Description
This presentation examines how service-learning (SL) can challenge and reshape dominant narratives of resilience, with a focus onintercultural encounters experienced during a service-learning trip involving students from Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) in Uganda.
Notions of “Blackness” are multifaceted and vary significantly across sociocultural contexts. For participants from outside sub-Saharan Africa,
especially those from contexts like Hong Kong, such immersive experiences often prompt a critical re-evaluation of preconceived assumptions
regarding race, privilege and representation. In contrast to the often reductive portrayals of “Blackness” in Hong Kong, where it is frequently
conflated with skin color and socio-economic status, the Ugandan context offers a nuanced, locally rooted understanding of the complexity of
African identities. The service-learning trip thus becomes a meaningful space in which students confront the limitations of mainstream media
narratives that routinely frame African communities as the “Other,
” reinforcing stereotypical discourses of lack and suffering. These
problematic representations, coupled with enduring structural inequities, underline the urgency of cultivating counter-narratives grounded in
lived experience and mutual respect. Through community-engaged service-learning and guided storytelling initiatives, students are
encouraged not only to listen deeply to Ugandan voices but also to reflect critically on their own positionality within broader global narratives
of race, identity, development and power. By drawing on collaborative projects, this presentation argues that service-learning in Uganda
fosters both self-awareness and narrative agency. Centering co-created stories between Ugandan and Hong Kong students, it demonstrates
how SL can challenge exclusionary frameworks and contribute to a more just and inclusive model of global citizenship – one that affirms the
multiplicity of Black identities and resists simplistic or essentialist representation
Number of attendees (for events)
80Income
0Expenditure
0| Period | 14 Mar 2026 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Crisis, Communication, and Care: Dialogues on Hong Kong–Africa Partnerships |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Hong Kong, ChinaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |