My neighbours: Ethnic Minorities

This workshop is part of the Changemaker Gear Up Training Series (GUTS) which introduces the problems faced by ethnic minority communities in Hong Kong and motivates students in giving a helping hand to them. Growing up as part of an ethnic minority community in Hong Kong, Dr. Rizwan Ullah shared his views on the current challenges his community faced. He believed insufficient education, low employment mobility, and misunderstanding from local people are the three main problems faced by the ethnic minority communities in Hong Kong.

In the sharing, Dr. Rizwan Ullah suggested that educational inequalities against ethnic minority communities exist at the school, teacher, and parent levels. To alleviate the problems, he provided the following suggestions. The educational bureau can increase school inspections on non-Chinese speaking students, and the schools should revisit and reconsider their directions in using their resources on ethnic minority students. More parental involvement is suggested to be included in students' education; Teachers are advised to attend NCSS colleges to receive training before teaching non-Chinese speaking students in order to ensure good quality of education. He also believed that education could promote changes in people's mindsets and make integration easier for the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.

By the end of the sharing, most students shared their agreement with Dr. Rizwan Ullah's sharing and were motivated to be a changemaker in promoting empathy, respect, and diversity in society. They were also motivated to help ethnic minorities better integrate into society.