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HKU launches first-of-its-kind Water Footprint Calculator to raise water conservation awareness
The "Jockey Club Water Initiative on Sustainability and Engagement," initiated by the Faculty of Social Sciences, with a donation of over HK$14.7 million by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, launched the first-of-its-kind Water Footprint Calculator mobile app, focusing on food and daily dining habits. This innovative and engaging tool, integrated with evidence-based scientific data, could raise public awareness of the importance of heeding water conservation and integrate the concept of water sustainability into our daily life, subsequently leading to a change in attitudes and behaviour in favour of water conservation. The first phase of the Water Footprint Calculator covers more than 90 local popular dishes, snacks, and drinks. Through the mobile app, the public can calculate the water footprint of their choices of daily meals, either by eatery type (such as Chinese restaurant or Hong Kong-style restaurant) or by food category (such as rice/noodles or dim sum), and understand the total amount of freshwater needed to produce the ingredients of those dishes.
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Ocean Park, CHSC and HKU hold Happy Kids • Bountiful Life Award Scheme 2017
Ocean Park hosted a presentation for the Happy Kids · Bountiful Life Award Scheme 2017, organised in collaboration the Committee on Home-School Co-operation (CHSC) and HKU Department of Social Work and Social Administration for the third consecutive year. The theme this year was to encourage students to develop a positive attitude and appreciate the happy moments in life. Since the launch of the Happy Kids · Bountiful Life Award Scheme 2017 in mid-March this year, over 6,700 students have received awards. Participating students were required to record every happy moment and something they are grateful for each day in a journal and each school then selected and rewarded 15 students who exhibited the most positivity. Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration said the number of student suicides remained alarmingly high. This year’s Happy Kids · Bountiful Life Award Scheme helped strengthen students’ mental health and prevent youth suicides.
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HKU and NGOs organise the first psychosocial intervention programme for children with eczema and parents
Eczema is the most common paediatric skin disease prevalent in around 30% of Hong Kong children. The HKU Department of Social Work and Social Administration, the Boys' & Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation will jointly offer the territory's first non-pharmaceutical intervention training programme for children with eczema and their parents, so as to enhance the holistic well-being of the parents and the self-esteem, emotional coping and resilience of children in dealing with the disease, as well as facilitate better parent-child relationship in spite of their eczema experience. In a pilot study conducted in 2016 with 27 pairs of parent-child dyad, the results revealed significant improvement in the parents’ psychological and spiritual well-being after the group intervention.
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HKU Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention announces Hong Kong Altruism Index and launches mobile application to promote altruistic acts
The HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention conducted a survey on altruism in late 2016. A total of 3,016 Hong Kong citizens were randomly recruited in the study on their altruistic behaviours and well-being status. According to statistical analysis, the well-being of people in Hong Kong is positively associated with the overall altruism scores, monetary donation, blood and organ donations and informal help. A mobile app "Helppiness" was also launched to provide information on helping opportunities including volunteering work, Flag Day donation, blood donation, and daily acts of kindness. Users can search and record a wide range of helping opportunities using the app. They can also upload information to promote informal helping in society.
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Faculty of Social Sciences and six NGOs launch "Jockey Club Holistic Support Project for Elderly Mental Wellness"
With HK$87million in funding support the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the HKU Faculty of Social Sciences and six NGOs will launch a three-year pilot programme called "Holistic Support Project for Elderly Mental Wellness" that aims to provide a mature, evidence-based service model for the promotion of elderly mental wellness in the community. More than 2,000 volunteers and over 100 elderly volunteers will be trained to identify elders with symptoms of depression. Four pilot locations have been selected in this project: Kwai Chung, Kwun Tong, Sham Shui Po, and Tseung Kwan O. The campaign will conduct 69,000 visits and reach 3,800 elderly people.
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HKU HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention holds ceremony to award 14 student-initiated suicide prevention programmes
WeCare Fund for Student-Initiated Youth Suicide Prevention Project is the very first cross-institutional student initiated suicide prevention project conducted by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention. The Fund aims to encourage students, with the support of professional advisors, to organise, initiate, and implement mental health related projects at university campuses, and through the projects to nurture positive emotions at campuses and to enhance awareness of mental health issues among youths. An award ceremony was held to award 14 programmes from 10 tertiary institutions. The champion was the "Shall we talk" team from Hong Kong Baptist University. They expressed their concerns over issues regarding suicide through a self-directed play, written with an aim to inspire audience to reflect on their roles in suicide prevention, as well as deliver the message of treasuring life and emphasise the importance of communication.
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HKU introduces new bereavement counselling model
Dr Amy Chow, Associate Professor of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, in collaboration with the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) developed the "Reweaving Grief" innovative bereavement counselling model in Hong Kong. The model was adopted from the Woven Memories initiative founded by Ms Mary Burgess in Australia, for people who keep clothes and other fabrics belongings of deceased family members, and developed with cultural consideration for Hong Kong. This project is expected to offer a new choice to bereaved persons in Hong Kong who do not prefer formal counseling.
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