We learn in our home, we learn in our school and we learn in our community. However the effect our community has on our learning and our quality of life is not always recognised. This exciting project will enable students to connect with their local community, understand their place within it and play a small part in its development.

The project has adapted the Shanghai Expo 2010 theme “Better City - Better Life”.  It involves partner schools in the UK and China working closely together on an agreed theme. This will enable them to study their own community in depth whilst at the same time learning about the community of their partner school.

The Purpose of the Better Community Better Life is to facilitate dialogue between young people in the UK and overseas by developing sustainable school partnerships through collaboration projects about community life. The project gives young people a shared, creative public platform to explore their local community, learn about other cultures and express themselves about global issues. Developed as a themed JCP under Connecting Classrooms project, Better Community Better Life contributes to the ‘global citizenship’ agenda with an aim to create positive and long-standing impact in the UK and Hong Kong.

British Council Hong Kong invited six secondary schools to participate in the 2010 – 2011 “Better Community, Better Life” student community art project. With a sponsorship from the Knowledge Transfer Office, we were able to commission six student artists, graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts of Hong Kong Baptist University to work with the schools. The schools chosen “People and Community” as their theme of artwork creation and community action. All the student artworks were displayed at Koo Ming Kown Exhibition Gallery, Communication and Visual Arts Building, Hong Kong Baptist University from 8 - 26 July 2011.

Besides finishing the community artwork, the community action plan is another important part of the “Better Community, Better Life” project. Students identified some community problems such as pollution, care for the elderly and conservation conflicts, etc. They looked at how they can act at a local level and contribute positively to their community. Five of the six Hong Kong schools stood out in the panel selection and won the “Community Action Plan Competition” which provided them with funds to carry out their plans to benefit their community.

Participating schools in Hong Kong 2010-2011