More than 300 participants from various sectors on Thursday
attended the Conference on Social Enterprise to discuss new
approach to helping the poor.
The conference, jointly organized by the Commission on Poverty
and the Central Policy Unit of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region government, aims to enhance
community understanding of social enterprise and explain its
relevance to poverty alleviation.
The one-day conference was the first of its kind and scale in
Hong Kong on social enterprise development and its potential in
integrating the disadvantaged.
When addressing the conference, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary
Henry Tang appealed to business and non-governmental organizations
to find new approach to help thousands of poor people in the
city.
"We see good potential of social enterprise in helping the
disadvantaged achieve self-reliance," said Tang, who is also the
chairman of the poverty commission. "How to nurture its growth in
Hong Kong certainly deserves the attention of policy makers,
businesses, NGOs and those who share the desire to help the
disadvantaged."
"I hope that participants are impressed by the possibilities
that social enterprises can bring in providing better service and
helping the poor in a sustainable way," Tang said.
In a keynote address, former Chief Executive of Rolls Royce
Graham Morris, explained how social enterprises were different from
charities and why the business sector's contribution to social
enterprise development was far more than charity.
Hong Kong has its share of dynamic social enterprises in
operation, providing personal care services for the disadvantaged,
helping work integration of the disabled and other marginalized
groups.
(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2006)