In recent years, more and more private enterprises have integrated corporate social responsibility (CSR) into their concepts of operation. CSR is the concept that, apart from striving for a profit, a corporate should also take into account the interests of other stakeholders, including its employees, the consumers, the society and the environment, so as to contribute to the community using resources derived from the community, and to promote sustainable development.

Building a sustainable community is a broad concept, from conserving a building in the area, to caring for the poor and needy, or even trivial matters such as patronising an old shop or recycling an article of waste, the concept can be promoted and put into practice by various social and private enterprises.

Luke established a social enterprise specialising in community cultural tours five or six years ago, with a wish to build a neighbourhood-based sustainable community through guided tours and other educational activities. Serena joined an enterprise that attaches much importance to CSR after her graduation from the university. She is responsible for the planning and promotion of projects relating to environment protection and other concepts on sustainable development for the employees and tenants of the enterprise.

Luke starts his career with a social enterprise while Serena begins her journey in a commercial enterprise, but they both have a passion and vision for the future of the community, and hope to improve and promote the development of the community. As a member of the community, maybe this is the time for you to think about how you can contribute to the sustainable development of the community.

Producer: Zero TSE

Children with autism spectrum disorder are relatively weak in expressive and social skills. Most of them do not know how to integrate into social life, or may even be excluded by others. Their parents not only worry about their growth, but also face pressure from various sides.

Catherine SO, Professor of the Department of Educational Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has launched a social robot programme called “Robot for Autism Behavioural Intervention” (RABI). Tutors use social robots to conduct relevant training with autistic children to help improve their social skills, and the programme is gradually expanding to the community through a social enterprise. Why did Professor SO choose to launch a service related to autism? How do the tutors accompany the children through their journeys of growth?

Producer: Kay KWOK

As the Chinese saying goes, “Food is people’s paramount concern”. Food brings us joys. As long as we are enjoying our meals, we are happy. Sadly, some people are having swallowing difficulties due to senility or disability. As such, they are not able to enjoy normal meals, and pureed meals have to be prepared for them instead. However, the taste and appearance of pureed meals are often undesirable that their appetite is affected and thus health and emotional problems arise.

In recent years, members of the public have been proactively improving the menus and cooking methods of the meals provided in care homes and home-based meal services. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service is promoting “care food”, and through the “Happy Eating” Senior Food Cooking Competition, participants can share their experience and exchange their opinions on “soft meals” in aspects such as the preparation, mix of ingredients, taste and nutrition, while enhancing public awareness.

In the programme, two past participants of the competition, CHAN Tsz-kwan, a novice, and Master YAU Ka-leung, head chef of a residential care home for the elderly (RCHE), will share with our audience their knowledge of “care food”, as well as the joy and experience serving in an RCHE.

Producer: May WONG

If fulfilling the traditional “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) is to put one dollar into the pocket of the needy, then “Creating Shared Value” (CSV) is to turn that one dollar into more resources by working with beneficiaries so that more people can benefit. In recent years, a number of devoted people in Hong Kong have begun starting businesses that operate in CSV mode. They hope to solve problems for our society while making profits, and to create, succeed and share with different groups.

It was with great effort five years ago that Joyce talked her boss into starting a social enterprise (SE) as a subsidiary of the company in CSV mode, in a bid to play a part in conserving dying crafts in Hong Kong. She has devoted herself to the SE for several years now. Can she find a crack for survival in a business world where profits always come first?

Both Kadri and her mother Mrs KEUNG work in the clothing industry. By chance, they came across multi-functional clothing designed for sick and recovered persons. They noticed that the choices of such clothing were very limited in the market, and they did not cater to the psychological needs of users. Yet, establishing a small garment factory in Hong Kong to fill this gap in our society is easier said than done.

CSV enterprises do not operate on a charitable basis, but are rather self-financing. How do they strike a balance between pursuing profits and facilitating social and environmental progress?

Producer: Clarissa MA, Joanne YIM

Everyone has their own dreams in their hearts, so have our disabled friends. Ah Fu, who has only one hand, and Iris, who suffers from two rare diseases, break through their physical limitations and insist on playing musical instruments. Chris, with mild intellectual disability and suffers from autism, is relatively weak in social skills, but music is his bridge to communicate with the world. For them, music is not just an interest, but also full of positive energy. Apart from their passion for music, they also hope to find a stage that belongs to them and allow them to pursue their dreams.

Hong Kong Enharmonica was established to support the music development of People with Disabilities (PWDs), and aims to provide a platform for PWDs to showcase their musical and artistic talents. The Orchestra is composed of a group of people with or without disabilities who love music. Through music exchanges, they promote the concept of inclusion and perform together on stage, giving their audience opportunities to appreciate their performances. Ah Fu, Iris, and Chris are members of the orchestra. How do they overcome their difficulties and pursue their dream of performing in the bottom of their hearts? How does this music platform inspire and benefit them?

Producer: Kay KWOK

According to the statistics of the Census and Statistics Department in 2021, there are about 270 000 ethnic minorities living in Hong Kong, which account for about 4% of the whole Hong Kong population, and many of the families have been living in Hong Kong for more than half a century. However, factors such as culture, language and customs, as well as the difficulties South Asian youth in Hong Kong encounter in learning Chinese, have been hindering ethnic minorities from integrating into the mainstream society.

Three Pakistanis, including two young people and a middle-aged man who has settled in Hong Kong for 40 years, know the importance of the Chinese language for living in Hong Kong. Therefore they make great effort to learn Chinese and work in an organisation caring for the ethnic minorities. Apart from providing life and learning support to their fellow countrymen, they also introduce to the public the feature of their own cultures, so as to promote inclusion and narrow the gap between different cultures.

Producer: Rachel LUK

The construction of a community’s hardware facilities surely requires government investment, but the software can often be jointly built through the participation of residents. Tung Chung is a new town with only four public housing estates. Although the population there is not considered dense, residents have a strong cohesion and their relationship is not distant at all. Experienced volunteer Ah Kwan has participated in different voluntary services for many years and is full of passion and appreciation for the people and scenery in the town. Ah Sum, a young man, has a strong sense of belonging to where he lives, and hopes to prove that the basketball players in Tung Chung are quite capable by representing his housing estate in competitions.

Can the efforts of these “Tung Chung people” build a community relationship of mutual trust and help that makes them proud?

Producer: Chung Fu

The ageing population in Hong Kong continues to grow rapidly, and the elderly care service industry is in urgent need of new blood. At the same time, the industry also provides many career opportunities with great development potential, and attracts young people to join the industry.

Some young people participated in care service training programmes, and worked in elderly homes as care workers. They were subsequently promoted to health workers with more senior status and more demanding work. They believe that the work of health workers is far more challenging and satisfying than they can imagine, and at the same time, their job can also provide them with a stable income.

There are also young people who choose to become care equipment counsellors, and grasp the development trend of gerontechnology, as well as cooperating closely with occupational therapists, social workers, nurses, etc. They promote gerontechnology to the elderly and carers, and provide a one-stop service for the elderly who rent care equipment, from pre-rental on-site evaluation to continuous follow-up during the rental period, so as to help them ageing in place.

The most valuable lessons the young people, who join the elderly care service industry, can learn is to witness that life is full of uncertainties, and enrich their life experience when they spend time together with “their old buddies”. Looking forward, some people see elderly care service work as a long-term career, while others hope that after accumulating experience, they can spare time to study healthcare and pave the way for future career development. They all say that joining the elderly care service industry has broadened their horizons and abilities, and it is an insightful career choice.

Producer: Leo Lai