The Welcome Course: Welcome Churches

Since 2021, over 160,000 Hong Kong residents have arrived in the UK on a newly-launched visa to make a new life here. Many of them have come in search of freedom, to escape the tightening grip of the Chinese government on Hong Kong society. 

In response, Welcome Churches wanted to create a video course that was simple for local churches to run, either in person or as an online session. It would be a way to both help Hong Kongers learn useful things about the UK and also meet and make friends with people in their new neighbourhoods. Better Story were pleased to come on board to film, edit and produce The Welcome Course.

The finished course takes Hong Kong nationals through six engaging video sessions: Welcome to the UK; Understanding British Culture; Making Friends; Wellbeing; Problem Solving; and Citizenship. Each video includes discussion questions and quizzes to keep things interesting.

Here’s the trailer:

Our team took the course from concept to completion. The high-quality end result has been experienced by about 2,400 Hong Kongers through UK churches, and is still a much-used resource for welcoming newcomers from Hong Kong and other countries as well.

Mary ran The Welcome Course at her church in Bristol. She said, “The participants had a really good time, and we had a good discussion after watching the videos – which were very thought-provoking. I think we could have done with another hour to discuss!”

“Better Story were brilliant to work with. They understood our vision and objectives for the project right from the beginning, and as a result were able to help us work out the most efficient, cost effective and best way to go about delivering our course. From initial communication, to working alongside the camera team and editor, Better Story were extremely professional and very easy to work with. I can highly recommend them to anyone looking to create anything from short promo videos through to longer-format courses. ”

Sam, Welcome Churches Project Manager