[Pakistani Culture Workshop] Ethnic Minority Enterprise and Social Innovation

Multiculturalism in Action Project presents a public seminar on Ethnic Minority Enterprise and Social Innovation. Speakers include Mrs. Arjumand Naveed, President of the Pakistan Women Association of Hong Kong, Mrs. Nigar Qureshi, Winner of HKMVC Award 2016, and Mr. Yasir Naveed, Founder of Chefo!. They will share their experiences on starting/running a business and social enterprise, and how these are personal achievements as well as empowerment for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. We also have Ms. Ada Wong, JP, Convener of The Good Lab, to talk about social innovation.

Please join us in this discussion at The Pakistan Club, on Saturday 16 January, 2016, at 2:30pm. Admission is free. All interested are welcome!! Due to limited seats, please register at lee-connie@cuhk.edu.hk by 14 January, 2016.

Seminar Poster

[Pakistani Culture Workshop] Personal Narratives: Minority Women in a Multicultural Environment

Multiculturalism in Action 2015-16

Pakistani Culture Workshop: Making a Change for the Better

Session 5: Personal Narratives: Minority Women in a Multicultural Environment

Speakers:  Multicultural Team, YMCA Cheung Sha Wan Centre, and Pakistani ladies from Sham Shui Po

On 21 November, 2015, participants of the Pakistani Culture Workshop visited YMCA Cheung Sha Wan Centre to learn about the everyday experiences of Pakistanis in Sham Shui Po, in relation to aspects such as gender, family, marriage, and migrant experiences. Participants also had the chance to practice interview skills as a preparation for their community-based projects.

Ms. Law Lap Man, Principal Program Officer of the YMCA Multicultural Team, first gave us an introduction to their work in bridging the South Asian and Chinese communities in Sham Shui Po. Pakistanis and Nepalis were the main service users and sometimes there were also Indians and Filipinos joining their programs. Apart from providing services to the South Asian residents in Sham Shui Po, the Team also managed a community shop selling handicrafts made by South Asian women as a way to supplement their family income.

During the presentation, Ms. Law highlighted the point that it was usually the mothers who came to the Center to join the programs. Even though the Center aimed at serving “parents”, the fathers seldom attended their activities. One possible reason was the gender division of labor in the family, as mothers were considered homemakers and therefore responsible for childcaring. She also mentioned that some years ago the fathers would come too, when there was a Pakistani colleague in their Team. Thus it may be that the gender concept among the fathers had discouraged their attendance.   

Ms. Law then briefly outlined the history of South Asians in Hong Kong. The first generation had come with the British Army in 1848, but the term “Pakistanis” only appeared after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. More than 99% of Pakistanis in Hong Kong were Muslims. Ms. Saleena, a Pakistani colleague, reminded us that there were also some Pakistani Christians in Hong Kong, and we should not generalize the Pakistani community as a homogeneous group. 

Ms. Law giving a presentation

Ms. Saleena then introduced what henna was. She said henna was a body art popular all over South Asia. Women drew it as a leisure art or during wedding and festivals, while men drew henna only during festivals. Some patterns of henna were really complicated, but women loved to draw mostly flowers and birds which were symbols of fortune. Nowadays, young people loved to draw whatever they liked, such as personal names, or even characters in video games.

Henna drawing

We then divided into three groups to conduct group interview with the ladies. Topics that were discussed included migration, family, marriage, and how these different factors interacted. Although our interviewees were mostly second and third generation in Hong Kong, they had strong connections with Pakistan. A teenager who was fourth generation living in Hong Kong said she missed Pakistan because her cousins were there. Her last journey to Pakistan was two years ago. She hoped to travel to Pakistan more often but the cost of a family trip was very expensive. 

Group discussion

In terms of marriage practices, arranged marriage was popular and it was a factor for many Pakistani migrants coming to Hong Kong. Pakistani girls aged around 12 to 13 could already be engaged and migrant marriages were common. Although the new generation was more open to dating, they were still observant of the customs to choose a spouse from among Pakistani Muslims. Like many Hong Kong females, the interviewees had their own imaginations about their future husbands - a handsome and muscular guy, while at the same time accepting the fact that it was their parents who would try to arrange a good marriage for them.   

We also enjoyed masala milk tea and a Muslim dessert called sheer khurma prepared by the Pakistani ladies.  Sheer khurma was a pudding made from vermicelli, milk, sugar, and spices. Ms. Saleena explained that Muslims prepared sheer khurma after the Ramadan and during the Festival of Sacrifice. 

