2014年8月23日 星期六

Unreasonable institute 非常理學院


英國大文豪蕭伯納有一句名言:The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress is the result of the unreasonable man.

年紀輕輕的葉但尼(Daniel Epstein),在27歲那年,便已在美國創辦了一所非常理學院 Unreasonable Institute,還在東非及墨西哥設有分校。入讀這間非常學院的學生必須是社企創辦人,有計劃在三年內擴大果效十倍,並至少讓100萬人受惠。課程為期五周,入讀的學生必須全時間住在美國科羅拉多州博爾德巿(Boulder)的校舍。期間有50多經驗豐富的社會企業家導師將連同100位天使投資者及創投基金負責人等領導參加者進行密集式活動,包括學習、交流、業務模式反思再做、輔導及融資等。計劃推行四年間,已有82家社企參加,來自37個不同國家,其中74%在計劃中得到融資,共達3000多萬美元。




參考:謝家駒<不講理的人改變世界>,仁人學社主編(2013),《社創群英:以社會創新改變世界的人》,香港:雲起文化。

民間社會創新集思會Brainstorming for Social Good (暨協作領袖服務隊第一次會議)


這是公開的集思活動,歡迎各界人士出席。本會致力推動協作社會企業,希望透過集思活動組織為社會創新努力之團隊,以協作精神共同建設可持續發展之公民社會。

主題:社會創新協作項目 - 「老友記故事集」工作會議
內容:民間記者招募、網誌制作、crowdfunding
日期:201496(星期六)
時間:下午8:00-9:00 (7:00-8:00 公開課)
地點:城大AC2 Canteen
             九龍塘 城巿大學 學術樓()3
             [ 請沿泳池前往學術樓() ]
聯絡:Desmond Chan 9033 4604 (請留言)
報名:請到facebook 活動專頁登記


哈佛公開課 :正義 – 一場思辨之旅(第七講)





日期:201496(星期六)
時間:下午7:00-8:00 (8:00-9:00 集思會)
地點:城大AC2 Canteen
 (九龍塘 城巿大學 學術樓()3)
聯絡:Desmond Chan 9033 4604 (請留言)
報名:請到facebook 專頁登記


本課主題:The Case For Equality
這是哈佛大學政治學教授Michael Sandel的公開課,全課程共12講。(本課主要探討羅爾斯(John Rawls) 的理論。 (參加者請於出席前從Youtube觀看有關錄影片段,或閱讀《正義》第6章。)

不分種族、年齡、學歷,費用全免。All are welcome and it’s FREE!!!


什麼是公開課(Open Course)
公開課或慕課(Massive Open Online Course, MOOC)都是基於資源共享原則,利用互聯網公開演講及相關課程資料,供大眾免費下載。外國很多著名大學包括耶魯、哈佛及麻省理工等都已提供課堂實錄的公開課。其中較出眾的公開課平台包括有edX, Udacity Coursera等。
參考: OpenCourseWare (Wikipedia) | MOOC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_open_online_course

為什麼舉辦公開課?
我們認為免費的公開課活動有助巿民增進知識。 透過協作學習及協作領導,我們希望參加者能提升自我反省能力並改善人際關係。在這一片細小的天空,我們將體驗平等相處和分享的自由,學習彼此尊重,認識身邊不同的人、嘗試了解彼此帶著不同的經驗和角度看世界,在跌跌碰碰中一同求進。

自主及終身學習
透過自主學習,我們或許可以突破功利的框框。追求學問,因此可以不完全等於職業培訓或追求社會認同的手段。自主學習的學習課題、內容及步伐可因應自己的需要調整,可跨學科及支援終身學習。

非規範學習
有別於一般的正規教育及職業培訓,非規範學習(informal and non-formal learning)强調配合個人多元發展的自主學習。本會認為公開課活動能鼓勵巿民參與非規範學習,有助個人多方面潛能的培育及發揮。

協作學習
透過資源共享,志同道合的朋友可以在共同有興趣的課題,一起合作、交流和分享,發揮協同效應,提升學習的果效。此外,共學者亦可透過組織協作學習小組,彼此分擔購買學習資源的成本,亦可透過網誌等與其他志趣相投的朋友聯繫,分享學習經驗及資源。

