Apr 15, 2023 | Business
Today, the non-profit organization Children Social Network (CSN) held an initiation ceremony of its ALO Parent Education App/Platform System, together with an app demonstration and Parent-Teacher Association “Joy in Parenting” sharing session. These were held successfully in C.C.C. Heep Woh Primary School (Cheung Sha Wan) in front of government officials, together with leaders from education, social welfare and business sectors as well as parents. All witnessed the initiation of Hong Kong’s first parent education app/platform system, bringing together social resources and uniting forces to promote parent education and cultivate the holistic development of children.
ALO was launched by the non-profit organization CSN in 2021. It is the first parent education digital platform in Hong Kong. The word ALO itself means “Nurturing, Nursing and Nourishing” in Latin – reflecting parents’ desire for bringing up of their children. The app/platform system is supported by a team of local education professionals who create authoritative, structured, and interesting multimedia positive parenting content aligned with the Curriculum Framework on Parent Education launched by the Education Bureau (EDB). The content covers four major areas – “understanding of child development”, “promotion of healthy, happy and balanced development of children”, “promotion of parents’ physical and psychological well-being” and “fostering home-school cooperation and communication”. The platform supports parent education promotion work in all aspects and its parent education content has gained recognition from the education sector and professionals. Such as school groups, PTA, Hong Kong School Managers Society and other education parties.
In the first phase, ALO will provide services to all kindergartens and primary schools in Hong Kong. Through the platform, parents can access structured parent education content and can interact with schools for better home-school cooperation. Around 30 schools have actively participated ALO since the launch of its pilot programme early this year. ALO has won unanimous acclaim, participating school principals and parents considered ALO’s parent education content to be valuable, and the short videos and interviews are concise and interesting. Compared with other parenting websites, ALO’s content is more suitable for modern parents, and it is the most comprehensive and diverse parent education platform in Hong Kong.
Officiating guests at today’s initiation ceremony of ALO Parent Education app/platform system included Mr. Jeff SZE Chun Fai, JP, Under Secretary for Education, Mr. Herman WAI Ho Man, Chairman of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, 2023-2024 and Mrs. Winnie W L CHAN, Chairman of Po Leung Kuk, 2023 -2024. They were accompanied by Mr. Peter TSANG Cheung, JP, Founder of Children Social Network and Mr. Ryan CHAN, CEO of Children Social Network. Together with government officials, leaders from education, social welfare and business sectors as well as parents, to witness the initiation of Hong Kong’s first parent education app/platform system.
Mr. Peter TSANG Cheung, JP, Founder of Children Social Network, said, “Parent education plays a crucial role in providing a pleasant and harmonious environment for children to grow up. I believe the education sector is eagerly anticipating the implementation of the EDB’s Curriculum Framework on Parent Education. I am honored to provide the first parent education app/platform system in collaboration with business and education sectors, bringing together social resources and concerted efforts to contribute to the future of our children.”
Mr. TSANG also stated that ALO would provide 100 hours of parent education information every year. The app/platform system would continuously optimize its functions in response to the needs of parents and schools. To strengthen home-school cooperation, the app/platform system has added multimedia support, ranging from sending and receiving reply slips, activity registration, payment, and school announcements to communication between home and school.
Mr. TSANG further explained that the platform not only invited various experts to create educational content but also conducted interviews with individuals from different industries via various channels to delve into the impact of family education on the development of young children and teenagers. The platform also highlights family activities organized by government departments, schools, and institutions. Additionally, the platform also focuses on promoting the physical and mental health of parents and offers recommendations and techniques for achieving this goal.
Mr. Jeff SZE Chun Fai, JP, Under Secretary for Education, said, “The Bureau has launched the Curriculum Framework on Parent Education for kindergartens and primary schools. This framework has established a common educational philosophy for all stakeholders to refer to and the bureau is currently developing content for secondary schools. The Bureau believes that ALO is an excellent parent education platform to promote parent education that aligns with the bureau’s Curriculum Framework.”
