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It starts with whispered rumours. It continues with fear as you watch classmates partner up and leave you out of group work. These may seem like subtle forms of exclusion. But they are a harsh truth for some students.
A group of pupils from Shek Lei Catholic Secondary School channelled that pain into a moving four-minute film. It showed bullying through the eyes of a transfer student.
The film won two awards at this year’s “Stand by Me: Interschool Inclusive Showcase”: community impact and inspiring presentation. The pilot programme was launched by Hong Kong charity Resolve Foundation. It works to empower marginalised groups and break down social barriers.
For the student filmmakers, the most challenging part of the process was crafting a script that raised awareness without reopening and making light of old wounds.
“We wanted to ensure the message was properly communicated so we could genuinely help our target group, reduce isolation and nurture greater mutual respect and understanding between people,” Timothy Chang Chung-tin said. The Form Four student was the main actor in the film.
“How can we make sure that people who are socially isolated won’t feel uncomfortable when watching this video? How can we effectively deliver the message to truly help those who are isolated?”
These questions align with a poignant line from the film: “Exclusion is not limited to words; silence is a kind of harm.”
A large percentage
About 31 per cent of parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) said their children were laughed at by classmates. This was from a 2024 survey by the Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association.
Students who are non-Chinese speaking (NCS) and from ethnic minority groups continue to battle systemic hurdles. These include language learning gaps and communication barriers between home and school. They also lack professional support.
The six secondary schools in the “Stand by Me” programme reflect this diversity. In some of these schools, NCS and newly arrived children make up as much as 50 per cent of the student population. In others, SEN students account for up to 30 per cent.
These numbers show that inclusion challenges in Hong Kong schools do not just affect a single group.
Compassion and action
Resolve Foundation worked with the schools to design free activities on inclusion and allyship.
To bridge awareness and action, the student team from Shek Lei Catholic Secondary School extended their film into an interactive, live-action role-playing experience.
Participants stepped into the shoes of teachers and classmates to search for clues, such as reading a fictional victim’s diary. This forced students to practise empathy. It taught them to step up as active witnesses rather than staying passive in the face of discrimination.
“After two years of practice across six schools, we have observed a more widespread and hidden need for campus inclusion,” Victoria Wisniewski Otero said. She is the founder and CEO of Resolve Foundation. “We encourage everyone to start with small daily behaviours and become ‘upstanders’ [rather than bystanders], turning the ideal of inclusion into practical action.”
