Our Mission
To promote cultural exchange and interaction and enhance mutual understanding between the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong and its' locals through an interactive culinary workshop.
Background
Ethnic minorities (EMs) in Hong Kong (HK) face considerable challenges in integrating into local society. Despite HK's reputation as a multicultural hub, EM communities often experience discrimination, social exclusion, and limited opportunities for meaningful interaction with HK locals. A survey conducted by the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong (2022) highlighted key barriers to integration include language communication barriers (54.5%), low contact between groups, limited knowledge (39.4%), and differences in religious practices and culture (36.4%). These barriers create a gap between HK locals and EM communities, hence, creating the need for a platform that promotes mutual cultural exchange and collaboration, fostering more integration, inclusion and understanding.
Why are we invested?
Our Rationale
In HK, EM groups refer to persons of non-Chinese ethnicities. The major EM groups in HK include Filipinos (32.5%), Indonesians (22.9%), and other South Asians (44.6%). Although there are many programmes for EMs in HK, they mostly focus on the domestic workers in HK which represent the lower class groups. Whilst university students represent the middle and upper class groups and are at a unique intersection where they are both ethnic minorities and recipients of higher education. Currently in HK, local university students are also in a stage of rapid development of cultural identity and social awareness (Willis, 2004), highlighting the importance of shared mutual understanding and need for cultural exchange. Our project proposal aims to enhance this understanding and cultural exchange through an interactive culinary cultural workshop.
Theoretical Framework
Our program focuses on the implementation of the Intergroup Contact Theory. Through intergroup contact and gaining knowledge, misunderstanding, fear and prejudice among both groups can be reduced and this improves trust and attitude (Allport, G. W. 1985). The in-group comprises HK and Mainland students, while the out-group consists of EMs. Direct face-to-face intimate contact experiences of the in-group with the out-group have higher quality than superficial forms of intergroup contact, this fosters closer relationships and encourages others in the in-group to have positive attitudes towards the out-group (Wright et al, 1997). To achieve equal status and provide a common goal, the workshop activities will not be biased towards any group and the cooking competition will be a friendly competitive way of providing incentive to cooperate and mix. To foster deeper interpersonal level and emotional level experiences, the activies also include reflection and discussion periods to allow for non-judgemental expression of thoughts and emotions. With guided reflection and knowledge, prejudice and negative attitude towards the out-group will be reduced, whilst also improving understanding and respect (McLaren, 2007).
Added Value
This workshop focuses on the current service gap of EM university students since current cultural integration workshops or organisations target EM children or adults rather than young adults, especially teenagers in universities. The period of university is a highly stressful time where students develop their identity and expand their ideology,
Integrate
This workshop will help EMs better integrate into HK.
Develop
This workshop will help HK locals foster an open mind.
Include
This workshop will provide EMs and locals a place to interact and work together.