From 27 September to 6 October, the Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation (J.C.DISI) will organize a 10-day Social Innovation Festival which welcomes active participation by the general public. The event will take place in the Jockey Club Innovation Tower at PolyU and feature exhibitions, concerts, movies, seminars and workshops. In this issue of Excel@PolyU, Director of J.C.DISI Mr Alvin Yip shares the ideas behind organizing such event.

What is the philosophy behind creating the event?

Social innovation carries the meaning of “innovations in society”. Through dialogues, partnership and sharing during the 10-day Festival, we hope to bring the public to the various activities on the University campus and ignite innovations in a collective manner. In turn, the public can bring this spirit of collective innovation back to the community. During the Festival, participants will be able to find activities which interest them no matter they have knowledge in social innovation or not. Participants who have never come across social innovation can get to understand the concept from experts’ explanation; social enterprises can find collaboration partners for improvement in operation; students and youngsters can make handcrafts using waste materials; the elderly can join together and make the best of their knowledge in new creations; professionals, academics and the general public can build networks and achieve innovations in this Festival.

What messages does J.C. DISI want to bring out through the event?

Though the concept of social innovation may seem unfamiliar, its collective, cross-discipline and co-experiment spirit can be upheld by everyone.  J.C.DISI is a platform to drive positive changes and turn ideas into reality. The 10-day Festival not only reviews the development in different aspects during the year, but also opens the door to cross-discipline collaborations, thus facilitating interactive innovations between civil organizations and the public sector.

How does the event promote the concept of social innovation in the community?

There are numerous possibilities in social innovation and we must be bold enough to explore them. Our event partners include the world renowned Royal College of Art, the INDEX: Award of Denmark; the charities under the Hong Kong Jockey Club, The Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Social Ventures Hong Kong, Hong Kong Red Cross, Senior Citizen Home Safety Association, Christian Zheng Sheng College and HKSAR government departments. Internal collaborative units include Institute of Active Ageing, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences and various departments. The different parties in this “governmental, civil, academic, business” network support and complement each other. This spirit of mutual support is exactly the key to implement social innovation in the community and the direction where J.C.DISI is committed in pursuing.

The 10-day Social Innovation Festival will provide opportunities for participants to be acquainted with those people and organizations that have an interest in social innovation. The event will create a platform for them to work together for positive changes of the society. As long as participants have fun in the activities and understand that changes are achievable, they have already made the best out of the event.

Social Innovation Festival:  Join us to make a Change!             www.10dayfest.hk

All activities are free of charge. Online registration is on first-come-first-served basis.
Enquiry: 2766 5442 / jcdisi@polyu.edu.hk