Jointly organized by Mainland-Hong Kong Multidisciplinary Disability Research Network, the Department of Social Work and Social Policy of the Renmin University of China (RUC) and the Department of Social Work of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), the first annual conference of Mainland-Hong Kong Multidisciplinary Disability Research Network was successfully held on 14 May 2022 (Saturday) with the support of the Beijing-Hong Kong Universities Alliance.
Mainland-Hong Kong Multidisciplinary Disability Research Conference 2022 was a full-day conference with the main plenary session and three concurrent sessions, aimed at building an academic exchange platform for experts and scholars with the relevant backgrounds to share the latest disability research findings.
At the start of this conference, it was honoured to have Prof. Feng Shizheng, the Dean of School of Sociology and Population Studies (RUC); and Prof. Ngai Sek-yum, Steven, Chairperson, Department of Social Work (CUHK) for delivering the opening remarks.
In the plenary session, a total of 4 keynote speeches featured the main forum. The first keynote speaker, Prof. Yang Lixiong, School of Labour and Human Resources and Disability Cause Development Research Institute of the Renmin University of China (RUC) was invited to give a presentation on “Barriers to Employment for People with Disabilities (PWDs): its Nature and Employment Services Transformation”. He encompassed the theme by discussing the current changes of employment issues among PWDs and the reasons for the trend as well as analysing the newly published policy initiatives concerning the disability employment services transformation. Secondly, Dr. Tsang Kit-man, Sandra, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work and Social Administration of The University of Hong Kong introduced her views on “Advancements since 2000 on Understanding and Supporting Children with Special Education Needs and Their Families in Hong Kong: Review and Ways Forward”. Prof. Zhang Wanhong, School of Law of the Wuhan University and the Executive Director of the Institute for Human Rights of the Wuhan University made his contribution by sharing the topic of “From Deformity Justice to Disability Justice”; and Dr. Feng Shanwei, Researcher, China Disability Research Centre of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation gave a speech on the “Current Situation and Challenges of Care Services for the PWDs”. A Q&A session followed the speeches, arousing heated discussions before the end of the morning session.
In the afternoon session, seventeen Chinese early-career scholars coming from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and overseas universities presented their work in the three concurrent sessions themed by “Special/ Integrated Education and Training”, “Disability, Social Security and Social Services” and “Barrier-Free Environment and Technological Advancement”. Six senior experts from Mainland and Hong Kong came to commentate on the performance of their work.
Totally nearly 6000 audiences, including local and foreign disability scholars, researchers, practitioners, and students attended this conference. All in all, this conference not only improved participants’ understanding of disability issues from different perspectives but also facilitated interdisciplinary academic exchanges and collaborations in the Chinese disability research community.
An online group photo of the participants