New DREAM Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities Opens in Kowloon City, Enhancing Community Integration Efforts.

DREAM Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities officially opens

The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, and the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, officiated at the opening ceremony of DREAM Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities (DREAM Centre) located in Kowloon City District today (December3).

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Chan said that the Government has always attached great importance to providing support for ethnic minorities. To strengthen support services for ethnic minorities and help them integrate into the local community, the Chief Executive announced in the 2023 Policy Address that two new support service centres will be set up in 2024, one in New Territories East and the other in Kowloon Central, increasing the number of support service centres to 10.

Further to increasing the number of support service centres, he added that as announced in the 2024 Policy Address, the Government will invite one more existing support service centre, together with the existing Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents (CHEER Centre), to provide interpretation and translation services for ethnic minorities in 2025, to alleviate the inconvenience they face due to language barriers. He expressed hope that these new measures will further promote the integration of ethnic minorities into the community.

Other officiating guests included the Permanent Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, MsShirleyLam; the Under Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, MrClarenceLeung; the Director of Home Affairs, MrsAliceCheung; the Chairman of Advisory Committee of International Social Service Hong Kong Branch (ISS-HK), MrKennethKwok; and the Chief Executive of ISS-HK, MrStephenYau.

The existing eight 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 and Kwai Tsing. The two additional centres are situated in Kowloon City and Sha Tin (the one in Sha Tin will officially open later this month). DREAM Centre, operated by ISS-HK, is located at Shop No. 501, 5th Floor, Kowloon City Plaza, 128 Carpenter Road, Kowloon City. The centre provides a wide range of support services for ethnic minorities, including language classes, interest classes, after-school tutorial classes, youth activities, and integration activities, as well as counselling and referral services. In addition, DREAM Centre will assist ethnic minorities in accessing public services, including 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 DREAM Centre has also commenced service in tandem.

Except for public holidays, DREAM Centre operates seven days a week. The operating hours are from 9am to 6.30pm on Mondays and from 9am to 9pm from Tuesdays to Sundays.

Members of the public may call DREAM Centre's hotline at 31044044 for more information about the centre.

DREAM Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities officially opens Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

DREAM Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities officially opens Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

DREAM Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities officially opens Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

DREAM Support Service Centre for Ethnic Minorities officially opens Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

GREEN@COMMUNITY has taken over recycling service of waste plastics

​The "Pilot Scheme on Collection and Recycling Services of Plastic Recyclable Materials" (Pilot Scheme) of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) concluded yesterday (January 18). The collection service of waste plastics in all 18 districts of Hong Kong has been taken over by the operators of GREEN@COMMUNITY.

A spokesman for the EPD said: "After the conclusion of the Pilot Scheme, the recycling service of plastics has been handed over to the GREEN@COMMUNITY recycling network in the respective districts, and the door-to-door collection service of waste plastics provided by the GREEN@COMMUNITY operators to relevant housing estates has also been successfully extended across the territory. The EPD conducted site inspections across districts yesterday and today (January 19) and found that the situation of plastic recycling of residents and housing estates is in order and the operation of GREEN@COMMUNITY recycling stations is generally smooth. The department did not receive any complaint regarding collection service of waste plastics from the relevant housing estates, nor were there any cases observed of certain types of waste plastics not being collected or left unattended. The EPD will continue to monitor the situation."

"After the taking over of waste plastic collection services by GREEN@COMMUNITY, the operators may pass the collected plastics freely to any EPD-approved recyclers for handling, from merely the three designated recyclers under the Pilot Scheme to the current 10 downstream recyclers for processing. The EPD is expediting the approval process and will gradually add more qualified downstream recyclers to the list, further opening up market competition to reduce the cost of collection and recycling of waste plastics," the spokesman added.

The EPD stressed that it will strive to ensure that the plastic collection services for housing estates will remain unaffected after the conclusion of the Pilot Scheme. GREEN@COMMUNITY operators will continue to liaise with the housing estates for more flexible collection services for plastics, as well as other recyclables, with a view to enhancing the cost-effectiveness.

The EPD will continue to strengthen collaboration with GREEN@COMMUNITY operators, downstream recyclers, and relevant housing estates to provide the required plastic recycling services, ensuring that the recycling situation of residents and housing estates remains as usual. The EPD will also step up monitoring of the work of downstream recyclers, including conducting more frequent spot checks, to ensure that all collected waste plastics are properly processed and converted from waste into valuable resources.