About Us
The Challenge
Hong Kong is a vibrant and diverse place, but it is also the most unequal city in the developed world; many groups persist in a vicious cycle of disempowerment.
Our Vision
We envision an inclusive Hong Kong where every voice has a say in its future and every person has the power to bring positive change to their community.
What We Do
We provide fellowships to emerging leaders from marginalised and underrepresented communities to empower them to be change-makers and social catalysts.
“There’s really no such thing as the ‘voiceless’. There are only the deliberately silenced, or the preferably unheard.”
Rights
Equality
Solidarity
Organisation
Leadership
Voice
Empowerment
WHAT
Our inaugural social justice fellowship program will kick off in the Autumn of 2017, bringing together 15 extraordinary individuals under the cohort theme of racial equality. This will be the first platform in Hong Kong to bring together local, refugee and migrant ethnic minorities and their allies together under one unified banner. The fellows will deepen their understanding of laws and policies about racial discrimination while enhancing their organizational and leadership skills to work towards raising awareness in Hong Kong about diversity and inclusion.
WHY
Many ethnic minority groups are at a higher risk of being socially excluded and falling under the poverty line; and these trends have only worsened in recent years according to a 2016 study. Xenophobia and negative stereotyping towards refugees, migrants, and local ethnic minorities has worsened in media coverage, negatively affecting public perceptions. However, a recent survey found that 80% of the respondents were keen to learn more about ethnic minorities, indicating that there is a need for further information and members of these communities are the best messengers for providing this.
“...ethnic minorities (should) themselves become champions for the plight of our communities. We must move away from the “immigrant mentality” and carve a legitimate space for ourselves in dialogue about Hong Kong.”
HOW
GROUP WORKSHOPS
Fellows will attend six dynamic group workshops, with knowledge-sharing from seasoned experts and social leaders from different causes in Hong Kong
1-TO-1 MENTORING
Each fellow will receive coaching as well as be paired with a community peer mentor to help them develop an action plan to address their own leadership challenges
RAISING AWARENESS
The fellows will apply their skills and collaborate by working together on a final project activity to raise public awareness about racial equality and inclusion
WHEN
We received over 60 nominations for our inaugural social justice fellowship with the theme of racial equality and inclusion in Hong Kong, running from December 2017 to April 2018. We were overwhelmed by the passion and dedication to social justice of all the applicants. While we wish we could have accepted all, we have selected 15 exceptional fellows who have now begun the fellowship. Through this inaugural program, we hope to build future community spokespeople, particularly from traditionally marginalized and underrepresented groups, and inspire a new generation of social justice leaders.
Qualities we looked for in the Fellows
A demonstrated commitment to serve.
We sought candidates who have clearly expressed and acted in ways that tell us they wanted to tackle social justice problems that affect not just themselves, but their communities. They had been able to show that they already had some meaningful impact and were interested in scaling the work up. They are willing to be spokespeople to champion causes for the greater good.
Showed signs of great potential, but could use more support.
We looked for people who are talented, passionate and committed, but have had little to no opportunities for previous training, capacity-building and leadership development. In particular, they were able to articulate a very clear and specific challenge that they are facing that they hope the fellowship training and mentoring can help them to address.
Care about racial equality in Hong Kong and want to take action.
While they did not have to necessarily have to have worked directly on this issue before, we sought people who are passionate and eager to work collectively to address the fellowship theme. They had to at least be able to show some interest or track record already on promoting diversity, inclusion or multiculturalism and committed to working on the final project activity.
Come from very different walks of life.
We welcomed people of different backgrounds to apply to the program, particularly those from disadvantaged and marginalized communities. We appreciate the knowledge and perspective that diversity can bring to the fellowship discussion. Indeed, we looked not just at individuals but the characteristics of the group itself to ensure a diverse and representative cohort.
Are good role models for others.
Social justice work, to be truly sustainable and authentic, rests on integrity and moral character of its leaders. For that particular reason, we looked for people who are inspiring, humble and collaborative in their approach. They had to follow the golden rule, show respect and concern for others and be consultative in the way they approach their work.
Our Team
VICTORIA WISNIEWSKI OTERO
Founder & CEO
PETER WILLIAMS (BOARD)
Business Treasury Head
Citi Institutional Clients Group APAC
EVA LOOK
Digital Engagement
WILLY KWONG (BOARD)
Executive Director
Jane Goodall Institute Hong Kong
CAMILLE BETHOUX
Fundraising and Development
SHAPHAN MARWAH (BOARD)
Barrister
Baskerville Chambers
HILARY KO
Program Development
CONSTANCE CHAN
Marketing and Communications
ANUSHA SUGUNASABESAN
Fellowship Coordination
ANNA ROTTENECKER
Fundraising Support
We would also like to credit the help and hard work of our wonderful past volunteers - Hyacintha Faustino, Michael Horman, Ananya Vishwanath, Nupur Agrawal, Cherry Ng, Sonal Govila and Mashal Mushtaq
Advisory Committee
JEFFREY ANDREWS
Community Engagement
Social Worker, Centre for Refugees
Christian Action
CHRISTINE CHEONG
Leadership, Coaching, and Facilitation
Executive Coach
Step Ahead Consulting
KELVIN CHEUNG
Leadership, Coaching, and Training
COO
The Good Lab
PUJA KAPAI
Content Development
Professor, Faculty of Law
University of Hong Kong
ANNIE LIN
Content Development
Community Organizer
Society for Community Organisation
TRISH MEECHAM
Leadership, coaching and training
Client Director
Mannaz
DEVI NOVIANTI
Community Engagement
Equal Opportunities Officer
Equal Opportunities Commission
PHOEBE SO
Content Development
Supervisory Board Member & Chairperson, HER Fund
Institute for Women's Empowerment
YIOMBI THONA
Community Engagement
Chair
Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
EMAN VILLANUEVA
Community Engagement
Spokesperson
Asian Migrants Coordinating Body
WONG MEI-CHING, MOOLY
Monitoring and Evaluation
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work
Chinese University of Hong Kong
YAU NG LAI-TUEN, MONICA
Monitoring and Evaluation
Professional Consultant, Department of Social Work
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Support Us
VOLUNTEER
We are looking for seasoned and committed interns and volunteers passionate about social change in areas like fundraising and development, project management and communications to support our team.
DONATE
As a new social purpose startup, your donation will go a long way in contributing to the success of our pilot for empowering community leaders and for helping us in reaching more people and increasing our impact.
and the kind donations of some big hearted individuals
