The Community Investment and Inclusion Fund (CIIF) Forum 2016 – Mutual Trust • Mutual Help • Interaction
Message from the Secretary for Labour and Welfare

Social capital is closely related to the cultivation of a caring culture. It is also essential for the economic prosperity and sustainable development of a society. It grows from the “mutual trust, mutual help and interaction” that have been built and accumulated in a community.

Thanks to all sectors’ wholehearted and sustained support, the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund (CIIF) has gone from strength to strength. Over the past 14 years, CIIF has disbursed $432 million for a total of 323 projects spanning all the 18 districts of Hong Kong, mobilising more than 650,000 participants and about 8,700 collaborative partners to participate in the projects and successfully building 2,025 mutual help networks. These valuable social capital assets are accumulated through the interaction of those involved and in the spirit of “mutual trust, mutual help”. My heartfelt gratitude goes to all who have participated in and contributed to the building of social capital in Hong Kong.

CIIF has all along responded to our society’s needs in a timely manner to enhance community capacity. Last year, CIIF funded different types of social capital development projects to foster a strong sense of community in several newly built public housing estates. These projects have facilitated the development of mutual help networks among the old and new neighbours, and fostered the newcomers’ integration into the community. In view of our ageing population, CIIF rolled out a substantial number of new projects in July this year to establish robust neighbourhood support networks for the elderly, in particular the elderly singletons and elderly couples. The projects aim at providing the elderly with care and support so that they can play an active part in society and enjoy a high quality of life.

Going forward, CIIF will continue to explore more collaboration models to meet different community needs and maximise the benefits of social capital at different levels of society with a view to helping more people in need. Let us work hand in hand to encourage as many people as we can to participate in the building of social capital, and make Hong Kong a more caring, compassionate and cohesive community.