2015 Scholarship Presentation & Christmas Dinner

HKAUW Goes Global! Reported by Bonnie Ho

This year the 2015 Scholarship Presentation & Christmas Dinner was successfully held on 19 December at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Staff Club, with around 80 participants from different parts of the world including Hong Kong, China, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Our immediate past president, Ms Julia Woo, kicked off the event with an energetic message: HKAUW Goes Global! In her welcoming speech, she encouraged a positive change for HKAUW by bringing in dynamicity from our new members through participatory learning and an interconnectedness between HKAUW and GWI.

After the inspiring welcoming speech, it moved on to the Scholarship Award Presentation. The HKAUW scholarships have been awarded to our members for their excellence in both academic achievements and community service since 1960s. This year there are 8 undergraduate and 6 postgraduate recipients of the HKAUW scholarships, from different universities in Hong Kong and disciplines. Special thanks were given to the donors for their generosity and dedication to grooming future leaders. As mentioned in the vote of thanks by Kathryn Davies on behalf of all the recipients, in addition to expressing gratitude, we should step up and contribute more to the society and the globe with what we have been empowered by the association and the scholarships.

During the Christmas buffet dinner, our member, Suzanne Harris gave a wonderful performance on Latin dance. Other members were also turned up and joined the dance, accompanied by a live band. After the dance, Suzanne called for the attention to a GWI project on the education for women in Uganda. An on-site fundraising was carried out to support the GWI project.

Last but not least, three of our new members shared their ideas on HKAUW projects for 2016. Sara Li talked about Social Triangle with learning, serving and integrating which aims to facilitate the interactions between local and international students and help international students learn more about Chinese culture and integrate into our community. Doris Lee proposed a MORE approach on making the academic fields a women field via Meeting, Observing, Reflecting and Engaging. Finally, Kathryn Davies showed her concern with the environmental issues in Hong Kong, with local migrant workers as the target group. In particular, she suggested ways to raise the awareness of the environment through education and a particle clean-up event.

The 2015 Scholarship Presentation & Christmas Dinner ended joyfully with a group photo. HKAUW wishes everyone a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Proposed Projects:

"Social Triangle" (Sara Li)

"Making Women’s Fields" (Doris Lee)

"Protecting our Environment, Educating the Future" (Kathryn Davies)