The Annual Meeting of Collaboration and Cooperation Mechanism of Chinese Social Work of 2019 Held in City University of Macau

The Collaboration and Cooperation Mechanism of Chinese Social Work was initiated by the World Philanthropy Forum (co-hosted by Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), Tsinghua University, The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in 2017. It upholds the mission of promoting the development of leading talent in social services and driving the sustainable development of education in Chinese social work. Annual meetings on the Mechanism have been held every year since 2017. The first annual meeting was held in 2017 in Beijing, with the theme of "Collaboration for Chinese Social Work"; the second one was held in 2018 in CUHK, with the theme of "Education for Chinese Social Work: Innovation and Enlightenment"; the third one was held on December 4 in City University of Macau, with the theme of "Innovation in Social Work Education and Development of the Future Social Service Ecosystem".

In 2019, China's central government issued the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), which is a strategy to deepen the integration of the Pearl River Delta region. The goal is to build a much stronger GBA that features deeper and broader cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau by 2022.

The Plan particularly mentions the need to strengthen professional training and communication of social workers in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau area. In addition, since it is an important administrative policy of the Hong Kong SAR government and Macau SAR government to continuously improve social services, innovation in the concepts and methods of social work education becomes a pressing need. At the same time, social services need to develop towards a new direction to address the social problems and challenges accompanying social changes and economic development. The Meeting has invited Chinese experts and scholars from both sides of the Strait as well as other countries to discuss issues ranging from the foundation of scientific research to practical work, prepare for the development and challenges of society in the future based on research, science & technology and innovative thinking. By virtue of the opportunity, the Meeting aims to allow international scholars and professionals engaged in Chinese social work education and social services to jointly discuss a new round of international development strategies.

The meeting was attended by a group of scholars and professionals, including Prof. Ngai Sek-yum Steven, Chairperson of the Department of Social Work at CUHK; Associate Prof. Ho Chong-Kin, Department Head of Innovative Social Work at City University of Macau; Associate Prof. Chan Kan Kam, Program Director of Social Work at Macau Polytechnic Institute; Mr. Huang Zhenping, Deputy Director of Institute for Philanthropy Tsinghua University; Prof. Chen Hsiu-Hui, Director of the Department of Social Work at Tunghai University; Prof. Lam Ching-man, President of Hong Kong of Social Workers Association; and Prof. Liu Qinglong from Tsinghua University. They delivered thematic presentations on the professional registration of social work and the current status and prospect of China's legal framework for social work, shared the experience of Hong Kong and conducted in-depth discussion.