MCI Funds Civic Engagement with Local Chinese Communities Project
has partnered with the Humanities Vice-Dean for Social Responsibility to fund , Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Medical Sociology and Social Gerontology in the to lead a project on civic engagement with local Chinese communities.
Greater Manchester is home to one of the largest Chinese communities in the UK. The project will focus on older Chinese adults and Hong Kong migrants who have recently come to the UK.
The project will support various social and cultural activities aimed at understanding the challenges and barriers related to life adjustment to migration and maintaining family ties and care relations across borders. It will add much-needed evidence to the literature on ageing, care, and transnational migration by focusing on the Chinese diaspora in Greater Manchester.
The project will bring together leading scholars from the University of Manchester specialising in ageing, health, well-being, digital technology, and China to establish a strong civic network with local Chinese communities, NGOs, community organisations, and local authorities in Greater Manchester. The civic engagement activities will make a positive difference to local Chinese communities in Greater Manchester and beyond.
Dr Nan Zhang and her colleagues aim to develop a review paper on ageing, transnational care and digital technology, as well as a major grant proposal in this area. The researchers will organise public lectures on ageing, family, and filial piety in Chinese society, coinciding with traditional Chinese festivals throughout 2024/2025.
Inspired by the MCI鈥檚 successful , they will also launch an amateur photo competition featuring ageing, care and filial piety among Chinese families in Greater Manchester.