There’ll be three stages, and if you don’t wait for ‘Uncle Fat’ Lau Wong-fat, each stage
should be around four months, which you can utilise for bettering our society.
Here in Ma Liu Shui, you and your
team will uncover Hong Kong’s
societal issues.
What’s next? Well, then it’s up to you to decide on how
to change this society; you won’t have to fly to space
like a certain female artist, nor will you have a quota
to meet like a certain disciplinary force, but at the very
least your plan will have to work.
We’re here to make a splash
You will then begin to do research
and studies, while learning about
campaigning.
I·CARE Community
Research Team
So basically our ‘company’ is called I·CARE, which focuses
on social and civic engagement. You simply have to want to
change society and have solicitude for vulnerable groups in
society.
As for salary… there is none.
But each person will be offered HKD 2,000 as scholarship, in
addition to negotiable funds for research and campaign, as
well as priceless learning experience. But the budget doesn’t
include a HKD 400,000 fee for publicisation on a helicopter.
All right, enough with the jokes for now.
Some say, “Born in an era of upheavals, one has a responsibil-
ity.” As the place where knowledge is created and commu-
nicated, university carries the missions of promoting social
progress and bettering human lives. The I·CARE Community
Research Team is created exactly to support students who
wish to commit to such missions. We all know and understand
what Hong Kong is currently facing: social conflicts, rampant
injustice, hopelessness of vulnerable groups… In the face
of these issues, we all want to help, but it isn’t so easy. Many,
including a lot of students, are stopped by problems such as
how to investigate and analyse an issue, and then there is also
the problem of how to organise actual actions to postivitely
change society.
Changing society does seem difficult, but come on, even the
once ‘double-loss’ youth ‘Ar Yuen’ is getting married, and
even Vincent Wong (aka ‘Ar Seun’) could make a comeback –
nothing is really impossible. All you need to do is recognise
what is at the core of the societal problems and master the
techniques of issue analysis; you’ll find intervening in society isn’t re-
ally that hard.
A prominent feature of the community research programme is its
flexibility, which gives students the freedom to start from scratch, al-
lowing them to search for and establish their own direction of social
intervention. Professor Wong Hung from the Department of Social
Work will be the programme’s consultant, together with two other
instructors who are both experienced in research and action. The first
stage will introduce students to societal issues and research training,
helping them to establish a solid academic research foundation; the
second step allows students to select an issue that interests them
and conduct studies under the supervision of an instructor; the final
stage is when students publish the results of their studies – they can
be in the form of a rigorous written report, a documentary that fol-
lows those they have interviewed, or even a guided tour or a piece of
performance art – all designed and implemented by students.
Among students who are currently part of the programme, a diversity
of topics are covered. Some are following up on the issue of human
trafficking in Hong Kong, while some are investigating how Kwun
Tong’s rebuild will affect residents and shop owners, and yet some
are evaluating sexual diversity education in secondary schools.
Eligibility for application:
1. A team of five or more (those who have an idea but do not have
enough team members can also contact us)
2. Any topics related to societal issues in Hong Kong
3. Serious and responsible to one’s work
If you meet all of the above requirements, don’t hesitate and come
talk with us! We open year-round (but it’s best before October).
Contact us at //
m /
Or visit us in our I·CARE Programme office on the
fifth floor of Wong Foo Yuan Building.
Homeless Outreach Population Estimation
Hong Kong 2015
Feeling indecisive
but eager to give it a try
Students who are unsure of which topic they’d like to explore, but who would like to get
a taste of how the community research programme works, are welcome to participate
in the ‘Homeless Outreach Population Estimation Hong Kong 2015’, which will begin
this September. The project is co-organised by The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Lingnan University.
Inspired by New York’s homeless census, we will conduct a census of homeless people
in Hong Kong on October 29, studying their regional distribution, living needs, etc. The
broad-scale project will require the help of 600 volunteers. The programme’s schedule is
as follows:
How to join:
Apply before: September 25, 2015
Enquiry:
Late September
: Training evening for CUHK volunteers
October 16, evening : Training and talk for volunteers from all four universities
October 23-24, day : Bivuoac experience – experience how a homeless person lives
October 29, evening : Hong Kong homeless population census day
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Community Research Team