Mr. SZE also quoted, “ALO has been actively promoting the parent education curriculum framework, developing multimedia parent education content, supporting the needs of different parents in cooperation with the promotion of parent educational work, walk arm-in-arm with the government to raise the awareness of the society on parent education.”
Starting in 2023, EDB has provided a One-off Grant on Parent Education to all publicly funded and Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) primary schools in Hong Kong. Each school will receive a Grant of HKD 200,000. Schools may use the Grant to kick off and organize structured parent education programmes from the 2022/23 to 2025/26 school year. Several school representatives participating in the pilot scheme were invited to the initiation ceremony. Ms. WONG Sau Han, Consultant Principal of Hong Kong Taoist Association Yuen Yuen Kindergarten, said, “Without any restriction on time and places, ALO provides an alternative mode for parents to learn formal parenting information that meets schools’ needs.” Ms. Irene HO Pui Fong, Principal of Holy Family Canossian School, added, “ALO promotes home-school cooperation which helps create a healthy and happy environment for children growing up in Hong Kong. We will recommend it to parents.”
During today’s event, the ALO “Joy in Parenting” sharing session was also held, moderated by Mr. Eugene FONG Yick Jin, Chairman of the Committee on Home-School Co-operation. The panelists were Ms. Rikki LAU Wing Yan, Chairperson of the Federation of Parent-Teacher Association, Southern District, H.K., Ms. Lavery SO Suk Fong, Chairperson of Tsuen Wan District Parent Teacher Association Federation Limited and Mr. Michael CHOI, Chairperson of Yau Tsim Mong Federation of Parents Teachers Association, who shared their insights on parenting. The three acknowledged that parents nowadays are often busy with work and have difficulty attending family education talks and other activities in person. ALO provides a convenient channel for parents to take home information on parent education anytime and anywhere, and its content is highly relevant to the needs of modern parents.
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About ALO
Established in 2021, ALO is Hong Kong’s first parent education digital app/platform system launched by the non-profit organization Children Social Network (CSN). Based on the Curriculum Framework on Parent Education launched by the Education Bureau (EDB) for kindergartens and primary schools, ALO creates authoritative, systematic as well as interesting multimedia positive parenting information, providing holistic support for the promotion of parent education. The content covers four major aspects “understanding of child development”, “promotion of healthy, happy and balanced development of children, “promotion of parents’ physical and psychological well-being” and “fostering home school cooperation & communication.”
Supported by a team of education professionals responsible for planning, producing, supporting, and supervising the multimedia content for parent education, ALO responds flexibly to the need of modern parents in raising children and offers a new space for home-school interaction, communication as well as experience sharing for local schools and parents. Together with different industry sectors, ALO is committed to working toward the future of children.
About Children Social Network (CSN)
Founded in 2020, CSN specializes in assisting the social welfare sector in digital transformation. It is a leading non-governmental organization (NGO) serving as an accelerator for digitalization in the children’s rehabilitation service sector. With a focus on children with special educational needs (SEN), CSN supports a broad spectrum of services including On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services, Integrated Programme in Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre, Childcare Health, Ethnic Minority, Disability, Autism and Elderly.
Topic: Press release summary
Aug 28, 2021 | Business
The parent company (“the Group”) of Asia’s leading technology logistics platform GOGOX submitted its listing application in Hong Kong. The Group provides intra-city logistics services to individual shippers, SMEs and international corporations. It operates two major brands, namely, GOGOX for the Hong Kong and overseas markets, where it is the largest online intra-city logistics platform in Hong Kong , and Kuaigou Dache in mainland China, which is the second largest online intra-city logistics platform in the country . The Group operates in more than 340 cities across five countries and regions in Asia, namely mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and India.
The Group disrupts the traditional logistics industry with innovative technologies and is committed to providing technology-powered and user-centric logistics solutions, and promoting industry transparency, trust and efficiency. As of April 30, 2021, its logistics platform has approximately 24.8 million registered shippers and 4.5 million registered drivers. From January 1, 2018 to April 30, 2021, the Gross Transaction Value (GTV) of the platform reached RMB 10.2 billion, with more than 100 million shipment orders completed.
