HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 May 2021 – Local health food brand JMC Wild Forest collaborates with African childcare ministry organization Watoto, hoping to awaken the public’s attention to vulnerable women and orphans in Africa.

Jannie, the founder of JMC, hopes to awaken more people to care about the needs of disadvantaged women and children in Africa through the collaboration with Watoto.

JMC Wild Forest is a local shop in Hong Kong that offers delicious healthy and natural foods from Europe. The initial idea for Jannie to start JMC is originated from her experiences in sharing natural food from Europe with her family and friends. JMC Wild Forest travels to Europe and searches for products, bringing before Hong Kong and Macau people quality and reasonably priced natural products from Europe.

In addition to carefully operating a small store, JMC also pays great attention to social responsibility. Following the Christmas “Share the Joy · Love Donation” event in December 2020, part of the revenue during the event period has been donated to children from local grass-roots families to make their wishes come true. This year, JMC contributes their Hédène honey to join with Watoto to launch a Mother’s Day Gift Set, hoping to take this meaningful event to awaken more people to care about the needs of disadvantaged women and orphans in Africa and learn about Watoto’s ministry!

Caring for those in need

JMC Wild Forest has always dedicate their efforts to take care of customers, and they also understand that it should give back to the society.

Jannie, the founder of JMC, learned about the situation in Uganda from a friend and sighed with sadness. She hopes to make a contribution within her ability for the needy women and children in Uganda.

“Uganda is not a country that has attracted the attention of Hong Kong people. We may know that Uganda is a poor country, but we seldom know much about their real situation. Learning about Watoto’s different campaigns in Uganda, including Watoto Children’s Village, Neighbourhood Project, Sustainability Project, etc. to help thousands of women and children who have suffered from injustice, I am deeply moved,” shared Jannie.

Every year in the past, Watoto Children’s Choir would come to Hong Kong to perform, so that friends who did not know about Watoto could learn about Watoto’s ministry in Africa. Unfortunately, since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Choir was not able to visit. Therefore, on Mother’s Day this year, JMC is glad to launch a Mother’s Day Gift Set with Watoto, hoping to awaken everyone’s attention vulnerable African women and children. For every set sold in this event, JMC will donate a large part to Watoto for multiple purposes.

Uganda in Brief

Uganda is a landlocked country located in eastern Africa[1]. Here, there are countless single-parent women. Most of them have unfortunately contracted AIDS, were abandoned by their husbands, and were unable to raise their children due to severe financial burdens. [2] Most mothers are under 30 and have more than 3 children. Many children died of illness or hunger on the streets without being cared for.

Gender equality is not easy in Uganda. Women lack education and functional training, and often use temporary jobs to support their families. However, once they become pregnant, many men may not be able to take responsibility and just leave. Single mothers have to bear all the responsibilities of supporting the family. Even, we women regard it as a monthly affair, which is embarrassing for women in Africa. Many women cannot afford the monthly sanitary napkins, and can only sit on the sand during menstruation, secretly burying blood stains. [4]

Changing the lives of vulnerable women and orphans

Jannie, the founder of JMC, hopes to awaken more people to care about the needs of disadvantaged women and children in Africa through the cooperation with Watoto.

Watoto is committed to providing children in need to live in a safe and warm home, and to provide comprehensive care for these vulnerable orphans. They can enter the Watoto Children’s Village when they are about two years old and live with seven other brothers and sisters. Watoto also allows them to go to school and receive quality education. There are also clinics in the village to provide medical services.

The most marginalised and wounded people in Africa are women. Left abandoned or widowed, many victims of sex trafficking and HIV+, they are destitute fearing that their children will soon join the ranks of Africa’s countless orphans.

Through Watoto Neighbourhood, women who bear the brunt of these horrific injustices are supported with housing, healthcare support, employment and education for their children. As Watoto embrace them by meeting their essential needs and empower them to take care of their own families, the whole community is transforming as well.