The program ended with a three-minute video that summarized the multicultural work of YMCA Cheung Sha Wan Centre. Although it was not an easy job to promote multiculturalism in Hong Kong, Ms. Law believed the situation would change, and the day would come when no ethnic group would be ignored in Hong Kong as a truly cosmopolitan city. 

[Pakistani Culture Workshop] Health and the Pakistani Community

Multiculturalism in Action 2015-16

Pakistani Culture Workshop: Making a Change for the Better

Session 4: Health and the Pakistani Community

Speakers: Dr. Nazia Shahid and Ms. Asma Batool

The Multiculturalism in Action Project organized a public seminar entitled Health and the Pakistani Community on 7 November, 2015 at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Prof. Siumi Maria Tam, Director of the Project, gave an introduction to issues related to healthcare among the Pakistanis in Hong Kong. Cultural and social factors, such as language barrier and lack of information, affected the quality and frequency of healthcare seeking. Many Pakistani patients found it difficult to communicate with Cantonese-speaking clinic staff, including the doctors and nurses. Some did not know there were free interpretation services provided in government hospitals and clinics. On the other hand, the lifestyle and occupations of Pakistanis in Hong Kong triggered specific health problems. Obesity, for example, was common among Pakistanis because their diet contained high fat and sugar content.

Prof. Tam giving an introduction
  

The Hospital Authority and some non-government organizations have started special service programs to meet these needs. For example, ethnic minority languages were used in response cue cards, disease information sheets, and patient consent forms in public hospitals and clinics. The United Christian Nethersole Community Health Service and HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre have been providing outreach and public education for the general public. Prof. Tam encouraged the audience to think whether these services were accessible to those in need, and to what extent these services were effective and helpful.

Our guest speaker, Dr. Nazia Shahid delivered an informative presentation on the general medical issues among the Pakistanis. She highlighted the fact that 37.6% of Pakistanis were born in Hong Kong, which was a relatively high ratio when compared with other ethnic minority groups in Hong Kong. First, Dr. Nazia explained some basic concepts on how Islam understood “health” and “disease”. Islam perceived health and illness as balance and imbalance of a body respectively. The Quran has provided guidelines to Muslims to stay healthy, such as one should maintain good personal hygiene, avoid drinking alcohol, and eating halal food. She also explained the concept of “life” in Islam, and the belief in afterlife - death was a transition for the soul to depart the body and enter another realm. Islam helped to comfort Muslim patients and their families who perceived illness as a test or punishment from God, and provided a spiritual healing power through prayers and meditation to ask forgiveness from God.

Dr. Nazia giving a presentation
  

Dr. Nazia explained that it was mainly non-communicable diseases such as obesity, heart attack, and high blood pressure that affected Pakistanis in Hong Kong. Females were more vulnerable to these diseases because they were not encouraged to go outside so they rarely had physical activities. Limited information on healthcare, and an oily diet, led to heart attacks, high blood pressure, and obesity. Compared to their counterparts in Pakistan, those in Hong Kong had better health in general, as they had adjusted to a steamed cuisine and more attention on their body shape. Pregnancy was another factor affecting the health of women. As each pregnancy made it harder to get back to pre-pregnant physical conditions, when Pakistani women needed to bear more children according to the cultural concept that children were a symbol of fortune, Pakistani women were more at risk due to childbearing. Dr. Nazia believed it was essential to educate fellow Pakistanis on dietary hazards and raise awareness on leading an active and healthy life, especially among the women.  

According to Dr. Nazia, Pakistani men suffered more from occupation-related accidents, such as in construction sites, as little attention had been paid to safety in the workplace. Moreover, Pakistani children in Hong Kong were often obese because they consumed lots of junk food and frequented fast food shops.

Dr. Nazia continued her presentation by discussing the socio-economic factors affecting the Pakistanis’ healthcare seeking behavior. Language was a big problem, as not all Pakistanis in Hong Kong could speak and understand Cantonese and English. Even if they know these languages, it may not be good enough to communicate in medical terms. Dr. Nazia mentioned that the interpretation services for ethnic minorities were not always satisfactory as some interpreters were not well trained. This topic was further discussed during the panel session, which will be mentioned below.

