Global Leadership Project - Day Two - The World Through Someone Else’s Eyes

Day two began with our first round of immersion visits. Groups of students were graciously hosted by several businesses and organisations, who talked to us about who they are, what they do, and helped us understand more of the challenges faced by the people of Hong Kong. We asked questions about what they do and what they think is needed for progression, and left with a wealth of information. The businesses we visited were:

Hatch

An impact purpose initiative by Social Ventures Hong Kong, aims to revitalise the “Made in Hong Kong” by bringing well-known local brands together in a co-working factory space. HATCH employs women from underprivileged families as Hatch Talents, and provides them with career building opportunities, family-friendly flexible working hours and childcare support. HATCH aims to be a brand new platform for these talents to broaden their vision, job skills and career paths, thereby creating ladders out of poverty for them and their families.






Hong Kong Foundation for Charities

The Family of Foundations were established to increase the flow of philanthropic funds to organisations worldwide. The Foundations offers charities, non‐profits, educational institutions, NGO’s and other organisations the opportunity to fundraise simply and effectively in countries without having to set up dedicated legal entities.


CareER | Talent No Boundaries

CareER is the first joint higher education institutions student community for higher educated students and graduates with disabilities and special needs. It was established in 2013 and started with three founders and a group of passionate higher educated graduates with disabilities, aiming to create a platform for students to help one another through alumni experience sharing and a charitable job matching platform by our HR professional knowledge.

PILnet: The Global Network for Public Interest Law 

In order to inspire lawyers to advance the public interest and strengthen the ability of civil society to influence laws and policies and assist individuals in need, PILnet develops pro bono (or volunteer) legal practice around the world. Although in recent years, lawyers and firms have become increasingly willing to undertake pro bono matters, they often lack a direct connection to the community. PILnet’s pro bono clearinghouses in Hungary, Russia, China and its cross-border Global Pro Bono Clearinghouse serve to bridge that gap between lawyers seeking opportunities to provide free legal help and those who need it.


Social Ventures Hong Kong

SVhk is committed to creating social impact by empowering innovative & sustainable social solutions through a venture philanthropy model –which leverage impact capital, professional volunteers and collaborative network in Hong Kong. It is a venture philanthropic organisation, aiming to provide financial & non-financial support to Social Purpose Organisations or Social Enterprises in Hong Kong. Since 2007, they have been supporting & nurturing social enterprises in Hong Kong, such as the Diamond Cab, & promoting young professionals’ participation in social entrepreneurship.



When we arrived back from our immersion visits, we were brimming with ideas. We had learned so much about the city we were in, the way these organisations were trying to aid society, and the challenges faced by Hong Kong.

In our working parties, we shared the knowledge that we had gained, and used it to fill in a "city map", which identified different areas (such as education, housing, employment, infrastructure, transport etc.) so we could identify challenges and strengths in order to help us develop our own projects.

We then did an exercise where we, as working parties, solved sheets of riddles as a group. This seemed like just a fun task from the outside, but actually it was a very clever exercise designed to exemplify the group dynamic. It showed those who took charge naturally, those who were happy to listen and contribute, and those who shed away for various reasons. After the task, we reflected on our own performance in the task, and shared our findings with the room. It was very enlightening.

After a brief break, we had two great guest speakers, Mark Shuper (Co-Founder & Executive Director, Sprouts Foundation) and Lalita Raman (CEO, Transitions Intl Ltd). They spoke about their journeys as leaders and were extremely passionate about what they do. They shared the challenges they faced and obstacles they overcame, and were both very inspirational people.

Following this, we again reflected on ourselves as leaders, and we each took a piece of paper and were challenged to write on it what sort of person we wished to be tomorrow. Everyone did so, and we were told to make our way outside of the building with that piece of paper. Once outside, we were told to make two lines opposite each other, scrunch up the piece of paper, and have a snowball fight! (In 35ºC heat, that was certainly an interesting concept!). We did so, and at the end everyone picked up someone else's piece of paper, came together in a circle, and read them out. It was interesting to see the range of answers, from people who were happy as they are, to people who wished to change their behaviours to accommodate others, to people who wished to be bolder and braver! 

Again, we had the evening free to explore, and so we all headed off out. A large group of us headed to the Ladies' Market on Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok.

Much like the Temple Street Night Market, the Ladies' Market was crowded and buzzing, and there were LOTS of bargains to be had. The market stretches on for what seems like forever, with a great opportunity for bagging a great deal on everything from phone cases to purses and handbags.

They call this one the Ladies' Market because there's so much there geared at women; beautiful purses, trendy handbags, plenty of shoes, clothes, pyjamas, and some absolutely stunning silk kimonos and Mandarin dresses. Then there are lots of accessories like Jade jewellery, necklaces, hair clips, fans and much more.

In the market you have to beware of fakes, though! Sometimes they're very obvious (Like the "RPADA" handbags or the "Superme" t-shirts), but sometimes they're very convincing and other than the giveaway prices you'd have no idea they were fakes! You have to beware, though, as it's illegal to import fakes into the UK, so keep to the off-brand items and you'll be fine.

After a couple of hours exploring the market, we headed into a restaurant next to it, and headed upstairs to eat. After the long walk through the hot and humid market, the arctic cold air con in the restaurant was much appreciated. Most of us had a curry dish (some had chicken, some had beef brisket, and some had pork) which was absolutely delicious. We stayed a while, ate our food, had a drink, compared our bargain finds and then headed off.


Some people went to the beach, which wasn't too far away, to dip their tired feet in the ocean and take in the views. It's such a strange feeling to be absolutely immersed in the middle of a city one minute and then, just a short ride away, be sat on a beach. There are plenty of restaurants by the beach too, if you wanted to head straight there one evening and make a night of it.

Some of us headed out in search of bubble tea! Thankfully it wasn't too hard to find, and we grabbed a delicious drink each (I had a brown sugar thick milk with tapioca bubbles) and headed back to St John's for a well deserved snooze!