From Seeds to Leaders:
Promoting Inclusive Education through “Stand By Me” in Local Schools
2026 marks Resolve’s critical pivot from establishing awareness to mobilizing systemic impact across Hong Kong local secondary schools. While 2025 was about building our internal foundations, 2026 is the year we scale our models to meet the growing public demand for tangible inclusion. While the New Year often brings personal resolutions, at Resolve, it marks a powerful new chapter for our Stand By Me (SBM) school program. What started as a vision for more inclusive campuses has blossomed into a clear evidence base and thriving network and program, and we couldn’t be more inspired by the journey so far.
Students presented their ideas for the small seed grant pitching competition!
From Small Seeds to School-Wide Impact
It’s incredible to look back at how far we’ve come since the start of our pilot in 2024. Our growth has been a deliberate, community-led journey:
- The Foundation: In fall 2024, we began with deep-dive focus groups and consultations, listening to the lived experiences of students and educators at our partner schools.
- Empowering Facilitators: We recruited 15 youth advisors and trained 18 of our own community members to become Inclusive School Facilitators.
- Starting the Conversation: In spring and summer 2025, we took our message to the stage, conducting form-wide student assemblies for 14-17 year olds to spark a dialogue on inclusion.
Cultivating Leaders: In the past few months, those conversations have turned into self-initiated ideas and commitment to actions through our innovative Student Leadership Academy.
Spotlight: The Student Leadership Academy
In the Fall of 2025, we officially launched the SLA across 6 local secondary schools in diverse districts. We are currently working with 71 passionate student leaders, with even more set to join us in the coming year!
How the Academy Works: Through four in-depth workshops, these emerging leaders explore:
- Identity & Privilege: Understanding themselves and their peers.
- Diversity: Embracing different perspectives.
- Leadership: Equipping them with skills to better understand their own role in their communities.
The “Pitch” for Change: The program culminates in an exciting seed funding competition. Student teams design and pitch innovative projects to make their own campuses more inclusive. In each school, the most outstanding proposal receives the funding needed to turn that vision into a reality!
Looking Ahead to 2026
Seeing these young leaders step up to challenge unhealthy norms gives us immense hope for the future. As we move further into this new year, we aren’t just celebrating a program; we are celebrating a generation of students who are brave enough to lead with empathy.
We cannot wait to share the winning projects with you soon. Here’s to a year of breaking barriers and youth building a world where everyone belongs!