Reference

[1] 烏干達,https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%83%8F%E5%B9%B2%E9%81%94

[2] 烏干達女性身影：單親是常態，我們一肩扛起童婚、貧窮與愛滋,https://www.google.com.hk/amp/s/womany.net/articles/13748/amp

[3] 她們需要被看見：在傳統觀念中被拋棄的烏干達單親媽媽／海外志工的在地觀察,https://npost.tw/archives/34683

[4]【月經之苦】非洲貧窮女孩沒有布衛生巾而輟學　只能坐在沙地上偷偷埋起血漬, https://topick.hket.com/article/2539903/

About JMC Wild Forest

JMC’s brand vision is brand vision is to lead a natural life. They strictly select each brand and product. What they choose and sell is the food we eat with someone they love every day. Their product requirements are 100% natural, no artificial additives such as colouring, preservatives or antibiotics, non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) and made of wild or naturally and sustainably grown food.

At JMC Wild Forest, customers can find the Finnish berry powder from Arctic Power Berries, such as blackcurrant powder, blueberry powder, sea buckthorn powder, etc.; Poikain Parhaat’s freeze-dried berries with no additives from Finland; the symbol of French taste and gourmet – French Grand Cru Honey by Hédène that appears to great chefs in gastronomy including but not limited to: acacia honey from Burgundy, lavender honey from Luberon in Provence, rosemary honey from Languedoc in South France, etc.; and also a series of Gluten-free ingredients!

More about JMC Wild Forest: https://www.jmcwildforest.com

#JMCWildForest

About Watoto

Watoto is an holistic care programme that was initiated as a response to the overwhelming number of orphaned Children and vulnerable women in Uganda. It is positioned to rescue an individual, raise each one as a leader in their chosen sphere of life so that they in turn will rebuild their nation.

More about Watoto Asia: https://www.watoto.asia

#Watoto

• New technological solutions including Reading Progress, Minecraft Education and Supervised Chat in Teams will support educators in keeping students engaged and safe in digital classrooms.
• 71% of K-12 educators say technology has helped them improve their instruction and expanded their teaching capacity.

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 5 May 2021 – Microsoft today introduced new technological tools and updates designed to support the 5 key areas educators require to create a holistic learning environment and move education forward: student centricity, skills focus, social learning, safety, security and scalability.

In partnership with YouGov, Microsoft found that 71% of K-12 educators felt technology has helped them improve their instruction and expanded their teaching capacity.^[1] With the rise of digital classrooms and hybrid learning environments, Microsoft recognizes how crucial it is to help teachers find new ways to engage students remotely. New tools and solutions launched include Reading Progress, to enhance students reading skills remotely, and features like Group Assignments and third-party app integrations in Microsoft Teams that will empower educators and support students in their classroom experience. Other updates include the availability of Minecraft: Education Edition outside the classroom and the launch of Reflect, a Microsoft Teams app that provides teachers with capabilities that support their students’ well-being virtually.

“We are grateful for the resilience and commitment educators have displayed in evolving their teaching styles over the past year, and we aim to keep supporting them to deliver quality education for their students during these challenging times. At the beginning of the pandemic technology often served as a much-needed lifeline between students, teachers, and parents enabling remote and hybrid learning. As time moved forward many educators transformed their teaching, their pedagogy, their professional development, and more, with technology often being a critical component enabling that change. Innovation will continue to transform learning experiences and stands to help prepare students for their futures – we are honored to partner with educators and schools across Asia in our mission to help every student on the planet achieve more,” said Larry Nelson, Regional General Manager, Education, Microsoft Asia.

Enabling student-centered learning with Reading Progress

Studies show that reading skills have declined for some students due to the pandemic. To reverse learning loss, educators are seeking ways to evaluate their students’ progress, and help them advance at their own pace. With this in mind, Microsoft is introducing Reading Progress, a free tool designed to support readers who are learning a new language or educators trying to raise students’ general comprehension.

