Following is the speech by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, at the 2017 Kam Fan Awards presentation gala of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of Hong Kong (HK4As) today (November 24):
Spencer (Chairman of HK4As, Mr Spencer Wong), judges of the Kam Fan Awards, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good evening. It is my honour to join you all tonight at the HK4As Kam Fan Awards Presentation Gala to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our advertising professionals.
Advertising is a powerful industry. A good advertisement does not merely inform; it impacts on the minds of people to resonate with their desires and belief. Advertising "broadens and enhances the way we see the world, getting us to think, feel and consider the space and issues around us in a new light" (a quote from an article in the Guardian).
Each year, the Kam Fan Awards pays tributes to the best of the best of these influential advertisements. First held in 1984, the Awards has now become one of the most acclaimed advertising awards in Asia, and it attracts participation from a wide categories of advertising practitioners, ranging from print, outdoors, design, film and crafts sectors to the cyber sector.
I am sure our judges had a rather challenging task selecting the final winners from the entrants as there is simply too much good work from Hong Kong advertisers. Let me quote you some statistics: over the past three years alone, our advertisers have scooped some 100 awards in renowned international advertising festivals including AdFest (in Thailand), Cannes Lions (in France) and Spikes Asia (in Singapore), demonstrating the world-class qualities of our advertisers.
Underpinned by our talented advertising professionals, the advertising sector has become one of the lifelines of our creative industries, contributing over $9 billion to Hong Kong's GDP a year, and employs over 18,000 people in the industry.
Good advertising comes from good creativity which in turn relies on our talent pool. The Government is dedicated to supporting talent nurturing and human resource development. For example, we have sponsored over 80 winners of Kam Fan Awards and the Young Creative Competition to participate in major international advertising festivals and competitions since 2010 with a view to enriching the international exposure of our advertising professionals. We have also provided funding support to Graduate Support Schemes and Student Internship Programmes in order to provide young talents in the industry with internship or on-the-job training.
Looking forward, the Government will continue to work closely with the advertising industry to nurture our creative talents and to raise the international profiles of our advertising sector. The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, proposed in her first Policy Address to inject $1 billion into the CreateSmart Initiative in one go to strengthen support for the development of creative industries, including our advertising sector. This would be the largest ever single funding injection into the CreateSmart Initiative since its establishment in 2009 and it clearly demonstrates the strong emphasis of our Government on supporting the creative industries. We are committed to continuing to work hand in hand with the industries to enhance our position as Asia's creative hub.
Last but not least, I wish to express my sincere thanks to the organisers and my congratulations again to all the winners tonight for your achievements. The theme of tonight's event is "Uplifted Spirit". Let us all embrace this spirit in pursuing our goals in further taking Hong Kong's advertising industry to new heights. Thank you.
Friday, November 24, 2017