Plan international hong kong – City University of Hong Kong ‘Girls Get Equal’ Youth Conference 2020/21

Since 2015, Plan International Hong Kong and the Department of Asian and International Studies of City University of Hong Kong have jointly organised the ‘Girls Get Equal’ Youth Conference, which is an annual occasion for local young people to meet, reflect and exchange ideas on international issues, particularly girls’ situations in low-income countries, by conducting desk research, public speaking, and social media campaigning. The programme aims to encourage young people to learn more about international affairs and foster a sense of global citizenship among them.

The 6th ‘Girls Get Equal’ Youth Conference was successfully held from January to March 2021. Children’s safety is always our top concern under the pandemic. Therefore the workshops and conference were hosted online this year. We were glad to announce that we had a total of 44 youth participants (in 13 teams) from secondary schools and the City University of Hong Kong. By working on the presentation and social media campaign, participants introduced different girls’ issues in developing countries and made suggestions for improving public awareness on those issues.

Training Workshops

Three training workshops were held on 23 January, 6 February, and 6 March 2021, respectively, aiming to deepen participants’ knowledge on girls’ issues in developing countries and equip them with research, presentation and social media engagement skills. These workshops could help them better prepare for the Youth Conference presentations.

Other than speakers from the host organisations, who are Ms Phoebe So, Manager of Hong Kong Programme and Development Education Department from Plan International Hong Kong to share on “The Situation of Children and Girls in Developing Countries, and Dr Justin Robertson, Associate Professor from City University of Hong Kong to share on “Desktop Research and Presentation Skills’, it was also our great honour to have the following guests shared on different topics with us in the workshops:

• “How to Build a Successful and Effective Social Media Campaign’ by Ms Anita Lam, Head of Industries, Facebook Greater China
• “Tips for Preparing Group Presentations’ by Mr Blu Lai, AIS Alumni

An online consultation session was arranged in the second Workshop to support the students to develop their social media campaign. Participants could seek advice from the following advisors:

• Mr Alex Lo, Founder of Social Strategy Hong Kong, advised on the social media campaign for university teams
• Ms Vivian Cheung, Associate Account Manager from Social Strategy Hong Kong, advised on the social media campaign for secondary school teams

Professionals from various sectors were invited to share with the participants.

Moreover, 14 facilitators, who are experts in girls’ issues and presentation skills, were invited to guide the participants throughout the programme.

Participants kept enhancing their work with the guidance of facilitators.

Meanwhile, online workshops were full of fun! Members of the Youth Organising Committee (YOC) conducted warm-up activities for the participants. Speakers also adopted interactive poll and breakout room functions for discussions.

Members of YOC led warm-up activities to help participants get involved in the workshops better.

Youth Conference

Youth Conference 2020/21 was successfully held online on 27 March 2021. More than 90 attendees, including participants’ principals, teachers and parents, showed up and supported the teams.

 

 Dr Kanie Siu, Chief Executive Officer, Plan International Hong Kong and Prof. Mark Thompson, the Head and Professor of Politics, Department of Asian and International Studies, City University of Hong Kong, delivered opening remarks.

In the keynote speech, Ms Rachel Kwong, Barrister-at-law, inspired youth participants to speak out in support of gender equalities and believe in youth’s power by sharing personal stories and experiences.

Participants from the secondary school section presented on the topic “Teen Pregnancy in Nicaragua’.

Discussants from the Department of Asian and International Studies, City University of Hong Kong, directed questions to presentation panellists during the Q&A session.

Participants from the university section introduced their promotion strategies and designs of their social media campaign.

Participating School (in alphabetical order)

Secondary School Section

• Cheung Chuk Shan College
• Heung To Middle School
• Pentecostal Lam Hon Kwong School
• Queen Elizabeth School
• St. Paul’s Co-educational College
• St. Paul’s College
• The Y.W.C.A Hioe Tjo Yoeng College

Topics (Cantonese/ Putonghua/ English):

• Barriers to Girl’s Education in Pakistan
• The Digital Gender Gap in India
• Menstrual Hygiene in Uganda
• Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt
• Teen Pregnancy in Nicaragua
• Safe Cities for Girls in Vietnam
• Trafficking of Girls in Nigeria

University Section

• City University of Hong Kong

議題 (英文)：

• Impacts of COVID-19 to Girls’ Rights in Nepal
• How Climate Change Induced Water Scarcity Affects Women Disproportionately- a Pakistan Case Study
• The Impact of COVID-19 on the Right to Education for Girls in Cambodia
• Increasing Incidents of Early Marriage on Indian Girls under COVID-19
• Female Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh Fall Victim to the Flooding Issue
• Periods Don’t Stop for Pandemic

Awards

Awardees- Secondary School Section

• Youth Power- Best Campaign Award: Queen Elizabeth School [Topic: Barriers to Girl’s Education in Pakistan] (Click here to find out more)
• Creative Team Award: Heung To Middle School [Topic: Female Genital Mutilation in Egypt]

Awardees- University Section

• Youth Power- Best Campaign Award: [Topic: Female Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh Fall Victim to the Flooding Issue] (Click here to find out more)
• Creative Team Award: [Topic: Increasing Incidents of Early Marriage on Indian Girls under COVID-19] (Click here to find out more)

Adjudicators

(Secondary School Section) Ms Rachel Kwong, Barrister-at-law, Ms Candy Lung, Partner, Audit, KPMG, Dr Kanie Siu, Chief Executive Officer, Plan International Hong Kong

(University Section) Ms Mehvesh Mumtaz Ahmed, Director of Research, Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society, Ms Eni Lestari Andayani Adi, Founder, Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers, Dr Justin Robertson, Associate Professor, City University of Hong Kong

Masters of Ceremonies

Amy Li, Samantha Yuen, Jayden Ho and Jenny Chan, Youth Organising Committee Members, Plan International Hong Kong

Acknowledgement

Main Sponsor: KPMG