With Reading Progress, educators can:

• Save time by creating reading fluency assignments for either the entire class or for individual students to complete independently. Teachers can also review assignments with built-in auto-detect features for English language that analyze results and jump to any part of the recording to review detected words and passages.
• Visualize reading progress with a holistic view of data and insights, including accuracy rate and actionable feedback useful for guiding class progress.
• Engage students in independent practice on their own time where students can work at their own pace, record as many times as they like, and make progress without pressure.

Available prior to the next school year, Reading Progress is free for all students and teachers using Microsoft Teams for Education, and is compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

New tools to support student engagement in the classroom

Microsoft is also enhancing Teams and other tools to help educators unlock digital experiences that complement and enrich in-person learning. These new free offerings will be available ahead of the next school year and were inspired by insights from education experts, system leaders, educators, and students alike.

• Group assignments: Educators can now organize their students into assignment groups so they can work together to create, collaborate, and submit the same work.
• Use your favorite apps in Assignments: Teachers will now be able to issue assignments from a variety of third-party apps directly in Teams, saving time and increasing student creativity.
• Calendar integrations: New calendar integrations allow students to see when their classes are and when assignments are due in the Teams and Outlook calendars – all in one place.
• Learning Management System (LMS) Updates: Microsoft is working with LMS providers such as Instructure and Blackboard to improve integrations between LMS and Microsoft Teams, Teams meetings, and OneDrive, providing a more seamless experience for educators.

Making learning more engaging and fun

Educators are recognizing how pivotal immersive experiences can be to engage students on a deeper level. To support them in seeking different ways to keep students actively engaged, Microsoft is releasing new features to Minecraft: Education Edition. This will provide more opportunities for students to play and learn in the classroom and out.

• Integrating Minecraft Education Edition with Teams and Flipgrid: Educators can now embed a Flipgrid topic, Forms quiz, or assessment tool using new Resource links within a Minecraft world or lesson. Students on the other hand, can open a Flipgrid Topic, record and share their creation, and invite others to join a world they have created—with just a few clicks.
• Minecraft Education Edition for Camps and Clubs: Beginning this summer, camps, clubs, homeschool organizations, and nonprofits can purchase licenses for Minecraft: Education Edition to support critical thinking, collaboration, and game-based learning for all ages outside of the classroom.

Supporting student well-being

Emotional well-being is key to student success and research shows that approaches to support student well-being are in high demand, but low supply.^[2] New tools to equip educators with the ability to understand the complexities students face, and their emotional state, as they guide them in navigating the challenges of today have also been introduced.

• Reflect, a free app in Microsoft Teams, provides a way for educators to create regular check-ins in with individual students or classes to share how they are feeling, and help learners better understand how their emotions may impact their learning.
• Embedded tools in OneNote and Teams, such as praise badges and sticker packs, help students and educators feel more connected and foster the growth of effective relationships.

These will be critical in helping build students’ confidence and enabling educators to facilitate valuable learning conversations in and beyond the classroom.

Enabling safe and secure classrooms

Lastly, with more learning taking place outside the physical school, the increase in digital traffic and the number of connected devices brings new challenges: from malicious attacks to uninvited guests in the digital classroom.

To ensure students’ safety in digital and physical spaces, Microsoft is launching Supervised Chat in Teams. Available later this month, this feature allows designated educators to initiate chats with students, while preventing students from starting new chats unless an appropriate educator is present — meaning students can engage in safe discussions.

For more information on the latest features, please see here.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 4 May 2021 – In celebration of CPA Australia‘s 135th anniversary and 65 years in Hong Kong – CPA Australia assembled a pop-up café & museum at the celebrated heritage site – Jao Tsung-I Academy. At the opening ceremony, business magnate and iconic leaders like Dr Allan Zeman, Chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, Dr George Lam, Chairman of Cyberport Management and Chairman of the United Nations ESCAP Sustainable Business Network and Mr Tim Lui, Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission, came together to try out their barista skills by making their first cup of latte! The lattes were then auctioned to the guests at the ceremony with the goal of raising funds to the Jao Tsung-I Academy for their heritage conservation effort. Under a sea of cheers and roars, a total of HKD26,500 was raised for the Jao Tsung-I Academy in this unique coffee auction. The CPA Australia pop-up café & museum will be opened to the public from 1 – 31 May at the Tsung-I Academy.

