IDEA Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities in Sha Tin officially opens (with photos)
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Speaking at the ceremony, Miss Mak said that the Government had been striving to support and empower ethnic minorities. With the opening of IDEA Centre, the Government has successfully implemented the initiative to set up two new centres in New Territories East and Kowloon Central within 2024 as announced in the Chief Executive's Policy Address last year, increasing the number of support service centres from eight to 10.
To step up the Government's efforts to support ethnic minorities, Miss Mak added that as announced in the 2024 Policy Address by the Chief Executive, the Government will invite one more existing support service centre next year, together with the existing Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents (CHEER Centre), to provide interpretation and translation services for ethnic minorities. She said she believes that this new initiative will alleviate the inconvenience they face due to language barriers and further facilitate the integration of ethnic minorities into the community.
Other officiating guests included the Permanent Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Ms Shirley Lam; the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Mr Clarence Leung; the Director of Home Affairs, Mrs Alice Cheung; the President of Hong Kong Community Network (HKCN), Mr Suen Kwok-lam; and the Chief Executive of HKCN, Mr Fan Kwok-fai.
The 10 support service centres for ethnic minorities are located in Wan Chai, Kwun Tong, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Tung Chung, Kwai Tsing, Kowloon City and Sha Tin. IDEA Centre, operated by HKCN, is located at Shop 1 & 2, G/F, Belair Gardens Shopping Arcade, 52 Tai Chung Kiu Road, Sha Tin. The centre provides a wide range of support services for ethnic minorities, including language classes, interest classes, orientation programmes, youth activities, and integration activities, as well as counselling and referral services. It will also assist ethnic minorities in accessing public services, such as provision of workstations for accessing the Internet and distribution of multilingual service guidebooks and leaflets on services provided by the Government and non-profit-making organisations. The Ethnic Minority Care Team set up by IDEA Centre has also commenced services in tandem.
Except for public holidays, the centre operates six days a week and is closed on Wednesdays. The operating hours are from 9am to 9pm.
Members of the public may call IDEA Centre's hotline at 3101 5959 for more information about the centre.
Ends/Thursday, December 19, 2024
Issued at HKT 19:18
Issued at HKT 19:18
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