扶貧及社區教育


透過免費的公開課,本會期望義工組可在本港各社區,以至海外偏遠及貧困地區開設資源共享中心,讓世界上每一個人均可免費獲取知識,收窄貧富之間的資訊落差(digital divide) (: 本會將計劃開辦香港公開學院,歡迎有志之士透過本會的協作領袖服務隊,共同參與策劃與落實計劃。)

2014年8月22日 星期五

英國的社企

社會企業自20世紀7080年代起開始發展,最早從英國倡導並逐漸擴展至世界各個角落,至今社企的發展亦最為蓬勃,其貿易及工業部於1972年曾為社企立下定義:"社會企業的主要追求是社會目的。其營利主要用以投資企業本身或社會,而非為股東或企業持有人謀取最大利益。"

2007年,全英國共有55,000家社會企業,佔全部企業的5%,偏員共有775.000人,當中三分之二為全職,此外尚有300.000為義工;全年總營業額為2,700萬英鎊,營業額的中位數為285,000英鎊,當中84%來自貿易。

在英國,由於社企可以註冊為社區公益公司”(CommunityInterest Company, CIC)*,在概念上,可以分辨一般的社企與法定的社企公司。按英國政府貿易及工業署的定義,社企是以履行社會目標為主的機構,該等機構的盈利基本上會根據此目標再投放於其業務或社區上,而非為了股東或擁有人賺取最大利潤。

社企的社會目標,大致如下:
  1. 創造就業、培訓或提供本地社區服務;
  2. 支持及發展本土生產力
  3. 對社會、環境及經濟的影響負上責任。


企業多數秉承社會擁有權”(socialownership)的觀念,自主營運,但受託管人的監管。企業的盈餘會回饋於企業才身或用於社區的需要上。按英國在2005年的一項社企調查,有如下統計資料:
  • 51% 社企設於弱勢社區之內;
  • 51% 社企針對環保問題;
  • 33% 社企僱用殘疾人士;
  • 23% 社企為失業人士提供職位;
  • 87% 社企向本地社區提供貨品及服務;


英國是社企發展的先驅,國際間著名的社企有:



參考資料: 李正儀、陸人龍主編,(2010),《社會創新-香港社企發展研究》,香港:商務印書館。(內容有所更改、撮錄及整合)

: “Community Interest Company” ”social ownership” 等中文譯名稍作更改。

2014年8月21日 星期四

Education for Good 仁人學社


仁人學社的目的,是要藉著創新以及具規模的社企教育與培訓項目,推廣香港社會創業發展與社會創新。 它由香港社會創業論壇副主席謝家駒博士以及香港女工商及專業人員聯會副主席蔡美碧女士創辦。

Education For Good Community Interest Company Limited(EFG) is to spearhead innovative, scalable educational and training programs contributing to the development of social entrepreneurship and social innovation. It is founded and chaired by Dr. KK Tse, Vice Chairman of HKSEF and Mrs. Rebecca Yung, Vice-President of Hong Kong Women Professionals and Entrepreneurs Association.


使命與願景Vision and Mission
激發每一個人成爲社會創革者
To Inspire Everyone to Become a Changemaker
促成每一家企業成爲社會企業
To Enable Every Business to Become a Social Business


2014年8月19日 星期二

Social Good Summit 2014


The Social Good Summit is a two-day conference examining the impact of technology and new media on social good initiatives around the world. Held during UN Week from September 21-22, the Social Good Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders and grassroots activists to discuss solutions for the greatest challenges of our time. Our theme, #2030NOW, asks the question, “What type of world do I want to live in by the year 2030?” During the Social Good Summit, global citizens around the world unite to unlock the potential of technology to make the world a better place.

Speakers:

Further information: Mashable website


Social Good Summit 2013 Highlights:

RYOT - Every Story Lets You Take Action
youtube | About RYOT


Linkin Park
youtube | Recharge – New Facebook Social Game | Music for Relieve | Power the World 

