HOW A UNIVERSITY MAY
APPROACH SOCIAL
SUSTAINABILITY IN THE
CURRENT CONTEXT OF
HONG KONG
Prof. Linda Li, Associate Provost
Conference on Social Work and Social
Sustainability in Asia, CityU, HK
20 June 2014
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Education, income and social sustainability
• Thomas Piketty’s solution: University’s role in sharpening the
students’ skills > slow the ‘inegalitarian spiral’ > a more stable/
sustainable society
• Association of Income and education in HK
• 2011 population census data:
Proportion of working population by
educational attainment (highest level
attended) (%)
1st-2nd
Decile
groups*
3rd-8th
Decile
groups
9th-10th
Decile
groups
Total
Lower secondary and below
45.8
31.9
4.3
29.1
Upper secondary/ sixth form
37.3
39.8
20.3
35.4
Post-secondary
17
28.4
75.4
35.5
*1st decile group is the lowest income group and the 10th is the highest income group
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The university as an institution to cultivate
agency capacity
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How does CityU cultivate and encourage agency
capacity?
Nurture
students’
capacity to
learn & reflect
values
sustainability
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A three-pronged approach to sustainability
More information can be found on CityU’s sustainability website
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1. Campus environment – greening facilities and
management
Solid waste recycling
Solar panels in Student
Residences and AC3
"Zero Food Waste Week
in CityU“ 2012
Green requirements on
caterers
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1. Campus environment – social diversity
to foster &
to manage
A world with mono-tone?
Internationalization
Or a world with diversity?
Locals:
Chinese,
south
Asians,
Europeans,
etc.
Non-locals:
Mainland
China,
Europeans,
Americans,
etc.
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1. Campus environment – streamlining operation
Process sustainability (the Work Simplification
Programme):
• Economic - time efficiency, human resources
• Environmental – less paper
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2. Teaching activities
• Courses offered
•
•
•
•
Taught programmes
GE courses
The establishment of School of Energy and Environment (SEE)
Collaboration with Arizona State University
• Promote future leaders
• Awards to encourage creativity and innovation: the design of a new energysaving ventilation and air conditioning system.
• Student projects to solve social problems
• Campus sustainability Fund (CSF)
• To raise awareness, foster action
and extend impact
• E.g. The GROW project
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3. Research – to seek sustainability solutions
• Research projects
• E.g. Carbon Footprint Management at Home for Sustainable Low-Carbon
Living
• Sustainability Summit: a platform for dialogue among academics
and policy makers on sustainability issues
• The Big Questions Challenge for secondary school and CityU students
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Challenges
• “Sustainability is good, but…”
• Change requires actions, and actions may mean going out of your comfort
zone
• A case: the residence hall move-out recycling activity
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Solution
Communication
Capacity to reflect
Engagement
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