Over the years, the Group’s business has grown at a healthy and steady pace. In the first four months of 2020 and 2021, the GTV of the Group increased from RMB618.4 million to RMB798.6 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 29.2%, and revenue also notably increased from RMB128.2 million to RMB193.4 million, a year-on-year growth of 50.9%. During the same time period, the Group’s gross profit reached RMB 68.6 million, an increase of 111.2%, from RMB 32.5 million during the same period last year, while its gross profit margin increased from 25.3% to 35.5%. According to the listing application documents, the Group is backed by a strong portfolio of major shareholders, including Alibaba, Cainiao, Taobao China, 58.com, 58 Home, Cyberport Macro Fund and Qianhai Equity Investment.
The Group provides freight services with innovative and data-driven technologies to individual customers, SMEs and international corporations. As of April 30, 2021, the Group had cumulatively served more than 33,000 SMEs and large enterprises via its enterprise services, including supermarkets, restaurants, building materials suppliers, furniture retailers, community group purchasing platforms, e-commerce platforms and government organisations, with enterprise services accounting for 57.8% of its total revenue.
The Group aims to become a one-stop logistics platform. Its asset-light business model is highly scalable and enables the Group to establish businesses and expand in markets in a cost-efficient manner. According to a Frost & Sullivan Report, the online logistics platform penetration rate in Asia increased from 0.21% in 2016 to 2.02% in 2020, and is expected to grow to 14.3% in 2025. Driven by continued urbanisation, e-commerce growth and new retail development, the Group will strategically deploy marketing efforts to aid customers to seize opportunities that facilitate sustainable growth. Moreover, the Group will explore other potential markets in the Asia-Pacific region through strategic partnerships, investments and acquisitions, as well as continue to introduce new services and products, including warehousing, inventory management, e-commerce integration, order management, picking and packing, cross-border shipping services, etc. Lastly, the Group intends to further expand its business ecosystem by introducing additional third-party service providers, such as automobile manufacturers and dealers and fuel station operators to accelerate the flywheel effect so as to capture the tremendous opportunities found in the intra-city logistics market.
Topic: Press release summary
Jul 24, 2021 | Business
Widowed parents now have a new resource and trusted guide to help them navigate a difficult task: raising their grieving children.
According to a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, an estimated 40,000 kids and teens in the United States have a dead parent because of COVID. As noted in this study, “children who lose a parent are at elevated risk of traumatic grief, depression, poor educational outcomes, and unintentional death or suicide, and these consequences can persist into adulthood.”
In Future Widow, author Jenny Lisk shares lessons from children’s grief experts in a memoir that’s sure to help today’s widowed parents as they struggle with the task of raising grieving kids. Lisk’s own husband died of brain cancer in 2016, leaving her feeling lost and alone. She desperately wanted to know: how do I do this thing called “widowed parenting?”
“I’m incredibly grateful that my guests on The Widowed Parent Podcast have shared their insights with my listeners, allowing all of us to learn from their experience and expertise – because every child deserves a chance to thrive, even if their parent has died,” said Lisk.
Lisk is thrilled that Future Widow has been endorsed by children’s grief experts nationwide. “A profoundly moving memoir and resource, this book provides a guide for future or current widows and widowers who are parenting grieving children. Jenny Lisk gives an unflinching account of caregiving for her dying husband while raising her young children. I wish my mother had this book in 1974, after losing my dad to cancer when I was a teenager,” said Mary Robinson, CNN Hero and Founder of Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss, in Mountainside, New Jersey.
Jenny Lisk is a bestselling author and widowed mom who is dedicated to helping widowed parents increase their family’s well-being. In her book, Future Widow, Lisk draws on her personal and professional experience to provide a real-life guide for surviving and thriving while raising grieving children. Her show, The Widowed Parent Podcast, draws on over 100 interviews with experts, seasoned widowed parents, and people who lost a parent at a young age. It brings much-needed resources to widowed parents, helping them feel less lost and alone.
For more information about Future Widow, to request a review copy, or to schedule an interview, please contact Jenny Lisk at 425-577-4649 or jenny@jennylisk.com.
Media Kit, One Sheet, & Hi Res Images: jennylisk.com/media-kit
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