ASIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS'
ASSOCIATION HONG KONG
香港亞洲醫學生學生會
Human Rights and Peace
Standing Committee on Human Rights and Peace (SCORP)
OUR VISION
SCORP is built upon the fundamental value that Hong Kong is a region where all individuals are entitled full and equal access to their human rights, where no one is disregarded and where the entire society unite to help the most vulnerable population of the region.
OUR MISSION
Our mission, first and foremost, is to encourage medical students to actively promote and protect human rights. We wish to increase medical students’ awareness of the healthcare of the region’s most vulnerable population, through introducing them to different forms of humanitarian action through projects and cooperation with external organisation. Our goal is to create activities such as but not limited to campaigns and advocacy to fulfil the visions and missions of IFMSA SCORP, and to collaborate with NMOs of the region to bring our own vision to life.
Projects
A Taste of Ukraine
In this event, our department aimed to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine War, through educating participants on the human rights violations, humanitarian responses, and the cultural impact of the ongoing conflict.
The event began with a brief presentation to the crisis by our SCORP representatives. The presentations covered the timeline and history of the Russia-Ukraine War, healthcare treatments for war veterans, international humanitarian law, as well as the impact of the war on Ukraine’s healthcare infrastructure. Special emphasis was placed on how the War impacted Ukrainian people and their lives, as this was the key to our event.
We then proceeded with an inspiring sharing session by Mr. Jan Vincent, who is the Project Coordinator of MSF Mission Ukraine. He shared his experiences from working in Ukraine and discussed challenges faced while treating patients under violent conditions. He also focused on the psychological impacts of the war on his personal well-being.
We were then honored to host volunteers from The Ukrainian Society of Hong Kong, who showcased traditional Ukrainian clothing, apparel, crafts, and culinary specialties. Participants learned how to make a “pavuk” craft (a traditional Ukrainian spider-shaped ornament) using straws and thread, while savoring delicious Ukrainian cuisine, including meat jelly, borscht soup, and traditional dessert. Through this immersive and hands-on experience, we aimed to not only celebrate Ukrainian culture but also raise awareness about the violation of human rights, the disruption of peace and breaches of International humanitarian law caused by the invasion of Ukraine - all in an engaging and interactive way.
Disabilities Experience Day
Despite Hong Kong’s bustling outlook, disabled Hongkongers remain silent sufferers who are disproportionately overlooked in society. As of 2020, 7.1% of Hong Kong’s population were considered to have one or more disabilities — the most common 3 being mobility, vision and hearing impairments. However, a profound gap in local medical education on disabled persons remains a pertinent problem, often rendering healthcare providers’ skills, facilities, and attitudes inadequate and inaccurate.
Disabilities Experience Day 2024 started off with a brief overview of disabilities both locally and worldwide, including statistics and laws. It then proceeded to a sharing session by Dr. CHUNG Wai Man, a physiotherapist for Hong Kong Paralympic Committee, giving us an eye-opening and enriching talk on Paralympics, the types of events, regulations and history, which most of us do not know beforehand.
SCORP AMSAHK organised our own workshop on blindness for the second half of the morning session, where we shared types of blindness, causes and impacts. Afterwards, we conducted interactive activities including Basic Grade 1 Braille teaching, folding shirts while blindfolded and blind jenga. Similar to previous editions, participants then travelled around Hong Kong on different routes while wheelchair-bound. Our routes included both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, including The Peak, HarbourChill, Hong Kong Park, Austin and Avenue of Stars. Participants completed different tasks and experienced common daily activities through the lens of a physically disabled person, to truly increase their empathy and understanding of a disabled Hongkonger’s experience.
Disaster Medicine Workshop
This event aimed to introduce medical students to the core principles of disaster medicine through an interactive and practical approach. Recognizing Hong Kong’s vulnerability to both natural and man-made disasters, we emphasized the global relevance of disaster preparedness and response. The program began with an overview of disaster classification and key stakeholders, followed by an inspiring sharing session by Ms. Krystal So, a Médecins Sans Frontières nurse. Drawing from her humanitarian missions in regions like Gaza, she offered firsthand insights into the challenges of delivering care in crisis zones.
Subsequent presentations covered essential topics such as triage, international humanitarian law, and prehospital management. Designed to be engaging, these sessions included quizzes to reinforce learning, with special focus placed on triage and prehospital care—critical components of disaster response.
The event ended in a disaster simulation game, where participants applied their knowledge in a hypothetical mass casualty scenario. Working in teams, they performed triage, crafted METHANE reports, and proposed prehospital strategies. Each team presented their decisions and received constructive feedback from facilitators. This hands-on experience not only reinforced key concepts but also fostered teamwork and critical thinking, leaving participants with a deeper appreciation of the complexities and importance of disaster medicine.
International SCORP Days Online Campaign
For at least the past three years, SCORP AMSAHK has annually published a series of theme posts commemorating World Human Rights Day, using this opportunity to raise awareness of key under-discussed human rights and peace issues relevant to Hong Kong and beyond. In line with our motivations this year to amplify Hong Kong’s underrepresented voices, while increasing our connectedness with our international partners, SCORP AMSAHK expanded our December social media campaign by extending it over 3 coinciding human rights days — World Human Rights Day (WHRD) (10/12), International Migrants Day (18/12) and International Human Solidarity Day (20/12).
With it, each theme post delved into a particular topic of interest. On WHRD, SCORP AMSAHK posted about racial discrimination against ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, with a particular focus on the lackings of local legislation, real-life cases cited from the SCMP, and actions to dismantle these systemic injustices. This was followed by a post on International
Migrants’ Day, which highlighted the unfair treatment and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on foreign domestic helpers, and how to support them going forward in post-pandemic recovery. Finally, on International Human Solidarity Day, our post focused on the significance of this international day, key concepts affecting ex-offenders’ rehabilitation locally, and how to support reintegration efforts at the policy, organisational and medical student/professional levels.
Each theme post was accompanied by a series of concise Instagram stories. Their purposes were two-fold — encouraging participants to reconsider possible previous misconceptions about the discussed topics through interactive myth-busting questions, and engaging participants’ interest to look at the related post for more information.
“Speak Your Truth: Asia-Pacific Perspectives on Human Rights” Online Workshop
Currently, there is insufficient coverage of human rights and peace issues in the Asia-Pacific region, with only some serious issues being brought to light in the media. In the spirit of the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), SCORP hosted this event to support the importance of every human right and shed light on various NMO’s perspectives across the AP region. Recruitment of interested NMOs started in mid-December, where collaborators were facilitators for the mixed-NMO groups, whilst SCORP AMSAHK created the materials used, hosted the event and managed the logistics.
On Day 1 of the workshop, participants had icebreaking before each collaborating NMO shared their NMO’s culture and the main human rights issues faced. This facilitated intercultural exchange and introduced intersectional issues across AP. In mixed-NMO groups, specifically designed to fairly represent all participating NMOs, participants chose a UDHR article and a related topic to present on.
They had a week to complete their slides, covering each NMO’s perspectives, links to healthcare, youth advocacy and IFMSA policies. After presentations on Day 2, participants and observers formed smaller groups to consider the discussion questions set and gain insight into others’ opinions. This unique event format aimed to enable participants to go beyond their comfort zones to work with other NMO peers and to rapidly learn about a wide range of human rights issues by consolidating and applying knowledge learnt through appraising their own and others’ perspectives.