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You can tell from their logo – a headphone-clad orange monkey on fire – that the Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design see themselves as renegades. The sister organisation of the Hong Kong Design Centre was formed in 2006 by a collective of designers, entrepreneurs, and people who feel passionately about design, and this fortnight, they’re throwing a fundraiser at the top of Central Plaza – it looks set to be a rather funky affair.

“The two main tenants of Hong Kong would be commerciality and efficiency,” says a passionate Dee Poon, one of the ringleaders of the association. “We’re trying to come in with something that’s about passion, creativity, depth, and lateral thinking. It’s trying to instigate little changes.” Poon herself is something of an enigma in the city: the daughter of tycoon Dickson Poon, she has been bringing some rock’n’roll energy to the design scene since she returned from Harvard, especially with the launch of the Pecha Kucha nights at Volar.

I meet her together with Alan Lo, director of such innovative restaurants as Classified and The Pawn. With the Ambassadors of Design, he and a group of 29 founding members are striving to carve a creative edge for the local design scene. “For Hong Kong to catch up with other major cities around the world,” he says, “it’s not about having the A to Z skill set, it’s also about having substance, which is built up through these exchanges.”

The weekend kicks off with the fundraising Ambassador’s Ball on Friday 10, where one of the top floors of Central Plaza in Wan Chai will be transformed by artist Stanley Wong’s Red White and Blue installations, with food by Margaret Xu Yuan of Ying Yang, entertainment from the awesome band Gayamyan, and an auction of art works in conjunction with Sotheby’s. On the Saturday, hundreds of school kids will be descending on the space to build an entire city from Lego, and then on Sunday the programme opens to the public in an afternoon of lectures by some leading lights of the local design scene, including Joshua Roberts of Perspective magazine; Mathias Woo, creative director of pioneering theatre company Zuni Icosahedron; and architect Chris Law, whose impressive work includes his time as director of Integer China, which promotes green housing in China. If you’re a young person with an edge in design, this would be a good place to start networking. Clare Morin

Encompass Hong Kong, 46/F Central Plaza, Wan Chai. Open to the public Sun 12, 10am-6pm. Inquiries: 2739 6889.