The Hong Kong Council of Social Service
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| Formation | 1947 |
|---|---|
| Type | Statutory body |
| Headquarters | Wan Chai, Hong Kong |
| Members | 520 |
| Leader | Mr. CHUA Hoi Wai, JP |
| Website | hkcss |
| The Hong Kong Council of Social Service | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 香港社會服務聯會 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 香港社会服务联会 | ||||||||||
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| HKCSS | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 社聯 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 社联 | ||||||||||
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The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS; Chinese: 香港社會服務聯會 or 社聯) is a council coordinating NGOs in the social service field in Hong Kong, established in 1947.
Together with the Council's Agency Members, upholding social justice and equality in the mission to advance the well-being of the Hong Kong community. The HKCSS is committed to building an impact-oriented, collaborative and innovative social service sector, and co-creating a better society with stakeholders across different sectors. The HKCSS has over 520 Agency Members, with service units throughout Hong Kong, providing high-quality social services to those in need.
Patron:
The Hon John KC LEE, GBM, SBS, PDSM, PMSM
The Chief Executive of the HKSAR
Chairperson:
Revd Canon Hon Peter Douglas KOON Ho-ming, BBS, JP
Chief Executive:
Mr CHUA Hoi Wai, JP
History
The "Emergency Relief Joint Society", the predecessor of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, was established in June 1938 to assist the many refugees who fled Hong Kong due to Japan's invasion of China. It is believed to have been established by Governor Ronald Owen Hall, who was responsible for building refugee camps and supplying clothing and food, providing education and other welfare services. It was later reorganized into the 'Refugee and Social Welfare Council', which consists of 18 representative organizations and participates more extensively in local social welfare work. After the war, in 1945, Bishop Ronald Owen Hall invited Lee Wai Yin to help reorganize the operation of the Federation. It was initially called the "Hong Kong Social Welfare Council" and mainly still assisted refugees. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service was formally established in 1947 and became a statutory body in 1951. In 1952, joined the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW).
The Hong Kong Council of Social Service will have more than 520 institutional members and more than 4,400 service units as of June 2024, providing more than 90% of social welfare services to Hong Kong citizens.
Value, Vision and Position
Value: The Council and its agency members believe in social justice and equality, and the intrinsic rights of every individual. While society is obliged to provide individuals with the basic social and economic resources to develop their potentials, individuals in turn should carry out their responsibilities towards their families and society, to be self-reliant and to achieve self-actualization.
Vision: To drive an impact-driven, collaborative, and innovative social service sector, for the well-being of the Hong Kong community.
Position: HKCSS serves as a collaboration and co-creation platform, powered by its members and multiple stakeholders within and outside the social service sector, with the objective of advancing the well-being of Hong Kong community.
Core Businesses of HKCSS
Through the 4 core businesses, the HKCSS builds strategic partnership with different stakeholders. With collective efforts and wisdom, we dedicate to promote social development and develop an efficient social welfare service sector in Hong Kong.
- Service Development: Promote Service excellence and innovation
to address changing social needs.
- Department: Elderly Service, Children and Youth Service, Family and Community Service, Rehabilitation Service
- Social Development: Advocate for social justice and social development.
- Department: Policy Research and Advocacy, Social Housing
- Service Development: Promote Service excellence and innovation to address changing social needs.
- Department: Elderly Service, Children and Youth Service, Family and Community Service, Rehabilitation Service
- Sector and Capacity Development: Build a strong NGO sector, promote international and regional collaboration.
- Department: Talent Development & HKCSS Institute, Membership Liaison and Service, Information Technology Resource Centre, International and Mainland China Affairs, NGO Governance, Innovation and Technology in Ageing
Organisation Structure
HKCSS operates on a 2-tier structure: a governing committee structure and a professional staff team. The Governing Committees steer the direction, development, hold oversight and accountability of HKCSS, while the staff team is responsible for the daily operation of the four core businesses in the pursuit of the mission and vision of the organisation.
The Governing Committee has 3 levels, including an Executive Committee, 2 Standing Committees and 4 Specialized Committees. Committee members are nominated and elected by Agency Members. Co-opted members are also invited to serve in the committees. The Executive Committee also sets up Steering Committees to govern related projects on an as-needed basis.
The Executive Committee currently has 28 members, within which 16 were elected at annual general meetings, 3 from the Standing Committees and The Hong Kong Joint Council for People with Disabilities, and 9 co-opted members. The Executive Committee includes office bearers of Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Legal Adviser. The ExCo meets every two months, and Chief Executive and all business directors are required to attend.
The 2 Standing Committees oversee our core businesses: “Social Development”, “Sector Development and Finance”. Under Social Development Standing Committee are 4 Specialized Committees on different areas of services and policies.
