Joint University Docent Training and Heritage Services Program in Yim Tin Tsai Village, Sai Kung (Mid-Sept 2019 – Mid-Feb 2020)

Introduction

We aim to provide on-site training and drilling sessions to students at tertiary institutions for serving as docents and heritage facilitators in Yim Tin Tsai, a revitalized Hakka village, as experiential learning opportunities.

1. Information Session (Optional)

Date: 5 / 6 Sept 2019 (Thursday and Friday, students can pick either one)
Time: 16:00-17:00
Venue:
LAU-6-214, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building, City University of Hong Kong (5 Sept 2019)

Rm 5501 (Lift 17-18) Academic Building, HKUST (6 Sept 2019)

Instructors: David Ip, and Cheung Siu-woo

2. On-site training on Yim Tin Tsai Island (Mandatory)

Date: 14 / 15 Sept 2019 (Saturday and Sunday, students can pick either one)
Time: 08:45-12:30
Venue: Yim Tin Tsai Island
Instructors: William Shek, David Ip, and Cheung Siu-woo

3. Drilling session on campus (Mandatory)

Date: 17 / 18 Sept 2019 (Tuesday and Wednesday, students can pick either one)
Time: 15:00-18:00
Venue:
LAU-5-205, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building, City University of Hong Kong (17 Sept 2019)

LI-1100, Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Academic Building, City University of Hong Kong (18 Sept 2019)

Instructors: David Ip, and Cheung Siu-woo

Background

This program of Voluntary Heritage Service in Yimtintsai Village, Saikung, to be conducted in Fall 2018-Winter 2019, has been the 9th round of the project since it was launched in Fall 2015.

Yimtintsai (鹽田梓) Village is located on a small island in Saikung, New Territories, about half-an-hour ride on ferry from Saikung Town. It is a village of Hakka people with a settlement history of about 300 years, comprising about 40 households when it was deserted by the villagers at the end of the 1990s. It was one of the earliest sites of the Catholic missionary enterprise in Hong Kong back in the 1860s, and the whole village was converted to Catholicism in 1866. St. Joseph's Chapel on the Island was listed as a second-grade heritage building by the Hong Kong government. The Chapel was renovated in 2003 and the project won the UNESCO 2005 Award of Merit for the Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.

In 2011, the non-profit Salt and Light Preservation Center was established under the aegis of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese to launch several heritage conservation projects, including remodeling the old village school house into the Heritage Exhibition Center and revitalizing the saltpans based on the village's history of salt industry. In the summer of 2015, the Heritage Exhibition Center's remodeling project and the project of revitalizing the saltpans concluded. The saltpan revitalization project won the UNESCO 2015 Awards of Distinction for the Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation. Since then, visitors to the village's heritage facilities have increased tremendously. Volunteers are needed to help running the heritage visiting programs by the Salt and Light Preservation Center.

Service Schedule

Student volunteers will be arranged to serve on the morning shift (09:00-12:30) and the afternoon shift (13:30 – 17:00) for at least three re-registered days on Saturday, Sunday or public holidays from 21st September 2019 (Saturday) to 16th February 2020 (Sunday). Certificate of Docent Training and Certificate of Appreciation will be awarded when students finished serving at least 21 hours (3 whole days) on the Island.

Working Language

Mainly Cantonese, occasionally Mandarin and/or English.

Application & Roster registration

Make a refundable deposit of HK$100 during the Information Session. You will then receive an email about your registration result and the website address for service dates online reservation (each student makes reservation for 3 service days, each day accommodates three applicants, first come first served). You can also do registration and service dates reservation in the on-site training session on 16th and 17th Feb 2019 before departure for Yimtintsai Village if there are still vacancies.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

• Develop interpersonal communication skills when serving as heritage docents and talking to visitors about the regulations of the heritage facilities.
• Develop management skills when guiding visitors' at the heritage facilities of the village.
• Develop problem solving and team work skills when working in collaboration with other heritage facilities facilitators.

Ways to assess ILOs

The student volunteer will be required to write a brief self-reflection on the three ILOs after providing their service.

Opportunity for Advance-level Training

Those participants who work on an additional service day after the completion of their 3-day service will be offered admission to an advance-level professional docents training program for accreditation in Summer 2019.

Attendance Taking Arrangement

The village staff in the General Office of the Village Committee on the island will be responsible for taking attendance of the enrolled student volunteers according to the roster.

Safety Precautions

There will be a first-aid box available in the General Office of the Village Committee on the island. Student volunteers will be instructed how to get access to it.

Insurance

The Salt & Light Preservation Centre Limited has purchased safety insurance for all people who visit the island.

Service Calendar