Jockey Club fosters cross-sector collaboration to help build an age-friendly culture in the Hong Kong community
- The Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme encourages all sectors to build a community that helps the elderly stay active
- Companies, government departments and public bodies can join the Scheme, supported by local trade associations
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Ageing populations are a global concern requiring significant social transformation, according to the World Health Organization, with cities and communities playing a vital role. The proportion of people in Hong Kong aged 65 or above increased to 20 per cent of the total population last year and will reach one-third within 20 years, according to the government’s latest census, making the transformation to an age-friendly city a top priority that will better accommodate the diverse needs of the elderly and empower them to age actively and happily.
With this in mind, the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme aims to encourage different sectors of the community to develop an environment and culture more inclusive of the elderly and their needs. The Scheme was launched in 2018 by the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project (JCAFC Project), initiated and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.
It recognises various community stakeholders – including the business sector, government departments and public bodies – that have adopted innovative and sustainable age-friendly practices in their businesses or operations, or provided products or services catering to the needs of the elderly. The Scheme also provides resources and information to senior citizens, so that they may live a more fulfilling life in Hong Kong after retirement. More importantly, it seeks to raise public awareness of the importance of developing an age-friendly culture in the city.
Contributions from start-ups and international corporations
The Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme gives recognition in two parts: a City Partnership Sticker initiative – which includes a new Anti-epidemic Recognition Sticker – recognising the participation and contribution of companies and organisations in promoting an age-friendly culture in Hong Kong; and Special Awards presented to companies and organisations that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the Scheme. A judging panel comprising members of the JCAFC Project’s advisory committee, government representatives and experts from related sectors evaluate initiatives in areas including creativity and innovation, social impact, the resources they have contributed, and a project’s sustainability.
Several companies and organisations in Hong Kong have been recognised by the Scheme. They include Sounds Great, a social enterprise that worked with celebrities and vocal talents to create an audiobook featuring celebrity autobiographies, Cantonese opera and classics from Chinese literature. The audiobook, which has been donated to charities that help disadvantaged elderly people, received the Scheme’s Our City’s Story Award in 2020.
New role for retirees
HSBC received the Age-friendly Employer Award for its Smart Senior programme in 2019. The bank employs about 170 retirees who help customers at its retail branches across Hong Kong. These “Smart Seniors” help promote the use of the bank’s community caring corners, where they demonstrate the use of ATMs to elderly customers, in addition to greeting people and directing them to the appropriate service counter.
HSBC says the programme gives the participating retirees a new perspective on the bank’s services and operations, and that the “Smart Seniors” are committed to their work. It adds that the Scheme not only builds a positive image for the bank, but also encourages other local employers to consider hiring the elderly so that they may continue to contribute to society.
Community helps build an age-friendly city
Other awardees include the Hong Kong government’s Immigration Department for its outreach service under the Territory-wide Identity Card Replacement Exercise, to make it easier for the elderly at residential care homes to obtain new smart identity cards. The initiative, in which staff provide a one-stop service replacing the cards on-site at the care homes, was recognised with the Age-friendly Collaborator Award and the My Favourite City Partnership Scheme Award, for which the public votes for their favourite initiative on the JCAFC Project’s Facebook page.
The Jockey Club Age-friendly City Partnership Scheme not only encourages different sectors of society to collaborate and respond to the challenges of an ageing population, it also aims to build momentum in different areas of the local community to develop a culture that includes the elderly across all facets of society.