The 2nd Social Innovation Inventor
To ignite youngsters’ creativity, and, in turn, aid the Alzheimer’s patients to improve their quality of life

Building on the success of last year’s competition, this year the World Green Organisation (WGO) and the Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease (the “Foundation”) join hands to launch the 2nd “Social Innovation Inventor – Competition for Innovative Design Competition”(2014/15).

In Hong Kong, according to a study undertaken by the Department of Health and the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2006, one in every three people over 85 years old has dementia. With an aging population, the number of dementia/Alzheimer’s cases is growing, and the situation is rather worrying. In response to this current social issue, WGO has partnered with the Foundation in launching the above-captioned competition. The objectives of the competition are twofold: on the one hand, to raise youngsters’ concern about social and environmental issues; on the other hand, to design safe and environmentally friendly homes for the elderly with Alzheimer’s disease.

Competition Details
The competition invites participants from tertiary institutions and secondary schools to design a cosy home for the elderly with Alzheimer’s disease. All full-time students from the above categories are welcome to form a team of 2 to 3 people. The theme of this competition is to design a warm and comfortable home for a 70 year-old lady with early dementia to foster better interactions with her family members. The competition invites teams from secondary schools to design a kitchen of the size of 60 square feet. The competition invites teams from tertiary institutions to design a public housing flat comprised of 3 family members. The size of the flat is from 21.69 to 21.96 square meters.

Qualified teams will be invited to attend a briefing seminar, and submit their designs. The judges will select 10 teams as finalists at the preliminary stage. The finalists will be invited to attend a variety of free workshops, to further improve their designs and innovative concepts. At the end, the participants will submit their final design concept drawings and demonstration models.

Dr. William Yu, CEO of WGO, said:

I wish to make use of this competition to encourage Hong Kong students to ignite their creativity, and to adopt innovative ideas to tackle social problems. At the end, this competition will help to create a better living environment and to improve the dementia patients’ quality of life.

In the long run, I wishes that this competition promotes young-old integration, keeps students competitive, and builds a brighter future.

Prestigious Panel of Judges
The judging panel is composed of representatives from MTR Corporation, Hanbo Enterprises Holdings Ltd., other stakeholders, and WGO. Prestigious judges include: Professor Lam Chiu-ying, former Director of Hong Kong Observatory; Mrs. Gwen Kao, Chairman of The Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease; Dr. William Lo, Governors & Executive Committee of The Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease; Dr. Edmund Lee, Executive Director of Hong Kong Design Centre; top notch architect Mr. Bryant Lu; and Mrs. Cynthia Luk, Chief Executive Officer of St. James’ Settlement. The participating design projects will be judged according to the following criteria: innovative concepts, environmental efficiency, practical usage, durability, outlook and materials used. Lastly, but not least, each participating team has to provide evidence to showcase how the newly designed home can help the elderly with dementia to improve their quality of life.

Just as last year, attractive prizes await the winners. The champion team has a chance to participate in a Cambridge Study Tour. This competition is supported by 36 enterprises and organisations, and is sponsored by MTR Corporation, Hanbo Enterprises Holdings Ltd., CLP Power Hong Kong Limited, Airport Authority Hong Kong, Canon Hongkong Co., Ltd. and Ronald Lu & Partners.

Today’s photos:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1zs6zXxdiBQdDF0WEFpNmswT1k/view?usp=sharing

Click here to browse Competition Flow Chart

The Charles K. Kao Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease (the “Foundation”)
The “Foundation” is a registered non-profit making charity organization founded in 2010 by Professor Charles K. Kao and his wife, Gwen Kao. The Foundation aims to raise the public awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, educating the general public on brain healthcare strategies, enhancing care and support to Alzheimer’s patients, their families and caregivers. The Foundation also aims to encourage and facilitate co-operation amongst the various organizations, such as universities, government departments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to enhance resource allocation and education, thereby further benefitting Alzheimer’s patients and their families and the support system.

Media Enquiry:

William Yu
Chief Executive Officer
World Green Organisation
Tel: 2991 9103
Email: williamyu@wgo.org
Janice Lee
Communications Manager
World Green Organisation
Tel: 2991 9118 / 6028 0412
Email: janicelee@thewgo.org