10 Powerful Lessons from the 2013 Social Good Summit

An end to AIDS, an epidemic that has killed 35 million, is logistically possible within our lifetime, experts explained at the Summit. Activists and researchers are working especially hard in Sub-Saharan Africa, home to 69% of the world's AIDS patients, where they've brought treatment and education to the people.
British photographer Marcus Bleasdale, who has been photographing violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo since 1999, discussed conflict minerals, such as gold and diamonds, that are responsible for some of the region's worst conflicts. Three other conflict minerals — tantalum, tungsten and tin — are used to make electronics, such as laptops and cameras.
Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur behind space traveling pioneer Virgin Galactic, said commercial space travel could be available as early as next year. At $250,000, the first tickets aren't cheap, but they provide an important initial step toward more commonplace above-Earth travel.
In October 2012, The Taliban targeted schoolgirl and blogger Malala Yousafzai because she was outspoken about girls' rights. Less than a year after being shot, she rallied for education at the Summit, explaining that every child has a right to education.
When he was 15 years old, Jack Andraka developed a new, smarter test to detect pancreaticcancer. Now, he wants to help other budding researchers by advocating for more accessible scientific articles and research. Fees make knowledge become a privilege for the elite, he said.
Big data is a powerful tool governments and organizations can use for social good, but some datasets are so large, they may create challenges to privacy. To protect individuals' rights and strike a balance between big data and Internet freedom, protection principals must be adopted, explained Robert Kirkpatrick, the director of the U.N.'s Global Pulse data initiative.
Space and the ocean, both ripe for exploration, are duking it out for the right to be called the real final frontier. At the Summit, Dr. Paul Bunje, senior director of prize development and ocean health at the XPRIZE Foundation, and Alexandra Hall, senior director of Google Lunar XPRIZE, debated which research opportunity deserves more attention.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of U.N. Women, explained that both men and women can use social media to bring an end to violence against women. Discussing the topic shines a light on the issue and helps educate people through technology, she said.
The U.N. Foundation's mPowering Action app is making social good accessible to smartphone owners. With a target demographic of people under the age of 25, the app allows users to search a database of non-profit organizations and share ways they're making a difference.
Malaria No More, an organization working to end the disease, is seeking solutions through an unexpected medium: cell phones. The group collects $1 text message donations and uses them to fund life-saving malaria tests and treatments for African children.


2014年8月18日 星期一

The Development Book Club

Welcome to The Development Book Club! We read one international development book a month then discuss its themes and relations to our work/studies. Each book will have a discussion questions page where we use the comment section to discuss the book. Anyone interested in development is encouraged to participate. Whether you are a young professional, student (you have time for this?), or established in the field, you are welcome to read and share your experiences.

go to: blog page 

萬有青年燴at香港2014年10月5日第二擊(Speaker Recruitment for Seven-minute Speech)

[One Youth Talk, OYT] is a science-based knowledge/skill sharing series originated from Guokr.com, the most popular website for Chinese science lovers. In each event 6-8 young speakers would be invited, either through recommendation or recruitment, to share with the audience their knowledge, skills or experience in 7 minutes.

The first OYTatHK was held by City University of Hong Kong in April and attracted more than 300 audiences which was a great success.

Review of [OYTatHK]: http://www.guokr.com/post/585483/

Co-organized by HKU Postgraduate Student Association (PGSA), Graduate House of HKU and CityU Postgraduate Association Reading Club. It will land in Hong Kong again, this time in HKU.

Time: 2014-10-05

Venue: Wang Gungwu Theatre, Graduate House, HKU

You do not have to be an academic researcher to share your knowledge/skills. It is OK if you are just out of personal interest or amateur skills. The topics can vary from “How to Measure Eyesight of Cats”, “Gene Code of Sexuality”, to “Find your just fit bra” and “Multi-cultural Hong Kong: Stories of Happy Valley Cemetery”. All that is required is interesting!

Video clips of previous events: http://www.guokr.com/event/video/all/

We believe that everyone can be an expert in his own field, and if properly trained, everyone can get on stage to share! If you are interested to be one of the speakers, please sign up via http://www.diaochapai.com/survey/8f70de20-b77e-4bfe-a585-4f81250bc949

Deadline: August 22,2014

7 minutes stage time. You can choose various ways of presentation, whether speech, singing, dancing, performance or demonstration, as long as it best fits your topic and style!

English is preferred. However, if your topic is interesting enough, other languages (Mandarin, Cantonese) are also OK!