Gender was another factor especially affecting the healthcare seeking behavior of Pakistani women in Hong Kong. Muslim women preferred to have female doctors or nurses in order to follow modesty requirements in regard to opposite sex. However, in Hong Kong, doctors and nurses were often males. Muslim women would feel very uncomfortable if a male doctor conducted prenatal checkup on them. Dr. Nazia advised the government should pay more efforts in training female doctors and to create a user-friendly environment to help all patients with their needs. On the other hand, it was a tradition for Muslim baby boys to be circumcised at the earliest. However, most doctors in Hong Kong had little awareness of this and were not trained about circumcision. It usually took a long time to wait for circumcision in public hospitals, while the fee in private hospitals was high. Compared to the United States, where circumcision was routinely done to meet the religious need of the Jewish faith, Dr. Nazia suggested that the Hong Kong government could pay more attention to the special needs of ethnic minorities.

Following a short break, a panel discussion was carried out. Dr. Nazia was joined by Ms. Asma Batool, a Community Health Officer in South Asian Health Support Program United Christian Nethersole Community Health Service, who gave us some ideas on the limitations of clinics in Hong Kong, for example, the lack of prayer rooms, and lack of nursing facilities. Ms. Batool believed that there should be more cultural sensitivity training for frontline doctors and nurses.  

Panel discussion
  

The focus of discussion then turned to interpretation services for ethnic minorities, and everyone actively expressed their opinions. Some in the audience questioned the effectiveness of interpretation services as these were seen to be passive action as patients needed to get approval from the hospitals in advance. Clinic staff often asked out-patients to bring family members or friends who know Cantonese to translate for them. Moreover, interpretation in the emergency room was not available. Some patients even did not know how to apply for the service.

Pakistani guests expressing their opinions during the panel discussion
  

Representatives from Hong Kong TransLingual Services (HKTS), Mr. Ryan Choi and Ms. Candy Hui, opined that the culture in public hospitals, which emphasized time and cost efficiency, has restricted the effectiveness of interpretation services. Some of the reasons why hospitals discouraged the use of interpreters were cost minimization, and limited consultation time. Mr. Choi said that as service provider, they were trying hard to monitor and improve the quality of staff. The latest statistics showed that there were 800-900 interpretation cases per month last year, and the number was increasing as more patients knew about the services. HKTS also organized talks and sharing sessions in public hospitals to promote their services and to heighten the cultural awareness of hospital staff. Lastly, Mr. Choi reminded service users to be punctual to make sure the services were properly used.

After the fruitful discussion, Prof. Tam concluded that although there were structural and other factors affecting the healthcare seeking experiences of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, many efforts had been done to improve the situation. Both healthcare service users and providers needed to know their rights and responsibilities to make the healthcare system in Hong Kong a more user-friendly and effective one.

(First Row, from left) Dr. Nazia, Ms. Batool and Prof. Tam, together with guests and participants of the Workshop

[Pakistani Culture Workshop] Everyday Life Challenges and Opportunities in the Neighborhood

Multiculturalism in Action 2015-16

Pakistani Culture Workshop: Making a Change for the Better

Session 3: Everyday Life Challenges and Opportunities in the Neighborhood

Speakers:

Mr. Minhas Rashad and Ms. Cecilia Tsui

(Services for Ethnic Minorities, HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre)

On 24 October, 2015, participants of Pakistani Culture Workshop visited Kung Yung Koon – The Dost, and Ping Lai Path to explore the history and daily experiences of the Pakistani community in Kwai Chung.

Presentations in Kung Yung Koon – The Dost
(From left) Mr. Minhas Rashad, Ms. Cecilia Tsui and Prof. Tam

Ms. Cecilia Tsui introduced the work of HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre on cultural integration in the neighborhood around Ping Lai Path. One of the most important initiatives of the Centre was the opening of Kung Yung Koon – The Dost two years ago. Designed to be a community centre to bridge local Chinese and South Asian cultures, the Dost has organized exhibitions, guided tours, workshops, and music shows etc., and allowed the public to explore the uniqueness of different cultures.

Kung Yung Koon – The Dost

Ms. Tsui also explained the revitalization project in Ping Lai Path that the Centre was responsible for. The project has aimed to improve the sitting-out area and to increase cross-cultural elements in the neighborhood. For instance, blessings in different languages would be used as decorations, emphasizing the importance of balancing the needs and interests of both Chinese and South Asian residents, as the community and its resources should be shared by all.  It was hoped that this new public space could be enjoyed and shared by people from all cultural backgrounds, and would be a way to promote cultural integration.

