YEA 4th Edition, Day 5: Design Thinking and Climate Action Workshop Goes Virtual Amid Record Black Rainstorm

On 5 August 2025, Hong Kong witnessed its fourth Black Rainstorm Warning within just eight days—a sobering new record that underscores the accelerating pace of climate change and the urgent need for collective action. Coincidentally, this was also the day scheduled for our full-day, face-to-face design thinking workshop with students from the Young Environment Ambassador (YEA) programme honing their climate action projects. Extreme weather once again forced a change of plans; for the safety of all, we moved the session online.

We owe a huge thanks to Mr Spencer Liu, Founder & Managing Director of Riverwood Climate Solutions, for pivoting swiftly and leading an engaging Zoom workshop. His adaptability ensured the session’s momentum—and its impact—remained undiminished, despite the literal storm outside.

The day opened with Spencer delivering an insightful overview of design thinking: not just as a process, but as a mindset for generating meaningful, user-centred solutions. Students then dove straight into identifying real-world environmental issues ripe for creative problem-solving. To foster empathy and a deeper understanding of these challenges, small Zoom breakout groups took part in a stakeholder interview simulation. Here, students role-played as various affected parties—asking questions like, “How does climate change affect you?” and “What kind of help would make a difference?” Using empathy maps, students captured what their interviewees said, thought, did, and felt, gaining perspective on diverse viewpoints.

Before lunch, Spencer led sessions on crafting strong problem statements, developing personas, and mapping user journeys. Students learned to distil complex issues into clear, actionable focus areas, and began sharing inspirations—a vital spark for group creativity.

After the break, the session shifted to intensive brainstorming and ideation. Students first mapped their individual ideas, then regrouped to prioritise and select project topics offering the highest impact with feasible implementation. Clear criteria and collaborative discussion helped each team settle on a project goal.

With project topics confirmed, students tackled the next layer: detailed problem statements, considering decision-makers, stakeholders, indicators of success, and potential constraints. Persona creation and user journey mapping followed, serving as blueprints to keep their projects grounded in real people’s experiences.

A second brief break gave minds a rest before students jumped into paper prototyping—sketching their concepts into tangible forms. Each team presented their initial solutions to the class, including feedback from Spencer and the Civic Exchange team. For example, a group proposing local oyster reef restoration was constructively challenged on constraints like budget, the need for scientific expertise, and land-use permissions—a real-world reality check that highlighted the importance of planning ahead.

The workshop wrapped up with reflections and feedback from Spencer. Both he and the Civic Exchange team expressed excitement for what’s to come from the students. Despite the record-breaking rain and the sudden switch to virtual format, the workshop proved that determination—and adaptability—can weather any storm.

We look forward to seeing these budding change-makers turn their ideas into action. If there’s one lesson from our week of black rain, it’s that resilience and creativity are more vital than ever in shaping a sustainable future.