萬有青年燴是泛科技興趣社區果殼網發起的分享活動,每期邀請一批有意思的青年來分享他們獨特的知識興趣,旨在創建一個多元、開放的交流平臺,為熱愛生活、樂於分享的年輕人提供展示自己、結交新朋友的機會。每次通過內部推薦和公開招募的方式選出6-8位講者,每人用7分鐘向現場觀眾分享自己的技能、知識和經驗。

小萬君將於10月再次登陸香港!此次目的地是香港歷史最悠久的學府——香港大學!本次【萬有青年燴at香港】將由香港大學研究生會(PGSA),香港大學研究生堂(Graduate House)和香港城市大學研究生會讀書俱樂部(CUPA Reading Club)共同舉辦。

無論你是本土的巴打,漂在香港還是坐標在珠三角,無論你會普通話粵語英語還是克林貢語,只要你有趣又有料,就勇敢曬出來吧!

活動時間:2014年10月5日

地點:香港大學研究生堂王賡武講堂

萬有青年,包羅萬象。往期的精彩話題包括“給貓測視力” 、“性感的基因密碼” 、“如何尋找合適的bra” 、“香港多元文化的根源——快活谷墓園尋古” ……每個人都有值得分享的知識、經驗和技能,只要稍加練習,你也可以登上萬有青年燴的舞臺,用7分鐘向觀眾打開一道知識之門。

往期視頻:http://www.guokr.com/event/video/all/

第一次在城大舉行的【萬有青年燴at香港】吸引了超過300位觀眾報名,現場氣氛非常熱烈。活動回顧帖請戳http://www.guokr.com/post/585483/

【講者報名請猛擊】http://www.diaochapai.com/survey/8f70de20-b77e-4bfe-a585-4f81250bc949

截止日期:8月22日

分享方式:
每人7分鐘短講+互動交流,不限形式(演示、表演、展示……),歡樂、輕松、自由、開放。

語言:如果能用英語優先考慮。當然,如果內容足夠有趣精彩,便無需拘泥於語言,普通話亦可,粵語都得噶。

歡迎自薦和推薦!


2014年8月14日 星期四

應否恢復租務管制?



《視點31》德國人不愛磚頭 寧租樓不買樓 (RTHK31: 05/08/2014) 收看影片



其實租務巿場失衡,管與不管,社會不同階層亦受影響。有人說租管會「好心做壞事」,那就不如不管還好。到底在「駝鳥」政策以外,租管是否沒有半點「管」的空間?正如調控樓巿招數也有辣度,租管為何只有做與不做的選擇?

租管方案:
1.      管制每年加幅百分比上限;
2.      管制加租及搬遷通知期;
3.      違約罰則;
     (例如業主在加租超越加幅百分比上限時,可提供違約賠償予租客)

租管以外的方案:
1.      租金津貼
     關愛基金曾向全港1.3萬個基層住戶,派發一次性的租金津貼。(美國有研究指推出租金津貼時,租金升高16%)
2.      租金免稅額
     有關措施可減輕中產的負擔,而對租金升幅的影響亦較小。
3.      房屋券
     以公帑資助基層租樓


了解更多:
何處是吾家? --- 沒有租管的香港 (5:18) 收看
租務管制是利是弊?(14:06) 收看
2014.07.07毓民@房屋事務委員會會議 - 租務管制(4:09) 收看
2014.07.07雷鼎鳴-香港應否重設租務管制 閱讀文章
2014.07.21獨立媒體 - 租金管制-基層的出路? 閱讀文章
2013.10.04 年青會計師協會 - 香港應否再實行租金管制 閱讀文章
2014.7.27 獨立媒體 - 租管「醒人包」:設立租務管制的十個理由(陳紹銘-影子長策會) 閱讀文章

(歡迎各界提供更多意見,更新有關資料,如有與趣參與討論,可以參加本會23/8舉行之「民間社會創新集思會」 - 登記參加

2014年8月10日 星期日

漂書點 Bookcrossing Spots


漂書點協作項目
為進一步推廣分享及協作文化,本會誠邀各熱心人士或組織共同參與「漂書點」計劃,在本港各區增設漂書點。有興趣參與者請出席本會每月舉辦兩次的「民間社會創新集思會」。 若閣下認同本會宗旨,願意推廣協作文化,更歡迎加入我們,成為「協作領袖服務隊」的義工。

Bookcrossing Spots Collaboration Project
We are now promoting the culture of sharing and collaboration through a new project – “Bookcrossing Spots” through our volunteer team – “Collaborative Leaders for Social Good”. The collaborative project is open to public. You may join as individual or as collaborative partners (NGOs). Please join us and attend our brainstorming activities --- “Brainstorming for Social Good” (twice per month).