Mr. Minhas Rashad continued the presentation with an introduction to the Indian, Nepali and Pakistani communities in Hong Kong, explaining to our participants the different religions and habits among different South Asian groups. Geographically speaking, the Pakistani population concentrated mostly in Yuen Long, Yau-Tsim-Mong, and Kwai Tsing districts. These districts provided less expensive housing and more job opportunities.  The rapid industrial development in Kwai Chung in the 1970s attracted many Pakistani migrants to settle here for employment opportunities. Many Pakistani households have lived in Kwai Chung for more than 30 years.

The pressure of the Pakistanis in Hong Kong did not only come from learning Cantonese, Mr. Rashad said, as they usually needed to learn six to seven languages. Apart from English and Cantonese for basic communication, a Pakistani need to learn Arabic for reading Quran, and Urdu or a local dialect such as Punjabi for communication within the ethnic group. Some kids also learned French or Spanish in school as a second language to meet school requirements. 

Learning to say hello with Pakistanis

Mr. Rashad then showed us some Pakistani clothes and our participants had a chance to try wearing them. One characteristic feature of Pakistani clothing was not to show one’s body shape and not to expose too much of one’s body.
 

Our participant wearing hijab

In everyday life, Mr. Rashad told us, it has been a challenge for Muslims to identify halal food and products in non-Islamic states. However, with more than ¼ of the world population being Muslims, more companies had applied for their products to be halal certified. “Halal” did not only apply to fresh meat or restaurants, as we would find lots of daily necessities and food, such as toothpastes and potato chips, sold with halal certification. The Ng Fung Hong Limited as the largest supplier of fresh meat in Hong Kong, for instance, had an employee specialized in slaughtering halal meat for Muslims in Hong Kong.

Pakistanis loved cricket, said Mr. Rashad. Yet cricket in Hong Kong had remained an elite sport and many Pakistani cricket lovers could not afford to rent cricket fields or become members of the Hong Kong Cricket Club. The most common way for Pakistani youth to enjoy cricket was to find a playground in their neighborhood and play with simple kits. 

Mr. Rashad showing the cricket bat

In the guided tour, we visited a Pakistani grocery and learned about some products such as biscuits, mango juice, spices and henna, which were very popular among Pakistani as well as Chinese customers. We also learned that the mode of business in which these ethnic stores operated was quite different from Chinese stores, as Pakistani families would buy in bulk so home delivery service was essential. Monthly credit was also an important feature in the business.

Shopping in a Pakistani grocery

We then enjoyed masala tea and some snacks in a restaurant owned by a Pakistani man and his Chinese wife. Our participants continued the discussion about religion and marriage actively while enjoying afternoon tea.

Discussion in the halal restaurant

One important point we discussed was the small-scale mosque located in a flat in Ping Lai Path. As Mr. Rashad explained, the mosque was supported by the Pakistani community nearby, whose donations helped to pay the rent and the salary of the Imam. As bigger mosques in Hong Kong were located in Kowloon, Wan Chai, Central, Stanley, and Chai Wan, Mr. Rashad said these were too far away for the Muslim children here, as they had to travel after school to learn the Quran. That was the reason why the Pakistanis in Kwai Chung decided to run a mosque as a way to meet the needs of the Muslims in this district.  

Pakistani children in the neighborhood, after their Quran lesson in the mosque

Participants had a lot to take home after this seminar – not only information and insiders’ perspectives on life as an ethnic minority here, but also fond memories of the great-tasting snacks: pakora, aloo naan, chicken masala, and milk tea. Yum!

Pakora, chicken masala, and aloo naan

[Pakistani Culture Workshop] Health and the Pakistani Community

The Pakistani Culture Workshop of Multiculturalism in Action will organize a public seminar on 7 Nov, 2015 (coming Saturday). The seminar topic is "Health and the Pakistani Community", and the speakers are Dr. Nazia Shahid and Ms. Asma Batool.

Details of the seminar are as follow:

Date: 7 Nov, 2015
Time: 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Venue: Room 405, Wu Ho Man Yuen Building, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

All are welcome. Due to limited seats, please register on or before 5 Nov, 2015.

Enquiry / Registration: Ms. Connie Lee (lee-connie@cuhk.edu.hk).

[Pakistani Culture Workshop] Policy and Legal Issues Regarding Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong

Multiculturalism in Action 2015-16

Pakistani Culture Workshop: Making a Change for the Better

Session 2: Policy and Legal Issues Regarding Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong

Speakers:

Ms. Pearl Tang and Ms. Niru Vishwanath

(Ethnic Minorities Unit, Equal Opportunities Commission)

On 10 October 2015, Multiculturalism in Action Project visited the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), to learn about the policies and institutional efforts in fighting race discrimination in Hong Kong. 