Moreover, 3 Strategy Committees have been setup to advise the Council on its strategic development, including “Strategy Committee on Co-Creation”, “Strategy Committee on Talent Development” and “Strategy Committee on Tech-Enablement”.
As for the staff team, the Chief Executive manages daily operations of the Council and reports to the Executive Committee. Under the Chief Executive, there are four business directors overseeing various business and working units. HKCSS is also equipped with central administration, human resources and finance departments to provide professional assistance to the Chief Executive.
List of the Executive Committee & Standing Committees 2024-25
List of the Executive Committee & Standing Committees 2024-25
- Chairperson：
- 副主席：
- Mr CHAN Charnwut, Bernard * (G.B.S, J.P.)
- Ms CHAK Tung Ching, Yvonne(Hong Kong Christian Service)
- Mr LIU Tat Yin, Kennedy *
- Hon. Treasurer:
- Ms LAW, Elizabeth * (Law & Partners CPA Limited)
- Hon. Legal Advisor:
- Mr KWOK Lam Kwong, Larry * (Kwok Yih & Chan)
- Members:
- Ms CHAN Lai Kwan, Queenie (Evangelical Lutheran Church Social Service – Hong Kong
- Ms CHAN Siu Lai (The Salvation Army)
- Ms CHAU, Kitty (Hong Kong Family Welfare Society)
- Mrs CHIU CHUI Yuen Fun, Angela (Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council)
- Mr CHIU Han Man, Raymond (Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service)
- Mr CHU Sai Ming, Thomas (New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association)
- Ms HSU Siu Man (Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups)
- Dr LAM Ching Choi * (Haven of Hope Christian Service)
- Mr LAU Chung, Billie (Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong)
- Mrs LAU, Patricia (Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited)
- Ms LAU Sze Fan (Hong Kong Lutheran Social Service, The Lutheran Church – Hong Kong Synod)
- Ms LEE Shuk Ha, Carmen (Caritas – Hong Kong)
- Ms LEE Shuk Wai, Anthea (Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention, Hong Kong)
- Ms LEE Yuen Sum, Joyce (Hong Kong Children and Youth Services)
- Dr LUK Che Chung *
- Ms PANG, Melissa Kaye * (Pang & Associates)
- Ms SO, Bonnie (Hong Kong Red Cross)
- Dr Hon TIK Chi Yuen (LegCo, HKSAR)
- Dr WAN Lap Man (Hong Kong Playground Association)
- Representative of The Hong Kong Joint Council for People with Disabilities:
- Representative of Standing Committee on Sector Development & Finance:
- Mr NG Yan Ho, Henry (Chinese Evangelical Zion Church Social Service Division)
- Representative of Standing Committee on Social Development:
- Mr CHEUNG Tat Cheong, Cooke (St. James’ Settlement)
[*] Co-opted Members
Core staff
- Chief Executive: Mr CHUA Hoi Wai
- Business Director:
- Ms CHAN Man Yee, Grace
- Ms CHEUNG Lai Wah
- Dr TAM Wing Sai, Jessica
- Mr WONG Kin Wai, Anthony
Membership Overview
The Hong Kong Council of Service consists of two member categories, namely Agency Members and Life Members. As of June 2024, there are 68 Life Members (application for Life Membership has been closed since September 2001) and over 520 Agency Members. Among the Agency Members, approximately 25% are receiving regular subventions from the Social Welfare Department (subvented agencies), while the remaining 75%, most of which are relatively small, are primarily supported by various charity funds and the commercial sector, along with donations from individuals. For more details, please refer to the “Membership Register”.
Directory and Information System of HKCSS Agency Members (“Smart NGO”) is an online database that contains updated information of over 510 local social service organizations, including their objects, missions, descriptions on services, governance structures, annual expenses, performance highlights and future plans. The publication of these materials demonstrates the accountability and transparency of the Sector with regard to governance and utilization of resources. Readers of the “Smart NGO” should be able to have a glimpse of the collective strength that local social service organizations are building up. It is hoped that all walks of life in the community could learn more about the works being performed by the social service organizations of Hong Kong.
＊Note：The information of organizations contained in the Directory and Information System of HKCSS Agency Members (“Smart NGO”) is self-provided and uploaded to the database by the respective organizations. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service bears no responsibility with regard to the completeness, accuracy and use of such information, etc. For enquiries related to the information of organizations provided in the “Smart NGO”, please contact the organizations concerned direct.
