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Building social capital through mutual trust, mutual help and interaction (with photos)
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     Social capital is built through human interaction, mutual trust and mutual help. Everyone has the potential to help the needy and the question is how to unleash it.

     The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, made these remarks at the opening ceremony of the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund (CIIF) Forum 2016 this afternoon (November 26).

     "The Government has all along been committed to supporting the building of social capital. Since the establishment of CIIF in 2002, a total of $432 million has been disbursed for 323 projects. More than 650 000 participants, including over 80 000 volunteers and 8 700 enthusiastic collaborative partners, directly took part in the projects and together built over 2 000 mutual help networks," Mr Cheung said.

     He called on more members of the public to participate in the projects to build more mutual help networks. This would be conducive to the sustainable development of the CIIF and allow it to respond to society's needs in a timely manner, he said.

     "Last year, the CIIF funded 18 different types of social capital projects in several newly built public housing estates. These projects have facilitated the development of mutual help networks among old and new tenants, and fostered integration of new residents. In view of our ageing population, the CIIF rolled out 12 new projects in July this year to establish robust neighbourhood support networks for the elderly, in particular elderly singletons and elderly couples," Mr Cheung added.

     Also speaking at the opening ceremony, the Chairman of the CIIF Committee, Dr Lam Ching-choi, pointed out that the CIIF had been developing social capital through various cross-sectoral collaborations. The House Captains model under the "housing-welfare-community" collaboration project has become a flagship model for CIIF projects.

     "By organising regular home visits and family matching activities, House Captains are tasked to connect and take care of residents in their neighbourhood, as well as enhance the residents’ sense of belonging to the community," Dr Lam said. 

     Apart from developing social capital through different models, Dr Lam said that the CIIF had been proactively promoting public understanding of social capital through different channels in recent years. For instance, the CIIF has collaborated with Radio Television Hong Kong in producing a new television documentary-drama series entitled "Affairs of the Heart". An array of school education campaigns such as the Hong Kong Secondary Schools Social Capital Micro Film Competition and school roving exhibitions were also organised. 

     To promote mutual help and trust, and encourage community participation in building social capital, the CIIF under the Labour and Welfare Bureau has been holding the CIIF Forum since 2003. The theme of the Forum this year is "Mutual Trust. Mutual Help. Interaction." The Forum is aimed at enabling participants from various sectors to share experience in building social capital and engaging new partners to explore ways to build social capital through cross-sectoral collaboration, with a view to contributing to a caring community and the sustainable development of society.

     The CIIF Forum 2016 has two sessions. Community-based activities in 10 public housing estates to promote and build social capital were organised in the morning. Around 1 500 people participated in the activities, including House Captains, volunteers of CIIF-funded projects, residents and corporate volunteers. Mr Cheung and CIIF SC.Net member Anderson Junior took part in "Heart Connection" project at Choi Hung Estate in Wong Tai Sin. They also joined elderly residents to do physical exercise and visited an elderly person living at the estate.

     A thematic forum was held in the afternoon at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in Wan Chai with around 500 participants from various sectors including the business community, non-governmental organisations, academia and the Government. Six distinguished guests from different sectors shared with participants their views and experience in building social capital and explored ways to build social capital through cross-sectoral collaboration.
 
Ends/Saturday, November 26, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:38
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In addressing the opening ceremony of the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund Forum 2016 today (November 26), the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said that social capital is built through human interaction, mutual trust and mutual help. Mr Cheung pointed out that the Government has all along been committed to supporting the building of social capital. He called on more members of the public to participate in the projects to build more mutual help networks.
The Community Investment and Inclusion Fund (CIIF) held community-based activities in 10 public housing estates to promote and build social capital this morning (November 26). The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, took part in "Heart Connection" project at Choi Hung Estate in Wong Tai Sin. Pictures shows Mr Cheung (third right); Chairman of the CIIF Committee, Dr Lam Ching-choi (second right); and CIIF SC.Net member Anderson Junior (fourth right) joining elderly residents to do physical exercise. 
The Community Investment and Inclusion Fund (CIIF) held community-based activities in 10 public housing estates to promote and build social capital this morning (November 26). The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, took part in "Heart Connection" project at Choi Hung Estate in Wong Tai Sin. Pictures shows Mr Cheung (second left); and Chairman of the CIIF Committee, Dr Lam Ching-choi (first left) visiting an elderly person living at the estate.
The Community Investment and Inclusion Fund (CIIF) held community-based activities in 10 public housing estates to promote and build social capital this morning (November 26). Around 1 500 people participated in the activities, including House Captains, volunteers of CIIF-funded projects, residents and corporate volunteers. Picture shows the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung (back row, fourth left); Chairman of the CIIF Committee, Dr Lam Ching-choi (back row, fifth left); CIIF SC.Net member Anderson Junior (back row, first left); House Captains and participants of the community-based activities.