HKU Bulletin January 2011 (Vol. 12 No. 1)

Dec 2010 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin The annual EO Festival is a softer means of raising awareness. In the past, minority students from local schools have been invited to perform – sometimes an ethnic song and dance, other times a play. This year comedian, Vivek Mahbubani, an Indian who grew up in Hong Kong and is fluent in both Cantonese and English entertained guests, while six time Paralympics Gold Medallist, So Wa-wai shared his experiences. “This annual festival is quite a lot of work,” confesses Professor Lee. “But we continue to do it every year because even if only 30 people show up it’s still worth it because it raises awareness. Occasionally you hit on something that influences a person, they might not know they have been influenced until years afterwards. But sometimes it can be life changing. Students and staff may come along to the EO festival events and pick up some seeds that may blossom years later, you never know.” Action on Disability The Disability Action Committee is a sub- committee of the EOC. Its Chairman, Professor Cecilia Chan, Si Yuan Professor in Health and Social Work says, “We are very dedicated in promoting equal opportunities for all. This Committee consists of University teachers, staff members and students to discuss the overall planning and interpretation of policy to make HKU a truly accessible campus, and to emphasize that we respect people who are differently abled, and to make sure that the policy procedures are followed properly, so that no-one will be disadvantaged in the process.” all its web pages are in compliance with the requirements for the visually impaired. A New Service Dr Eugenie Leung, Director of Counselling and Person Enrichment, says the new accessibility service is a consolidation of a number of services CEDARS has been providing for several years. “HKU has been supporting students with visual impairment for three decades so this is nothing new, we have also been supporting students with mobility issues for decades too. I won’t say that we have the perfect service but we have been doing a lot in terms of providing them with assistance related to basic necessities such as hall placement, accessibility on campus, commuting and issues related to their study, like library services.” However, in recent years the landscape has become more complex. “Now we are encountering students with disabilities such as severe hearing impairment because of all the advances with hearing aids and new technology, more and more students can enter university. This is a new challenge for us because we have only come across students with these kinds of needs in recent years, before it was just mild hearing impairment but now we have students with more severe impairment,” she says. Learning Disabilities “Another area that’s giving us big challenge is students with specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder. Previously these students may not have entered university because of the barriers inherent in the competitive system but because of the inclusion policies in the secondary education system, these students are now placed on a level playing She cites the University’s systematic plan of upgrading buildings, by installing lifts and ensuring wheelchair and web access, as examples. “Not only are we promoting all these measures to come into line with the international expectations of a good employer and a good university, we are also taking the lead in all of Hong Kong higher education.” “I think the socially inclusive environment, and the respect for individuals that we are promoting, are values that are of utmost importance in the holistic education of the University.” Special Efforts “Many of our departments make a special effort to hire people with a disability. The Library hires quite a number of people with hearing impairments, the Department of Social Work and Social Administration has hired a chronically ill member of staff, my office has also hired people who are chronically ill and I have a staff member with hearing difficulties,” she says. Furthermore, students with visual impairment are allowed to complete their exams in a dedicated room with a computer adapted to their needs and extra time to complete questions. The Examination Unit may also provide student Specific Learning Disabilities with a quiet or separate examination venue. “There are also students with learning difficulties who may not be able to respond to multiple choice questions, so the questions can be modified into essay However, on the positive side she adds, “The University is quite supportive, whatever you propose it seldom says no. On this front the University is very open to suggestions, definitely.” Promoting Inclusiveness Some of these issues are already raising their heads. As the student population increases new forms of diversity are being encountered. Dean of Student Affairs, Dr Albert Chau says we have long provided support we provide for students with visual or hearing impairment or other disabilities but it is streets ahead in its services for those with learning difficulties. “The focus at other institutions in Hong Kong still lies in the area of physically disabilities but we have moved on to deal with learning disabilities,” he says. “We are certainly the first institution in Hong Kong to employ a full time staff member to work on accessibility services, to support students with physical or learning disabilities.” Indeed in May 2010 the Hong Kong Association for Specific Learning Disabilities (HKASLD) and the Hong Kong Society of Child Neurology and Developmental Paediatrics (HKCNDP) wrote to HKU’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, to commend “the professional support provided by the Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS)…their dedication, effort, leadership, capability, solidarity, comradeship and passion for helping students with disabilities, as well as the achievement they have accomplished to date.” CEDARS goes to the effort of ensuring that sign language is used at the welcoming ceremony for new students and also that form or, if they can’t write essays, it can be converted into multiple choice format,” says Professor Chan. Two funds help further promote this philosophy of inclusion – the HKU 81 Inclusion Fund (founded by the Class of 1981) with a donation of $1 million, and the Henry Chan Inclusive Education Fund, both of which are dedicated to supporting staff and students in launching programmes and activities to raise awareness and promote social inclusion on campus. The university has also set up a working aid fund to allow departments to modify their workplace for people with different forms of limitations. “I am very proud that HKU is dedicated to promoting disability action. As you can see we call ourselves the Disability Action Committee, which means it is a Committee focused on doing something instead of talking about it. The members are very enthusiastic staff and students and we have been very proactive in social inclusion, awareness and prevention and in helping to foster a sense of pride and personal growth,” she adds. And looking to the future she says, “I think we are going to encounter new challenges as we increase the size of the student and staff population. The new campus should be a universal design, so we should design it to be friendly to all sorts of users within practical constraints. “We are moving towards an international campus where the diversity will be greater and the culture will change and we will have to deal with new issues.” Mr So Wa-wai, six time Paralympics Gold Medallist, shared his experiences at this year’s Equal Opportunity Festival. Professor Cecilia Chan, Chairman of the Disability Action Committee. The Disability Action Committee promotes equal opportunities in the University. field to gain a university education. We can facilitate their adjustment to university studies by providing them with learning support and liaison with faculties about reasonable adjustment for studies and examination. We want them to come forward and tell us what their unique needs are, so that we can tailor our support service to them.” “I have clinical psychologists in my team who have work experience with students with these types of disabilities. Quite a number of these students are exchange students because all these services more developed overseas, so when they come here they hope that have the same first class service as our international counterpart so we feel this is time for us to step up and meet their needs.” The new Senior Student Advisor (Accessibility Support) will incorporate work that formerly fell under the auspices of several sections in CEDARS, including the Campus Life section (for housing, mobility support, scanning service, volunteer help), the Student Development section (for inclusive educational funds), as well as the Counselling and Person Enrichment section (for counselling, assessment, specialist advice, support for students with chronic or psychiatric illness). She will now work together with Dr Leung and the clinical psychologist on her team in assessing students, meeting their needs and liaising with the Faculty concerned. We are very dedicated in promoting equal opportunities for all. Professor Cecilia Chan ? $ ; # @ 3 " # 3 @ M ? $ ( $ + 7 # 3 ' ! ! 3 @ 3 & * $ ' 3 ; 3 $ ( > 3 / Cover Story The University of Hong Kong Bulletin 11 January 2011