The WiseGiving website (惠施網) is launched in 2007 to promote charity accountability and transparency in Hong Kong. We encourage charities to disclose their services, governance and financial information voluntarily for public access. [1]。Stopped operation with effect from 1 January 2020, The Council shall continue to display members’ information through Directory and Information System of HKCSS Agency Members (“Smart NGO”) so that the public can learn more about social service organizations.
Annual key events
Jointly hosted by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, and co-organised with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the Gerontech and Innovation Expo cum Summit (GIES), is the largest gerontechnology public education event in Hong Kong.
Since GIES was launched in 2017, it has solicited support and aroused attention from different parties. Not only the general public can explore and learn about various gerontechnology and solutions in GIES, the elderly and rehabilitation service sector is also mobilized and has become more willing to adopt gerontech. It also facilitates the development of several pilot services and projects.
Hosted by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, The "S+ Summit and Expo" brings together the stakeholders from different sectors to discuss local and regional social issues under the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The social welfare organizations, social enterprises, and impact businesses will showcase their effective solutions in response to social problems. We hope that "S+" can promote stakeholder collaboration (Synergy), create social impact (Social Impact), and promote Hong Kong's sustainable development (Sustainability).
Caring Company Scheme is one of the major partnership program. Others included co-operation with RTHK, HSBC, tertiary institutions, etc.
Jointly funded by the Hongkong Bank Foundation and the Social Welfare Department’s Partnership Fund for the Disadvantaged, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) established the Social Enterprise Business Centre (SEBC) in 2008, to advance social entrepreneurship and mobilise social innovation. Through developing partnership with the government, the business sector, NGOs and academics, SEBC builds social capital in order to provide a holistic support for social enterprises and social innovation projects covering funding management, business consultancy, marketing and promotion, and social awareness building. [2]。
Social Enterprise Business Centre (SEBC) compiles the Social Enterprise Directory (SE Directory) every year since 2007. To facilitate public access to social enterprise information in Hong Kong, SE Directory mobile application and the online search engine (this website) are launched. SE Directory is recognized and supported by the HKSAR Government and has long been serving as an important reference material for advocating responsible consumption across government departments, public organizations, NGOs, SEs as well as corporations. To this date, over 10,000 booklets have been issued, and the search engine and the mobile application have seen extensive use of more than 2,800,000 views and 5,900 downloads respectively.
Carefood
The development of the local Care Food sector is still in its early stages, and the products and services provided by suppliers in the market are limited. HKCSS has been promoting Care Food to the public since 2017. In 2020, the Caring Food Task Force was established, bringing together representatives from academia, healthcare, social welfare, and business sectors to provide professional advice and guidance on the future development of Care Food guidelines and projects.
Drawing upon the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) as a foundation and incorporating diverse established Care Food methodologies to suit market demands, food hardness and viscosity are subject to testing in the guideline. It encompasses users’ physiological condition descriptions and food consistency explanations. Additionally, the guideline offers cooking illustrations and a standard level reference.
All these elements converge to create a comprehensive, user-friendly, practical, and culturally tailored set of guidelines. This empowers users, caregivers, professionals, chefs, and producers to thoroughly evaluate options before putting them into practice.
Social housing
Social housing is led by non-governmental organizations, with the joint efforts of different funders, private companies, and NGOs/social enterprises, supported by the Government. Social housing aims to provide affordable housing to tenants who wait for public rental housing for at least 3 years and live in indecent rental subdivided units. The pre-qualified operators will provide community-based social services and work with residents to develop their network and capacity for living independently in the community after the service. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) plays a role of the Social Housing Intermediary Platform in coordinating and planning transitional social housing project, selecting service operators for housing projects and, with them, promoting and developing social housing together. Currently two housing schemes, that is, “Community Housing Movement” and “Modular Social Housing”, have been carried out by the Council since 2017.
Projects: Yip Shing 6, Cheong San 1, Nam Cheong 220 (Completed), Community Housing Movement (Completed). HKCSS Social Housing Website
Hong Kong Sign Language Interpreter List
The Hong Kong Sign Language Interpreter List is jointly established by the Hong Kong Joint Council for People with Disabilities / Hong Kong Council of Social Service and the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee. It contains information of people who provide sign language interpretation services in Hong Kong.
Link of Hong Kong Sign Language Interpreter List (Chinese Only)
Corporate Communications
covers stories of the social welfare sector and social issues of public concern. Over 50 videos are produced annually.
Scenario
Scenario is a quarterly published magazine, aiming to amplify social issues and welfare services through wide-reaching mass channels. It is circulated via Mingpao, with printed copies in central business districts, alongside various digital platforms.
References
- ^ "概念鏈接" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 文匯報. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) Archived 2020-05-16 at the Wayback Machine - ^ "政商界全力扶助社企" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 大公網. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2011.[dead link]