By Sophia Lawrance

In these times of uncertainty amidst a global pandemic, public or school-wide events are no longer able to take place in person. The transition from physical to online events has not been easy, but with the help of student leaders and project supervisor Shobha Sanker, RCHK teacher, in collaboration with the sponsor Hong Kong Unison, the tradition of its annual International Evening was held for the first time virtually on October 8th, 2020. The Vimeo Livestream garnered over 1400 views in total between 6pm-7:30pm, where students and staff watched an array of performances to celebrate diversity and international-mindedness. 

Rina Ng, Jada Chui, Markandeya Karthik, and Conrad Helau navigated their way through the challenge of technical difficulties by being the MC’s and organisers. From welcoming the livestream audience directly from the RCHK PAC, all the way until the end of the evening, their role in the running of events was significant. Natasha Williams, Head of Secondary, recognised the struggles behind virtual events, attributing the success to the student organisers’ “resilience and flexibility to ensure it could take place.”

Hong Kong Unison, a non-governmental organisation established in 2001, states their main mission is to “promote racial equality in HK.” Ms Phyllis Cheung, executive director of HK Unison, further explained, “[We are] an NGO dedicated to empowering and improving the lives of ethnic minority individuals in Hong Kong.” For the past three years, RCHK has collaborated with HK Unison for the International Evening. Many of Unison’s service users have been hard hit by COVID-19. Unison has provided them with laptops and one-to-one online tutorials. Their focus is on grassroots aims, as Cheung states their belief that “Increased access to quality education will help alleviate poverty.” Viewers were provided a link through which all the funds donated were given to Unison. Markandeya informed the audience, “We raised the highest donation for international evening so far - raising $25000 HKD.”

Not only did the event allow students to watch fellow ESF peers perform, but it also featured teacher performances. Enjoying the show from the comfort of our own homes, the teachers dance to Brimful Of Asha by Cornershop garnered positive reactions from Secondary Students. One viewer, RCHK year 12 student Grace Chong, said “The teacher’s dance was the highlight of the evening - seeing the different departments come together to have fun was hilarious and entertaining.”

CEO of ESF, Ms Belinda Greer, was one to admit her own challenges facing COVID-19, expressing that she misses “travelling almost as much as seeing friends and family around the world.” However, despite the lack of travel most aren’t experiencing currently, ESF embraces different backgrounds and brings together 18,000 students from 75 different nationalities, showcasing their uniqueness and strength both throughout the year and on this special occasion. Drawing attention to the initiator of the event, Shobha Sanker, Greer praised how her “passion and hard work has united students and staff from across ESF for this performance.”  

Treated to a song between the father-daughter duo, Geoff Wheeler, Secondary Vice Principal, and Anna Wheeler, the pair played a traditional Trinidadian instrument while singing to embrace their multicultural heritage.

Lucas Chung, Sha Tin College student, showcased his impressive ukulele skills symbolic of Hawaii, followed by an influx of supportive comments. Moving across the imaginary globe to France, Hilary Yu, RCHK student, performed Le Festin from the iconic Ratatouille movie. Though popular across Tik Tok, she explains it has a deeper meaning about lifting oneself out of poverty. 

Suzanna Hureau and Leonore Fouequet’s French-inspired dance choreography displayed a vast collection of green screen backgrounds. Lynne Wilson, RCHK teacher, commented in the live chat function, “Well done girls! So much energy.”

The Irish dance team from Echoes of Erin School of Irish Dance displayed their talents through a collaborative video of their footwork, dancing along in unison and individually. Following several more countries, India, a country bursting to its seams with culture, was represented by Diya Purohit, RCHK student, who sang Tum Se Hi with a professional set-up. 

Starting with Hong Kong, travelling all over the world, and ending with neighbours next door, the night’s final performance was by Kathryn Rhodes and Stephanie Chuang, singing I Love You 3000 by Stephanie Poetri. 

Concluding the night with guest speaker Rhea Mogul, freelance journalist for SCMP and former KGV student, she expressed how it is “wonderful taking initiative to put an event together like this about multiculturalism,” and despite seeing progress when it comes to ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, there is still a lot to be done. She believes the way forward is through education, outreach, and empowering young people to speak up about issues. Ethnic minorities need a platform to tell their stories in their own voices, so what better way to do it than through music and dance?