Hong Kong’s Home Airline Rejuvenates Strategy With A Focus On Youth Development, Diversity And Inclusion, Environmental Protection And Global Cultural Exchange

Youth development, diversity and inclusion, environmental protection and global cultural exchange form the focus of Cathay Pacific’s rejuvenated community engagement strategy, which saw the inauguration of two new initiatives at a ceremony held recently in Hong Kong.

The two new initiatives, ‘Cathay ChangeMakers’ and ‘World As One’, which have been developed together with Social Ventures Hong Kong, are just the start of the airline’s efforts to re-energize its community objectives, which are to deliver positive change in society by collaborating with partners across different sectors to create shared value.

Cathay ChangeMakers pays tribute to and raises awareness of the work of Hong Kong people who have made a positive contribution to society, while World As One provides young people of diverse backgrounds with a thought-provoking travel experience that broadens their understanding of societal needs and cultivates empathy in their outlook on life.

"Just like how we have been changing the way we do our business, it is important for us to work in new ways to address social challenges," said Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg. "Society is facing increasingly complex issues and no single party can solve them alone. Our revitalized approach to community engagement embraces both social innovations and shared value creation."

During the ceremony, Hogg presented awards to three Cathay ChangeMakers – Gigi Tung, founder of food rescue and assistance programme Food Angel; Jeffrey Andrews, a registered social worker who is committed to helping ethnic minorities thrive; and Craig Leeson, director of the award-winning documentary “A Plastic Ocean”  – in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the community and the environment.

Through this particular initiative, Cathay Pacific vows to support the ChangeMakers by showcasing and promoting their important causes to a wide audience, including to its passengers, employees and business partners.

Meanwhile, participants from the World As One program, comprising 15 Hong Kong youngsters, shared their experience during the ceremony of journeying to Cambodia last October, where they served as volunteers to help and serve the needs of the local people.

Through planned activities – including building new homes for villagers – and facilitated sharing sessions, each participant had the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by communities in the developing world, leading them to have greater empathy with their issues and circumstances. As a result of a new partnership with VolTra, a registered non-profit organisation in Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific is grateful that similar experiences are now available to more and more members of the Hong Kong public.

While Cathay ChangeMakers and World As One herald the beginning of the airline’s new community engagement strategy, more initiatives are being rolled up. For instance, Cathay Pacific is currently recruiting Form 3 to Form 6 students to join its 2019 I CAN FLY development program. With its renewed focus, I CAN FLY will not only help towards students realising their aviation dreams but will also raise the youngsters’ awareness of the many challenges facing the Hong Kong community.

"This is just the start of our new approach to community engagement and we are both excited and motivated by what’s being planned for the future," Hogg said. "By collaborating with partners across different sectors, we can leverage what we do as an airline company – by connecting people and places, our business and NGO partners – to bring about benefit to society."

(Images provided with Cathay Pacific news release)

FMI: www.cathaypacific.com