Multi-layer privacy options, multiple personas, secure multimedia messaging and voice calls make OpusChat a fun and safe app for everyday communication

 

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 4 May 2021 – yyResearch, a Hong Kong tech startup that specialise in software and app development, today launches OpusChat, a privacy-focused and safe communication system that models how we manage relationships and interact with each other in real-life. With its multi-layer privacy options, multiple personas, secure multi-media messaging features and high-quality voice calls, OpusChat is an instant messaging app like no other and is now available for download on the App Store and Google Play Store.

Modeling Real-life Relationships and Interactions

“Privacy is not a luxury, it is a necessity. People should have the ability to protect themselves from scammers, spammers, stalkers, cyberbullies and doxing,” said Edmund Hor, co-founder and CEO of yyResearch. “Personal information is not only being misused for monetisation but also provides material for fraudsters and identity thieves, making data privacy a growing concern for everyone. This is the very reason we decided to develop OpusChat, an ethical communication system that gives users control over how their relationships are established and managed, and eliminates any unsolicited contact. More importantly, OpusChat does not require users to share their personal information and minimises data storage to protect their privacy.”

He continued, “With OpusChat, we’ve developed a fun and safer way for everyone to connect and communicate, and we are extremely excited to introduce this product to the world.”

OpusChat is a privacy-focused and safe mobile communication tool with all the features users look for in an instant messaging app and more.

Giving Users Full Control Over Their Data and Privacy

OpusChat does not require a phone number or email when new users register to use the app. Instead, it provides every user a unique ID and QR code so that others can search or scan to make a new friend connection. This ensures that the user is connecting to people they really know and eliminates any unsolicited phone calls or messages. For users who wish to invite friends from their phone’s contact list to chat on OpusChat, they have the option to do so as well. Once a new friend connection is established, users have full control over how they interact with each other, what they can see, share or receive, and customise the settings for each relationship. With these features, users can choose to be as private or as open as they like when using OpusChat.

Modeling Real-life Relationships and Interactions

One of the unique features in OpusChat is allowing users to create “Multiple Personas” under a single account. People have different identities and play different roles when connecting with family, friends, colleagues, and people in different social circles. In real life, we can choose how we interact with each individual and there is a varying degree of intimacy with each relationship. This “Multiple Personas” feature was designed with this in mind, giving user the ability to customise and control how they present themselves and how they manage each relationship.

Providing Users Peace of Mind and Protection

Prior to the launch of the OpusChat app, yyResearch’s leadership and R&D team have accumulated more than two decades of experience developing secure commodity e-trading platforms for world class exchanges, national utility companies and multinational financial institutes with an indisputable reputation for high business integrity. With these experiences and proven track record, OpusChat was designed and developed with the user’s privacy and security in mind. The app matches up to the industry’s standard for end-to-end encryption, there is no tracking of user experience data and it minimises storage of user data to protect the privacy of the user.

“At yyResearch, we believe that systems are easier to use if they work in harmony with how we behave as human beings. We created personas to model how we identify ourselves and interact with the various social groups in our lives. We want people to be able to communicate securely and feel confident that their data is being treated with the utmost respect and not being used for nefarious purposes. We hope that OpusChat will set a new bar in user privacy control and protection, and we are very excited to be launching it,” said Paul Blaikie, co-founder and CTO of yyResearch.

Download photos of the OpusChat app here.

For video introducing the key features of the OpusChat app, please visit here.

About yyResearch

yyResearch’s vision is to make online communication safer for everyone. OpusChat is an instant messaging app like no other. It is a privacy-focused and safe communication system that models how we manage relationships and interact with each other in real-life. OpusChat respects users’ preferences and gives them full control over their data and privacy. For more info about OpusChat, visit https://www.opuschat.app/

Download OpusChat:

#OpusChat