Media

In recent years, there has been growing public awareness of people with disabilities and the need for social inclusion. Interest-based communities, corporates and the philanthropic sector are keen to contribute to the cause, and yet many organisations promoting social inclusion are unable to gain headway on projects due to a lack of resources. To resolve this mismatch, the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong has launched the mobile app “InMatch” under the Inclusive Career Platform of the Jockey Club Collaborative Project for Inclusive Employment.

As a resource-matching platform connecting different sectors, “InMatch” fosters a conducive environment in which communities of interest can engender a socially inclusive and cohesive society, while also facilitating more efficient and effective allocation of community resources.

The main features of the app include:

• Publishing innovative inclusive project ideas and activities;
• Search function for suitable resources (including seeking job openings for people with disabilities);
• Resources to support inclusive projects (including recruitment of people with disabilities); and
• Announcing and browsing the latest inclusive activities and information.

Among the user groups served by the app, corporates can use it to connect with and support organisations that promote social inclusion, enabling them to optimise their “Environmental, Social and Governance” (ESG) performance. Schools, NGOs, parent organisations and social enterprises can find resources and promote activities through the app. Parents and people with special education needs and disabilities can browse the inclusive information to find related messages and resources. Meanwhile, community members can offer their resources to those in need.

The mobile app “InMatch”, launched by the project team, is available for free download from the App Store and Google Play.

Media Enquiries
Ms Karen Chan, Centre for Civil Society and Governance, The University of Hong Kong
(Tel: 3917 4762; email: karenckmk@hku.hk)

About the Project - Jockey Club Collaborative Project for Inclusive Employment  
In collaboration with the four key NGO partners – CareER, Heep Hong Society, SAHK and St. James’ Settlement – and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, Jockey Club Collaborative Project for Inclusive Employment adopts a stakeholder-based and collaborative approach to attaining inclusive employment. The three-year Project aspires to not only raise stakeholders’ awareness and knowledge on inclusive employment, but also to inspire them to take action and become advocates for inclusive employment. We hope to encourage members of the society to think outside the box in terms of job types for people with disabilities (PWD) and provide them with more suitable opportunities, so their talents and contributions can be fully acknowledged from multiple perspectives. 

Organised by the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong, the Project’s Inclusive Career Platform will conduct a diagnostic study of inclusive employment and engage members of the community and key stakeholders to participate in a community-wide re-visioning exercise to reflect upon what inclusive employment and social inclusion entail. We will also establish an information commons for assessing and sharing information, and build an action platform to empower talents, incubate ideas, leverage resources and form working networks. We trust that such collaboration can ultimately lead to the raising societal awareness on and furthering the cause of inclusive employment, achieving an inclusive and sustainable society.

About the Centre for Civil Society and Governance, The University of Hong Kong
Established in December 2002, the Centre for Civil Society and Governance (the Centre) strives to enhance our knowledge of civil society and its contribution towards good governance, and to facilitate the attainment of a sustainable society through forging community-based innovative solutions to inform policy deliberation and collective actions. The work of the Centre is organised around the three Labs – the Policy for Sustainability Lab (PSL), the Social Entrepreneurship and Civic Action Lab (SECAL), and the Nonprofits and Philanthropy Lab (NPPL); each of them representing a research focus and an area of excellence of the Centre.