Lingnan hosts Symposium on Social Innovation in the Greater Bay Area Bringing together youth to explore innovation opportunities

Lingnan University’s Creative and Cultural Innovation Research Institute held the “Future Co-creation: Symposium on Social Innovation and Youth Power in the Greater Bay Area” conference at the Lingnan@WestKowloon at the M+ Tower in the West Kowloon Cultural District today (26 February), exploring how social innovation can help youth create alternative economy and provide more opportunities for innovative entrepreneurship in Hong Kong. The conference attracted about 100 participants, including seasoned experts, innovators, and practitioners from the fields of youth development, community building, and alternative economies from Beijing, Shanghai, and Greater Bay Area cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, students and members of the public. Mr Wang Jinxia, Deputy Director-General of the Qianhai Authority was also invited to join the event.

Mr Wang Jinxia, Deputy Director-General of the Qianhai Authority, also shared his insights at the seminar. He hopes to further promote cooperation in the field of social innovation among youths and experts from the Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong through the platform of the Lingnan University Cultural and Creative Research Institute, empowering youth development in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. He noted that Qianhai, being the first Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation zone, has made breakthrough attempts in finance, legal systems, taxation, and technological innovation, and has now become the first stop for many Hong Kong people and businesses entering the mainland. In the future, Qianhai will better support Hong Kong youths, among others from Hong Kong, in starting businesses and living in Qianhai and the Greater Bay Area. Additionally, it will continue to support the innovative development of the Lingnan University Cultural and Creative Research Institute in Qianhai, jointly promoting deeper, broader, and higher-level pragmatic cooperation, resulting in more and better outcomes.

Ada Wong, JP, shared her decade-long experience in the field of social innovation and her views on encouraging young people to realise their ideals through innovation. Ms Wong highlighted that successful social innovation requires cross-disciplinary collaboration, including investors, intermediaries, incubation centres, and universities, to foster an innovative spirit and promote commercialisation. She pointed out that the Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong have gradually established an ecosystem that fosters innovation, providing a platform for youth to reconnect, collaborate, experiment, and commercialise. Facing the common challenges and opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, youth innovation can bring innovative solutions to many social and environmental issues, such as rural revitalisation, urban renewal, sustainable development, community economy, and grassroots education. She hopes to strengthen the exchange and sharing of social innovation in the Greater Bay Area through the research centre cooperation between Lingnan University and Qianhai.

One of the highlights of the Symposium was the opportunity for participants to share their entrepreneurship successes through exploring alternative economies. The concept of "alternative economies" does not solely prioritise profit maximisation but emphasises the social fairness issues involved in understanding the production process and distribution of consumers benefits. For example, social enterprises that specialise in selling fair-trade coffee, tea, and other products; exploring collaborative opportunities with artisans from minority groups to introduce traditional crafts into urban consumer markets, and improving the livelihoods of villagers in remote and impoverished areas. Guest speakers also shared how they assist marginalised groups in re-employment, provide coffee training for the visually impaired, and obtain certification as a barista. These social innovation projects have brought new insights into Hong Kong's youth on combining livelihoods with social change in the current economic downturn. During the roundtable discussion, guest speakers discussed with students how these projects could be implemented in Hong Kong and explored opportunities for cooperation with social innovation activities in mainland cities.

In addition, several experts from different fields, including Dr Liu Yuan, Deputy Secretary-General and Project Director at the Vanke Foundation; Ms Li Miaoting, Secretary-General of the Guangdong Qianhe Community Foundation; Ms Huang Bingyao, Project Director at Guangzhou Yingno Community Development Organisation; Mr Wilson Lam, Deputy Chief Executive of the Breakthrough Organisation; and Mr Tse Chun-man, Service Director of St. James' Settlement, also shared their valuable experiences from their respective organisations' projects.

During the conference, participants and guests engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanges, especially on youth development, community cohesion, social enterprise practices, and fair trade. Participants actively exchanged views, demonstrating the enthusiasm and commitment of the younger generation towards social innovation. The conference served as a platform for exchanging knowledge and experiences while exploring the potential for future collaborations among all parties.