Advocate for Youth Provides Sporting Opportunities for Children with Special Education Needs in Hong Kong
At age five, Christine Fung already began developing her physical agility, and her mental toughness as an amateur competitive gymnast. Through those 14 years of competition, sport played an integral role in her becoming the inspiring, compassionate, and successful person she is today. Christine is dedicated to ensuring youth in her community are gifted similar opportunities. Previously a Brand Marketing Manager with Nike Hong Kong and Nike China, Christine made a career change in 2019 and began working for InspiringHK Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on grassroots methods of serving underprivileged youth in the community. Among her many responsibilities as Senior Marketing and Communications Manager, she drives effective advocacy, communications and integrated marketing strategies for the organization.
In 2020, an NGO Leadership Program granted Christine funding support after she proposed her sports initiative, “Co-ADDventure” aimed specifically for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and their caretakers. After seeing her younger brother’s battle with ADHD, and the positive effect sports had on his life, Christine wanted other children in similar circumstances to experience these same benefits. This program, the first of its kind in Hong Kong, provides organized sports activities for Special Education Needs (SEN) youth, while simultaneously focusing on the needs of their caretakers.
Along with this inspiring project, Christine is pioneering the use of new media and sports photography to empower female youth with special education needs. While significant resources target the academic aspects of SEN youth in Hong Kong, little is made available for sports or art. Christine believes photography and sport can provide an outlet for SEN youth to express themselves while strengthening their self-worth.
Through her GSMP experience, Christine would like to learn how to apply effective leadership styles in an NGO setting. She also hopes to understand ways she can manage and mitigate leadership challenges, while making her programs more creative and sustainable. For GSMP: Empowering Women through Sports 2021, Christine will be mentored by Emi FitzGerald, Director of Earned Media at Saatchi & Saatchi, and her team in Dallas, Texas.
