Prof. Linda Li, Associate Provost Conference on Social Work and Social Sustainability in Asia, CityU, HK 20 June 2014 HOW A UNIVERSITY MAY APPROACH SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY IN THE CURRENT CONTEXT OF HONG KONG

2 How are these related to social sustainability? ?

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: 3 Proportion of working population by educational attainment (highest level attended) (%) 1 st -2 nd Decile groups* 3 rd -8 th Decile groups 9 th -10 th Decile groups Total Lower secondary and below Upper secondary/ sixth form Post-secondary *1 st decile group is the lowest income group and the 10 th is the highest income group

The university as an institution to cultivate agency capacity 4

5 How does CityU cultivate and encourage agency capacity? Nurture students’ capacity to learn & reflect values sustainability

6 A three-pronged approach to sustainability More information can be found on CityU’s sustainability websitewebsite

1. Campus environment – greening facilities and management Solar panels in Student Residences and AC3 "Zero Food Waste Week in CityU“ 2012Zero Food Solid waste recycling 7 Green requirements on caterers

8 1. Campus environment – social diversity A world with mono-tone? Or a world with diversity? Locals: Chinese, south Asians, Europeans, etc. Non-locals: Mainland China, Europeans, Americans, etc. Internationalization to foster & to manage

1. Campus environment – streamlining operation 9 Process sustainability (the Work Simplification Programme): Economic - time efficiency, human resources Environmental – less paper

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 energy- saving ventilation and air conditioning system.new energy- saving ventilation Student projects to solve social problemsprojects Campus sustainability Fund (CSF)CSF To raise awareness, foster action and extend impact E.g. The GROW project 10

3. Research – to seek sustainability solutions Research projects E.g. Carbon Footprint Management at Home for Sustainable Low-Carbon LivingCarbon 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 The Big Questions Challenge 11

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 12

13 Solution Capacity to reflect Communication Engagement

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