Hong Kong – “Art Unbound, Inclusion Absolute – Heritage for All Drawing Competition” concludes successfully (with photos)

Sep 15, 2022 | International

“Art Unbound, Inclusion Absolute – Heritage for All Drawing Competition” concludes successfully (with photos)

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     Organised by the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO), the award presentation ceremony of the “Art Unbound, Inclusion Absolute – Heritage for All Drawing Competition” was held today (September 15). The competition encouraged people with disabilities to unleash their creativity and show new perspectives for appreciating historic buildings through their drawings. It also sought to enhance public awareness and interest in historic buildings, and to promote social inclusion.  



     Speaking at the ceremony, the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, said that the drawing competition that integrated heritage and drawing was a new attempt to put social inclusion into action. The AMO will continue to put heritage conservation and art together in various ways to promote inclusion in the community.  



     The Former Kowloon British School, the Hong Kong Observatory, the Former Kowloon-Canton Railway Clock Tower and the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre were the selected themes of the competition. The 130 entries, each in a different style, depicted the unique features of one of the four historic buildings. To enhance the participants’ understanding of these historic buildings, and to arouse public interest in antiquities and monuments, the AMO offered online guided tours in the form of short videos on the competition webpage, elaborating on the historical and architectural merits of the buildings.



     The Chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, Mr Douglas So, who was also an adjudicator of the competition, said that the drawings, each with their own characteristics in ideas, composition and layers, are of a very high standard. They guided the adjudicators to appreciate the characteristics of the four historic buildings and their surrounding urban landscape.



     In addition to the adjudicators’ selection of the champion, first runner-up and second runner-up based on the criteria of creativity, expression and artistry, some 2 800 members of the public cast their votes to select five pieces of “My Favourite Online Artwork”. The list of awardees and winning entries are available on the competition webpage (amo-artinclusion.etnet.com.hk/2022/en/index.php).

 

     The winning and shortlisted works will be on display at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre from tomorrow (September 16) to November 16. Admission is free. For details, please visit AMO’s website (www.amo.gov.hk/en/news/index_id_114.html?year=2022).

Diversity and Inclusion at BT

Jun 23, 2021 | Business

By Jackie Beer, Director of Diversity & Inclusion

At BT, we’re working to build a business as diverse and vibrant as the communities we serve. We have around 100,000 people in 180 countries. We believe in fairness, equality and respect for human rights, but of course, it’s what we do and how we act, not just what we believe, that really matters.

A year ago, against the backdrop of growing demand for action to address issues of systemic racism and prejudice, we launched our Ethnicity Rapid Action Plan (ERAP), focussing on the four key areas where we felt we could make the biggest initial difference:

  • Educating and empowering our people
  • Accelerating diversity within
  • Leading by example
  • Building transparency

For us, this was about building on the existing plans we had in place and challenging ourselves to be better, go further faster and build a better BT.

In the last 12 months, we’ve worked with our Ethnic Diversity Network to influence and accelerate the pace of racial equality at BT. To better understand diversity at BT, we carried out a successful People Data Campaign in 2020 which saw an increase in ethnicity declaration rates to 79%.

Progress to date

  • Educating and empowering our people: We’re rolling out a new programme of mandatory race awareness training for everyone in BT. A mix of thought-provoking interactive workshops, digital modules and local activation through team based ‘Let’s Talk about Race’ sessions.
  • Accelerating diversity within: We’ve strengthened our partnership with the Aleto Foundation and we’re creating a new, fast-stream for high potential people from ethnic minority backgrounds. We’ve also recently launched a talent programme for managers which includes additional support for women and our ethnic minority colleagues to help us take positive action to level the playing field.
  • Leading by example: Our reverse mentoring programme which gives our Executive Committee and other senior leaders the opportunity to be mentored by colleagues from a different ethnic background has been running for nine months. This September will see us launch the next round of partnerships.
  • Building transparency: Today, we published our Diversity & Inclusion Report, which contains our first Ethnicity Pay Gap Report, our update on Black inclusion and diversity targets to support our 2030 ambitions.

Alongside our focus on ethnicity, we’ve worked hard to increase diversity and to reduce our gender pay gap which is now significantly lower than that of the telecommunications industry as a whole; we’ve continued to support our LGBTQ+ colleagues, becoming gold sponsors of Pride in London; and as proud signatories of The Valuable 500, we’re helping to put disability on the business leadership agenda.

So, what next? Throughout 2021 and beyond, we’ll be looking to increase our diversity declaration rates and through our Disability Rapid Action Plan we will provide the additional focus and resource needed to accelerate the pace of progress and achieve better outcomes for disabled colleagues, those with a long term health condition, impairment or neurodiverse condition.

We’ll also hold ourselves to account and will monitor progress against our 2030 ambitions and workforce diversity targets. We’re delighted to be a gold sponsor of Pride in London and through our Hope United campaign against online hate we are tackling unacceptable language and behaviours that have absolutely no place in an inclusive, respectful society.

We’re developing a broader, pan BT diversity and inclusion programme with a clear focus on attracting and retaining diverse talent. The breadth of the programme means we’re also ensuring that diversity and inclusion are core foundations in our customer and supply chain strategies and we’ll leverage our position as one of the world’s leading communications services companies to influence change that helps us all connect for good.

I hope you can see that we’re making progress – but understanding and changing an organisation like BT isn’t easy. We’ve made a good start, but there’s much more to do. We’ll continue to listen to our people, build on the progress we’ve made so far and double down on our commitment to make sure that all our colleagues feel included at work.

To find out more visit www.bt.com/diversity-and-inclusion 

Japan – MHI Selected for Inclusion in All Four ESG Investment Indices Adopted by GPIF

Mar 10, 2021 | Business

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has been selected as a constituent of all four indices used by Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest pension fund, as references for making ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investments into the country’s corporate sector. This is the third consecutive year for MHI to be included in all four indices. The Company’s selection reflects the high acclaim accorded to MHI Group’s ESG-related initiatives, specifically its response to environmental issues and social challenges, and its bolstering of corporate governance.

The four ESG investment indices referenced by GPIF are the following:
– FTSE Blossom Japan Index: A broad index incorporating overall ESG considerations based on FTSE Russell, an investment index calculator wholly owned by the London Stock Exchange.
– MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index: A similar broad index based on MSCI, a U.S. provider of investment indices.
– MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN): An MSCI index monitoring companies? gender diversity performance.
– S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index: An index used to evaluate corporate performance in terms of carbon efficiency, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

MHI proactively undertakes diverse initiatives in each aspect of ESG in pursuit of sustainable social development; these include reducing environmental burdens both internally and at customer sites, promoting diversity, conducting CSR (corporate social responsibility) focused procurement, and strengthening corporate governance and information disclosure. In addition, in its 2021 Medium-Term Business Plan (MTBP) spanning the 2021 through 2023 fiscal years, the Company has newly identified materiality it should address in order to enhance its corporate value and grow in the medium to long term through solutions to social issues. Acclaim for these initiatives led to MHI?s selection for inclusion in the four indices cited above and also, for a fourth straight year, inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia/Pacific Index, one of the world?s leading ESG investment indices.

Going forward, MHI Group will continue to monitor social trends, strive for enhanced initiatives addressing ESG and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and ensure proper information disclosures. Through its business activities, the Company will make ongoing contributions to the building of a sustainable society.