FOOD-CO Partners’ Recognition Ceremony
The SIE Fund’s food support flagship project FOOD-CO has recorded remarkable achievements since its launch in 2017. Thanks to the efforts of the intermediary St. James' Settlement (SJS) and support from its partners, FOOD-CO has seen more than 8 600 transactions of food donation, with food weighing over 1 300 tonnes in total. To honour and recognise the contributions of the partners, SJS organised the FOOD-CO Partners’ Recognition Ceremony 2019-2021 on 17 December 2021.
Officiating at the ceremony, Dr Jane Lee, Chairperson of SIE Fund Task Force, praised FOOD-CO for the adoption of technology and a novel operation mode to address social problems. She thanked SJS and its partners for their efforts that brought new and enhanced functions such as an automated one-stop logistics system for food delivery and temporary storage, a one-stop volunteer recruitment and training platform, and an artificial intelligence chat robot (i.e. Chatbot) that makes the donation process more convenient. She also wished the success of FOOD-CO would inspire more social service providers to apply technology to their services for better efficiency and bigger impact.
The ceremony also marked the start of the 3-day FOOD-CO Christmas Carnival, at which members of the public knew more about saving and sharing food through art displays, bazaar and game booths.
Launching ceremony of the Gerontechnology Platform
Commenced in January 2021, the Gerontechnology Platform is the second flagship project of the SIE Fund. A collaborative coalition of ten organisations led by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) has been appointed as the intermediary to design, develop and operate an inclusive one-stop Gerontechnology Platform, with the aim of fostering the development and application of gerontechnology to address the challenges and seize the opportunities arising from the ageing population. The project has been making satisfactory progress since its commencement, with a newly released research report among its latest achievements.
On 1 December 2021, HKCSS held a launching ceremony for the Gerontechnology Platform at which the findings of the research report entitled “Building an Age-Friendly City - Embedding Gerontechnology Into Everyday Life” were also revealed. The research examined the development of the gerontechnology ecosystem since the "Landscape Study on Gerontechnology and Innovation in Hong Kong" conducted in 2017. While noting the narrowing of gaps in the ecosystem, the report also provides recommendations for improvements in various areas. Representatives of product and service users also attended to share with attendants how they benefit from the Platform.
The launching ceremony was followed by an annual summit at which participants exchanged views around the theme "An Age-Friendly & Carer-Friendly Smart City".