What image(s) can you see? A duck or a rabbit? Is it right, or wrong, if we see the picture one way or the other?

Ms. Niru Vishwanath first invited us to think about the concept of “being open-minded” as a key to the creation of a multicultural environment in Hong Kong as it allowed us to see others’ perspectives. “Stereotypes” is another big word in ethnic relations, as it led to assumptions and discriminations which should be avoided.

If you were the man in the orange T-shirt and did not understand Cantonese, what would you feel when you saw a group of people talking about you?

Human psychology, Ms. Vishwanath said, usually made us feel excluded when we could not understand the local language. This role play helped us to feel and rethink why misunderstandings occur.   

The second speaker, Ms. Pearl Tang discussed the Racial Discrimination Ordinance (RDO), the role of EOC in executing the Ordinance as well as some case studies.  

The RDO has come into operation since 10 July 2009, which aims to protect people from being discriminated against based on their race / colour / descent / nation or ethnic origin. According to Ms. Tang, religious and linguistic groups were not included in the RDO, except the Sikhs who were defined as an ethnic group based on case law. Ms. Tang explained that as a statutory body, EOC has handled complaints, as well as carried out investigation and conciliation. EOC also offers legal assistance if conciliations fail.

One of the challenges about race discrimination, as mentioned by Ms. Tang, was the issue of empowerment among the ethnic minorities. The number of enquiries and complaints regarding race discrimination has remained the lowest compared with other anti-discrimination laws. Not only because RDO was the latest ordinance, but also because ethnic minorities seldom complained since their first priority was to find a job to secure their livelihood in Hong Kong.

Ms. Tang giving a presentation

Some of the participants questioned the effectiveness of complaints and conciliation process as these were seen to be passive action in combating race discrimination. Ms. Tang admitted that while EOC depended on people bringing complaints forward, to a certain extent it has helped to fight discrimination. EOC, she explained, was an advisory body which helped to facilitate conciliations, but it was not their authority to give orders to people on what they should do.

Q and A session

In the Q and A session, Ms. Tang and Ms. Vishwanath discussed some discriminatory cases found in real-life situations, giving examples such as opening bank accounts, renting flats, applying for public housing, and seeking medical services. To deal with these problems, EOC provided training service for the public and private sectors, including provision of guidelines on how to comply with the anti-discrimination ordinances, and how to promote racial equality. Ms. Tang shared with us that one of challenges in Hong Kong was that though many companies were aware of the laws, they seldom made extra efforts to do more than what the laws required.  

This seminar ended with a second role play that highlighted the importance of communication. Dialogues should be built before imposing your own assumptions about people from different cultural backgrounds.

Participants acted as a Muslim employee and a Chinese employer to highlight the importance of communication.

Lastly, Prof. Tam, Director of the Multiculturalism in Action Project, reminded participants that legal rights were an important part of social and cultural harmony. Although Hong Kong people have got more used to a more culturally diverse society, as we all have minority neighbors or schoolmates etc., we still need to be much more proactive in tackling discrimination problems. 

(From left) Ms. Niru Vishwanath, Ms. Pearl Tang, Mr. Madhav Khanal and Prof. Tam.

Multiculturalism in Action Workshop by Professor Maria Tam

With support from the Knowledge Transfer Project Fund (KPF). Prof. Maria Tam has organized a series of workshops entitled “Multiculturalism in Action” to enhance awareness of the ethnic and cultural diversity in Hong Kong.

This project has been highlighted in the eNewsletter (Issue 005, October 2015) of the Art Faculty. The article can be viewed here.

A screen-cap of the eNewsletter (Issue 005, October 2015) of the Faculty of Arts

This year, Multiculturalism in Action has launched its third workshop―Pakistani Culture Workshop: Making a Change for the Better―to continue the promotion of multiculturalism in Hong Kong. 

For enquiries and information, please contact Ms. Connie Lee at lee-connie@cuhk.edu.hk.

[Pakistani Culture Workshop] The Pakistani Community in Hong Kong: An Overview

Multiculturalism in Action 2015-16

Pakistani Culture Workshop: Making a Change for the Better

Session 1: The Pakistani Community in Hong Kong: An Overview

Guest Speakers: 

Prof. Raees Baig (Social Work Department, CUHK)

Prof. Paul O’Connor (Sociology and Social Policy Department, Lingnan University)

What are the historical conditions that led to the coming of the Pakistani community to Hong Kong? Which social and cultural aspects do you know about your Pakistani neighbors? What identities has Hong Kong society given to the Pakistani community and why are they considered ethnic minorities?

