YWCA participated in “HKCSS Convention cum Hong Kong Social Service Expo 2023”, organised by Hong Kong Council of Social Service, to exchange insights with representatives from the government, business and welfare sectors, and better equip ourselves for the drastic changes and challenges ahead.

YWCA joined Hong Kong Social Service Expo to introduce Y SENse, the Association’s services for SEN children and families. The booth was designed as a normal school classroom with contradictory tagline “To be romp, in order to be still”. The blackboard with special visual effects attracted many visitors to shake their heads together and try to figure out what is hidden within the black and white lines. After listening to the explanation, they understood why children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) cannot sit still and how the rocking chairs help students to concentrate during lessons.

Many children workers and working partners who are also parents were amazed by how accurate we pinpoint the difficulties faced by SEN children and their families, and how our teaching materials provide appropriate solutions when situations arise. We hope the exhibition helped our partners understand SEN children’s needs and hence facilitates future cooperation for the benefit of those in need.

The Association’s Chief Executive Ms. Yvonne Yeung also attended HKCSS Convention and discussed “Post Pandemic Social Change and Welfare Development” with the Director of Social Welfare, and representatives from the business and academic sectors. She talked about the possibility of driving economic development and social innovation with digitalisation, and hence improving the living standard of the general public. She took the Association’s tele-rehabilitation and pre-school rehabilitation services as examples, to illustrate how technology assisted service users to receive training at home and maintain rehab progress during COVID-19. She also mentioned the recent popular Chat GPT and analysed the feasibility of using AI in social services.