The following is a speech by the Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (Communications and Technology), Mr Duncan Pescod, at the 11th DigiCon6 Hong Kong Certificate Presentation Ceremony on January 29, 2010:
Mr (Wilson) Fung [Executive Director, HK Productivity Council], Mr (Izumi) Ikawa [Division President of Digital Media, TBS, Inc.], Mr (Gabriel) Pang [Chairman, HK Digital Entertainment Association], distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to join you again at the Hong Kong Certificate Presentation Ceremony for the 11th TBS DigiCon6 Awards.
I first attended this last year when “Hidden Elders” won the Grand Award of the TBS DigiCon6 competition. This year Hong Kong’s animators have once again been recognized by the panel of adjudicators with two “Encouragement Awards” in the event. The awardees, “Time to Say Goodbye”, co-produced by Elizabeth Wong Lo-tak and Lee Kwok-wai, and “Such is life” by Emily Wong, show once again that Hong Kong talent can compete successfully against the best in Asia.
CCIDAHK sponsored the local competition for Hong Kong animation productions to win a place to participate in the TBS DigCon6 event. We have also provided funding to support a delegation of artistes, including the local winning entries, to travel to Japan to participate in the event. We see this as a wonderful opportunity for those involved to network with their counterparts from other places in Asia. We expect all the delegates who took part to share their experience with others in the local animation field so that the industry here can benefit as a whole.
While we may be feeling happy with what we have achieved so far, I am always reminded by the word of wisdom of US tennis champion Arthur Robert Ashe who once said: “Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome.”
I think what he meant by that is it’s great to get awards. It is fantastic to get recognition for what we do, particularly from our peers. But this is not the ultimate goal. It is the process of creativity that helps us explore new worlds and scale new height. We must not stand still and, I can tell you, everyone else is working hard to do better, to improve, to succeed. We must do the same. I hope that our participation in TBS DigiCon6 will help to spur the development of animation in Hong Kong.
The Government is playing its part to support this sector. We have been working with the Hong Kong Productivity Council to prepare an education pack that will allow us to include animation in secondary school curriculum so that our students will have a wider exposure to the subject. We hope this will help to encourage young people to consider animation as a viable career choice.
Another active player is Cyberport. It has organised the Cyberport Animation Camp whereby prominent experts from renowned animation production houses from around the world – such as Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, Imagi Studio, Rhythm & Hues Studio and Rising Sun Pictures – were invited to share their secrets of success with the local animation sector. Beyond this, CreateHK will work with RTHK when they organize a major animation festival in Hong Kong again as part of our efforts to promote the industry. RTHK will also be commissioning local independent production houses to develop animation programmes so as to help groom the local industry.
There is a bright future for animation development in Hong Kong if we can successfully export our products to the Mainland and overseas, where I believe the market potential is enormous.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Year of the Tiger will be upon us in just two weeks’ time. People tell me that the tiger is “ambitious to win with keen determination”. So, may I end by saying the energy of the tiger be with you all when you embark upon your new creative animation work. May I take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and prosperous Year of the Tiger!
Thank you.
Friday, January 29, 2010