planet needs. No matter what field or discipline your training and expertise lies, you can advance policy, build capacity, mobilise and empower for sustainable development. Join us for a discussion with our alumni who will share their experience of how their sustainability knowledge is being actioned. We will discuss how sustainability-based learning must be central to how we think, make decisions, act, and discharge our responsibilities toward one another and the planet. Date: 21 November 2024 (Thursday) Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y... (Zoom link will be sent 1 day prior to the event)

We are pleased to announce that the Centre for Civil Society and Governance is now a member of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Forum. With over 1,600 members from various sectors — including corporations, financial institutions, business associations, government bodies, inter-governmental organizations, NGOs and academia — TNFD drives a strong movement toward integrating nature-related issues into businesses’ and capital markets’ decision-making for nature-positive outcomes. We are pleased to be the first university in Hong Kong joining the Forum. Looking into the future, we aim to enhance our engagement with the Forum and other stakeholders as the Centre places more emphasis on spearheading discussions and collaborations on Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Together, we can make a meaningful impact in co-creating a resilient and sustainable future for all.

With a distinctive interdisciplinary approach we prepare you for a role in the business, public or social sectors, to address sustainability challenges. Join us to advance your professional education and engage in creative problem-solving so you can be the changemaker you aspire to be. By studying sustainability you can follow your professional interests and build a career that satisfies you personally. Join us for the next intake, September 2025 and enhance your changemaker skills.

The Centre for Civil Society and Governance is appointed by the Countryside Conservation Office under the Environment and Ecology Bureau of the HKSAR Government for a sustainable village revitalisation study. This study aims to formulate the necessary building blocks for a sustainable village revitalisation model (SVRM) for Lai Chi Wo and Yan Chau Tong villages through reviewing the rural revitalisation experience in LCW while considering ESG elements and the integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. The study will make reference to case examples in Mainland China as well as other cities in the Asia-Pacific region. It is expected that the study’s recommendations will help build the eco-tourism pillar of the Northern Metropolis Action Agenda 2023.  

Our Deputy Director Dr Winnie Law and Assistant Director Katie Chick participated at the Asia-Pacific Higher Education Network for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (APHEN-ICH) General Meeting and Conference in Kathmandu, Nepal between September 21-23, 2024. The conference theme for this year is “Intangible Cultural Heritage for Building Community Resilience: Contexts of Disasters and Climate Change” where presenters discussed the challenges and solutions for safeguarding ICH as the risks associated with earthquake, flooding, storm surge, etc. have significantly increased. Many scholars and practitioners at the conference have stressed on the importance of community involvement. The “Living Heritage” approach where the community is actively involved and interacted with the ICH is a key to building resilience against the climate’s impact on heritage.   Find out more from here.   Founding universities of APHEN-ICH Showcasing the Centre’s rural sustainability initiatives at the conference       Honorable Mayor Sunil Pajapati of Bhaktapur Municipality, Kathmandu greeted the delegation                       Citizens using the heritage as civic space for everyday living          

You are cordially invited to the seventh Knowledge Primer (KP) titled “Enabling the Ecosystem for Resource Circularity in the MICE Industry” under the “Partnership for Sustainability Leadership in Business” (PSLB) project, initiated by the Centre for Civil Society and Governance (CCSG) of HKU with full support from the Hongkong Bank Foundation. Hong Kong is a bustling city that hosts a wide range of business events and exhibitions throughout the year. While they provide valuable market information, knowledge, networks and opportunities for professionals from businesses, government, and the non-profit sector, the cost of organising these events often comes at the expense of the environment, which contravenes the ideals of low-carbon and sustainable future that many businesses uphold. Therefore, it is imperative to transform the traditional ‘linear’ nature of these events into a ‘circular’ and more sustainable model. Leveraging the knowledge and practical experience of speakers from the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry, this Knowledge Primer will take a close look into the necessary conditions–be they infrastructure, policy change, industry support or innovative collaboration models–for resource circularity to take root in business events. Two keynote speakers will shed light on the following topics: Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau will discuss the role of Government policy, infrastructures and capacity building in guiding the trajectory of circularity and sustainability advancement in MICE industry; Macau Fair & Trade Association will present on sustainable initiatives that incentivise the practitioners to adopt more circular and sustainable practices to achieve net zero goals. A moderated discussion featuring industry practitioners from Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited, Informa Markets, KPMG, New World Corporate Services Limited and ReThink Hong Kong will follow to cascade the industry’s best practices. The panellists will share views on the collaboration needed to catalyse circularity practices and innovation in the MICE industry. The event will also celebrate the launch of “A Practical Guidebook to Circular Economy (Volume 2): Collaborating with Value Chain Partners for Organising Circular Events and Exhibitions”. The Guidebook is a consolidated self-learning resource for the MICE industry practitioners to integrate resource circularity principles in business operations through the value chain-based event frameworks. A well-thought step-by-step guidance and templates are made available to help readers putting ideas into action.   The event details are as follows: Date: 6 June 2024 (Thursday) Time: 2:30pm – 5:30pm (4:30pm – 5:30pm will be the networking session) Venue: Rayson Huang Theatre, The University of Hong Kong Format: Physical and Online via Zoom* Language: Mainly English and Cantonese (with bi-lingual simultaneous interpretation) *A participant limit will be in place for physical and online attendance to cater to the maximum capacity of the venue and online streaming platform. Please sign up to reserve your space.   Should you be interested in participating, please register HERE on or before 5 June 2024. You are welcome to contact Mr. Woody Cheng at Telephone: 3910-2463 / Email: pslb@hku.hk for queries.   PSLB Team