LOCAL

Shark-free weddings

Katrina Lau talks to Hong Kong Shark Foundation’s Andrea Richey about its recent collaboration with Bride Union

daunting fact is that over 50 percent of the world’s shark fin produced is traded through Hong Kong.

Working towards shark conservation, the Hong Kong Shark Foundation (HKSF) has joined forces with online wedding planner, Bride Union to keep the cruel industry out of weddings. The message is simple, say no to having shark fin at your wedding.

By collaborating with leading hotel venues including The Peninsula and Ritz-Carlton, restaurants and various wedding service providers, HKSF believes more people will remove the dish from their menus. Couples who go shark-free will receive exclusive discounts and offers from vendors ranging from bridal make-up and gowns to venue decorations. Tech giant Google has also shown its support for the campaign, offering ad support to the foundation.

“Though many of the younger generations think shark fin is no longer important at their wedding, it is sadly still very common in Hong Kong and Macau. This could be due to a number of reasons including tradition, family pressure, status and lack of education,” says Andrea Richey, Executive Director of HKSF.

Along with weddings, HKSF also encourages companies to ban shark fin from corporate events and annual dinners in its Shark-Free Company campaign.

If you are planning a wedding or want to see who’s involved, HKSF and Bride Union will be running a virtual wedding fair to promote shark-free weddings until February 2 at

hksharkfoundation.org.

As a symbol of luxury, shark fin soup has long been a staple in Chinese wedding banquets. The delicacy was once only available to the upper class and was a reflection of a family’s wealth and affluence.

But the world has soon realised that the pretty dish compromises a lot to the environment. By hunting for their valuable fins, predators of sharks are threatening the balance of ecosystems in the ocean. Not only do shark fins have no taste or nutritional value, the accumulative heavy metals in them can also be dangerous for consumption.

According to a World Wildlife Foundation study conducted in 2018, 49,331 weddings in Hong Kong served shark-fin soup, with 204 bowls consumed per wedding. Despite rising awareness, over 100 million sharks are caught worldwide for their fins every year. Another 14 | SOUTHSIDE

A LANGUAGE FOR LIFE

Anita Shum shares her thoughts on online versus offline learning from a parent and teacher perspective. By Nicole Slater

After moving to Australia as a child, Anita Shum found herself lost without a national identity. Growing up, she was called ‘banana girl’ – someone with yellow skin but a white mindset. Fuelled by this, she decided to create Mini Mandarins, a school where children can connect with Chinese culture and language.

With four languages under her belt, English, Japanese, Cantonese and of course Mandarin, Shum is passionate about the benefits of a bilingual background and believes learning a language while young proves easier. “Children acquire a language naturally without the need to translate like an adult, simply because they learn it differently. Their brain’s elasticity and rapid neural formation ensures that babies and young children are able to learn languages at a faster rate,” says Shum.

Since the opening of Mini Mandarins in 2014, Shum has worked with over 5,000 students across Hong Kong and became the first government approved language school to be accredited in international schools. Her play, practice and learn based curriculum has proved to be very successful with her students learning to enjoy and even looking forward to their lessons. But like all schools in Hong Kong this past year, Shum had to move her lessons online.

“Online learning loses a lot of the personal touch and interaction as there is only one voice in the lesson. If more than one person talks it becomes very irritating, so children become more timid during class and don’t speak,” says Shum.

The most important part of learning a language in its early stages is through interactive communication so Shum decided to create Mobi Mandarins (Mobi stands for mobile), a new online and offline home learning experience. After last year’s experience Shum believes that, “online learning simply does not work for all children, especially younger ones and we must find a new way to keep up their studies under the new normal.” Mobi Mandarins brings its unique curriculum to student’s homes. Each

Anita with her two boys aged 8 and 11

lesson is taught by in-house trained native Mandarin instructors using theme related teaching materials including story books, songs and games, as well as combining use of online teaching materials where appropriate. “I continue to believe that for young children (kindergarten until early primary) face-to-face education is still required. This pandemic year proved that children still need a personal touch to stay inspired and for emotional support.” Mobi Mandarins is continuing to expand its presence worldwide and already has plans to start in Thailand, Singapore and Australia, linking up young children with professional teachers to kickstart their Mandarin journey.

With two boys aged 8 and 11, Shum has seen the effects of online learning from both a parent and teachers perspective. “At first it was fairly chaotic adapting to the new way of learning, but once they adapted they learned to become more responsible and independent. Previously at school they were told when each class would start, now they have to set an alarm themselves,” Shum says. With her children home all the time, Shum looks at their time together as a positive from this pandemic, giving her and her family time to reset from Hong Kong’s busy schedule.

Another positive from the pandemic has been the chance for Mandarin teachers from around the world to create the first International Chinese Language Festival. The festival will promote Chinese language education and allow young learners to showcase their interest and talent in the language. Mini Mandarins will be co-hosting the event alongside ESF and The Education University of Hong Kong. For more information about the festival visit

chineselanguagefestival.com

Top tip for parents

Don’t expect the same amount of productivity in children learning online compared to offline. Do checkpoints throughout their studies to see whether they understand what is being taught. For more information and tips, visit minimandarins.com