The Multiculturalism in Action project, now in its third year, organized a public seminar entitled The Pakistani Community in Hong Kong: An Overview to help answer the above questions.

Prof. Paul O’Connor first presented a brief history of, and some cultural observations on the Pakistani community in Hong Kong. The earliest generation of South Asian Muslims arrived in Hong Kong with the British soldiers and merchants in 1848. They maintained distinct Islamic cultures through religious and culinary practices, as well as through playing cricket - which is still one of the most popular sports in South Asia. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, they became known as Pakistanis.

Although the Pakistanis have established themselves in Hong Kong for a long time, they are often stereotyped as poor, and portrayed in mainstream media as outsiders and criminals. Recent statistics, Prof. O’Connor argued, have shown that ethnic minorities in Hong Kong (especially the Pakistanis) were really a valuable source of workforce for Hong Kong society. While a lot of the Pakistani community remained in the lowest income bracket, Prof. O’Connor argued that income should not be the only criterion of defining poverty. He concluded that, what Hong Kong society should do is to embrace the ethnic minorities as they are part of Hong Kong.

During the break, participants of the seminar had the opportunity to taste some Pakistani-style food: mango juice, biscuits, samosas and kebabs. Our speakers and Pakistani guests helped to explain the meaning of “halal” and invited us to critically think about the relationship between food, health, and religion.

Workshop participants enjoying Pakistani cuisine during the break.

After the break, Prof. Raees Baig shared her views on some issues of social participation among ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. Limited participation in social events, she argued, could be part of the reason why minorities were not accepted as full-fledged members of society.  

Prof. Baig then discussed the term “ethnic minority” which only started to be used after Hong Kong’s Handover in 1997 with the changes in the local political and social environment. She said we should re-think that why the South Asians were regarded as “ethnic minority”, while the Europeans were not given such a label. The incorporation of “ethnic minorities” into the social and political structure, she argued, was therefore a devaluation process- they were incorporated not because they were considered Hong Kong people, but because they were defined to belong to a special class that needed special care. She reminded us that we should be more critical as we analyze the positions and identities of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.    

Lastly, Prof. Baig pointed out that we should not generalize a particular group as if it was homogenous: within the Pakistani group, for example, there were differences among different genders, age groups, linguistic groups, religions, and social classes.

(First Row, from left) Pakistani guests, Prof. Tam, Prof. Baig, and Prof. O’Connor, together with participants of the Workshop.

[Pakistani Culture Workshop] The Pakistani Community in Hong Kong: An overview

The Pakistani Culture Workshop of Multiculturalism in Action will organize a public seminar on 26 Sept, 2015 (next Saturday). The seminar topic is "The Pakistani Community in Hong Kong: An overview", and the speakers are Prof. Raees Baig from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Prof. Paul O'Connor from Lingnan University.

Details of the seminar are as follow:
Date: 26 Sept, 2015
Time: 2:30PM–4:30PM
Venue: Room 239, Sino Building, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

All are welcome. Due to limited seats, please register on or before 23 Sept 2015

Enquiry / Registration: Ms. Connie Lee (lee-connie@cuhk.edu.hk).

[Multiculturalism in Action 2015-2016] Pakistani Culture Workshop: Making a Change for the Better

Here comes with the 3rd workshop of Multiculturalism in Action!

You are cordially invited to join the Pakistani Culture Workshop: Making a Change for the Better.

Poster of the workshop

In the fall semester, participants will attend 6-7 seminars/field visits, held every other Saturday afternoon, to learn about aspects of Pakistani culture and the Pakistani community in Hong Kong. In the spring they design a community enhancement project and do a presentation in secondary schools. The workshop is free of charge and open to anyone above 18. 

There will be an information session on Sept 12 (Sat) in which Prof. Maria Tam will introduce the nature and content of the Workshop, and participants will begin to form buddy groups. You are cordially invited to this and all the sessions! 

For our previous workshops about the Indian and the Nepali cultures, you could refer to the following website:

http://arts.cuhk.edu.hk/~ant/knowledge-transfer/multiculturalism-in-action/index.html

If you would like to know anything about the workshop or signing up for the workshop, please feel free to send an email to our research assistant Connie Lee  at lee_wtung@hotmail.com. We will email you for further details. 

We are still recruiting participants! Join us!