Congratulations!
On January 24, 2019, the winners of the second PILnet Law for Change Student Competition were announced. This competition, sponsored by the WYNG Foundation, stimulates the interest of law students in public interest law and creates opportunities for them to create, and potentially implement, sustainable initiatives to address the access to justice needs of low-income and vulnerable communities in Hong Kong.
PILnet hosted the Project Showcase and Awards Ceremony for the 2018 Law for Change Student Competition on January 24. This event was the culmination of the competition which began in October 2018 and included two PILnet organized workshops that focused on project design, planning, budgeting, and monitoring and evaluation. This competition paired law students with legal mentors to develop innovative solutions to entrenched social justices needs in Hong Kong, while raising general awareness about the role of law as a tool for change.
The ten competition finalists worked with their legal mentors to develop full proposals around the chosen theme of this year’s competition, “Community” with a focus of “Family”. The finalists presented their projects at a Pitching Event on January 19, which were evaluated by a panel of judges, which included Kay McArdle, Moses Mui, Francis Ngai and Michael Vidler.
The winner is awarded a seed grant of HK$50,000, and the two runners-up will receive a seed grant of HK$25,000 each to implement their projects.
Team 5
EMpower – Ethnic Minority Domestic
Violence Prevention Campaign
EMpower aims to empower ethnic minority communities by enhancing their understanding of domestic violence, and encouraging potential victims to seek help. The project will conduct a series of legal workshops to train ethnic minority community members as ambassadors in disseminating knowledge to their peers; and will create a mobile application providing relevant legal information and serving as a tool for victim identification.
Team members: Chong Yip Fung Vincent, Lo Ting Hei Christine, Tsang Hiu Chun Selina from The Chinese University of Hong Kong
| Team 9
Legal Initiative (Pro-Bono) for |
LIBRE identifies and addresses the access-to-justice needs of refugees in Hong Kong by developing a comprehensive know-your-rights guidebook and website. LIBRE also fosters constructive dialogue among refugees and local youths through organizing awareness talks in secondary schools in Hong Kong.
Team members: Law Kwan Pui Paul, Liu Jingru Vicky, and Tse Mei Ying Gabrielle from The University of Hong Kong |
| Team 10
Make-A-Will Hong Kong |
Make-A-Will Hong Kong promotes the general awareness of the importance and formalities of making a will. It also provides free will-drafting services for the elderly in need to ensure that one’s assets can be distributed according to their wishes and to reduce the chance of disputes.
Team members: Kwok Vivian Yee Ting, Ng Mei Suet Michelle, Ng Yat Yi, Wu Jenny from the University of Hong Kong |
Ten teams competed and designed public interest law initiatives focused on family. Their projects touched on many members of Hong Kong’s community including mothers, children, the elderly, refugees, ethnic minorities, and foreign domestic workers.
The finalists’ dynamic and diverse proposals were extraordinary examples of how law can be used as a tool for social change in building strong, sustainable, and resilient families within their communities.
| Team | Project Title | Project Description |
| 1 | Breastfeeding – A Choice? A Right!
Team members: Lam Yin Sze, So Yee Ting, Wong Lok Yiu from the City University of Hong Kong |
This project aims at empowering breastfeeding mothers and improving the environment for breastfeeding. The project plans to publish a booklet covering the common legal issues around breastfeeding in public area and possible solutionswhen the rights of breastfeeding mothers are violated, in addition to a web-based app locating the nursery rooms. |
| 2 | Children Care All-In-One
Team members: Chan Nikita In Wai, Chung Tsam In, and Lui Kwan Ting Victor from the City University of Hong Kong |
Children Care All-In-One intends to launch an online platform matching child care service providers and service users in order to address the lack of childcare support for Hong Kong families. The platform will provide legal assistance through providing sample contracts and basic information on labor insurance. |
| 3 | Hand in Hand Project – Against Child Abuse
Team members: Dao Ching Yi Tina, Liu Yuen Ting, Tse Wan Tseng Ellie, and Yue Pui Yiu Priscilla from the Chinese University of Hong Kong |
This project aims to raise awareness of children towards child abuse and encourages victims to speak up for themselves. THe project intends to conduct activities in primary schools, and design online games to convey educational and legal messages. |
| 4 | Restorative Justice Family Clinic
Team members: Chui Shin Hang Clifford, Or Hoi Yan Denise from the Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Wai Lok Yan Venisa from the University of Hong Kong |
Restorative Justice Family Clinic is an initiative aiming to introduce a new perspective to social workers in dealing with child abuse cases. The initiative will include training of how to conduct a restorative justice conference, as well as advocating for restorative justice into local legal system. |
| 6 | Society Engaging Ethnic Minorities without Difference (SEED)
Team members: Chung Cheuk Kwan Christine, Lau Jeremiah Tien Zhen, Lee Wing Yan Romina, Leung Yee Ching, and Tang Jeremy Arthur from the Chinese University of Hong Kong |
The SEED project intends to design a curriculum consisting of workbooks and workshops for secondary students, in which they will use modified classic fables to illustrate legal principles. Through bringing together both the local and ethnic minority students, they pursue to make law accessible to all and facilitate dialogue. |
| 7 | EF-Lab
Team members: Chan Karen, Cheng Hui Kiu, Poon Suet Yi Zoe, So Holly, and Tsoi Chak Hung from the University of Hong Kong |
EF-lab hopes to educate employers on foreign domestic workers’ (FDWs) basic legal rights and give recognition to FDWs’ contribution to Hong Kong society through a combination of online and offline campaigns, such as video production, a facebook page, and street booths. |
| 8 | DomeHome
Team members: Chan Ling Kwan, Cheung Wing Man Flora, Fong Yin Wai, Kwok Yuet Yi, and Wong Ka Yui from the University of Hong Kong |
DomeHome seeks to serve as a coordinator to build an organized network with various NGOs advocating for FDWs’ rights, to ensure FDWs could reach out to NGOs that best match their individualized needs in an accessible manner. They intend to achieve this through building an online platform educating, testing, and referring the FDWs to different NGOs. |
