The following is a speech by the Acting Head of Create Hong Kong, Mr Alan Siu, at the Conference on “Sparking Creativity in Hong Kong” of the Education and Careers Expo 2010 today (February 5):
Lawrence (Yipp, Director of Exhibitions, Trade Development Council), distinguished speakers and guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to join you today at the conference of the Education and Careers Expo 2010.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Sparking Creativity in Hong Kong”. There is no better time to discuss this theme, as we embark on driving the development of creative industries in Hong Kong, as well as promoting our position as Asia’s creative capital. Indeed, the theme ties in well with the new logo we have developed for the office of Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) through a local open competition. The logo we have selected features sparks which denote the generation of creativity when creative minds come together bouncing ideas off each other. And the development of the logo also represents the Government taking the lead in the use of local creative industries and setting a good example for the private sector to follow.
As in many other leading economies in the world, the Hong Kong Government is committed to speeding up the development of our local creative industries. This is why creative industries have been identified as one of the six new economic areas which Hong Kong is keen to drive.
To support the development of our creative sector, we have drawn up a set of strategies in consultation with industry stakeholders. Nurturing creative talents is on the top of our action list. We firmly believe that creative people are the key to our success, and nurturing young talents today will build the foundation for us to scale new height tomorrow. It is therefore crucial to empower our young people with the latest knowledge and skills in the creative field, and help groom their creativity and passion for our future development.
We believe the key to nurture creative talents is to provide the right opportunities for our young mind to be educated and inspired. This is why CreateHK actively supports the various initiatives that enable our young talents to develop their creativity and widen their exposure. At the secondary school level, we support through the Film Development Fund a project to add film and animation elements to the subject of visual arts of the new senior secondary curriculum . The idea is to introduce the concepts of film and animation at an early stage to nurture our students’ interest and appreciation in creativity. To keep up the momentum, we are also working with the design and architecture sectors to incorporate elements of design and architecture in the senior secondary school curriculum as well.
At the tertiary level, our local institutions are already offering excellent and diverse education opportunities for those who wish to pursue the creative route. To further strengthen our efforts on this front, CreateHK supported the Baptist University to establish the Hong Kong Academy of Film recently as an institution which offers formal and structured training for talents aiming to enter the film sector. In addition, we are pleased to see that the US Savannah College of Art and Design, the renowned creative education institution in North America, has chosen Hong Kong as the place to set up its first campus in Asia. With such a good line-up of education and training opportunities in the creative field, local creative talents will have a wide variety of choice for them to pursue.
As regards offering employment opportunities for young talents, we have been working with various local creative sectors on initiatives that allow young talents to enter the business and widen their exposure. For example, we collaborated with the local design and advertising sector to introduce trainee and internship programmes which enable fresh graduates and final year students from our post-secondary institutions to get a feel of working in the creative sector.
With all these efforts, we can look forward to the future development of our creative industries positively. However, Government efforts alone are not sufficient. All these would not be possible without the support of our partners, including the Trade Development Council (TDC) and other supporting organisations, the various institutions as well as the creative industries themselves. This is a concerted effort. It is in fact such effort that puts us all here today at the Education and Careers Expo 2010 which features over 550 exhibitors and is expected to receive over 100,000 visitors during the event. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the TDC and all the parties involved who have made this event possible.
Lastly, I wish the Education and Careers Expo 2010 and today’s conference every success. Thank you.
Friday, February 5, 2010