The Education Bureau (EDB) and the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) held the Closing Ceremony of the Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign and Award Presentation Ceremony of the One-minute Video Production Competition today (May 23) to celebrate the success of activities in promoting biliteracy and trilingualism over the past six months.
Officiating at the ceremony, the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, said in her speech that as a city where international talent gathers, Hong Kong needs an abundance of biliterate and trilingual talent to fully leverage its role as a bridge connecting with the world. To consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, enhance the development of the "eight centres" as outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan, and seize the opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, it is essential to cultivate biliterate and trilingual abilities.
She said that the EDB has been committed to nurturing Hong Kong students' biliterate and trilingual abilities. In addition to providing support services on classroom teaching, the EDB has been collaborating with schools, the school sector and social organisations to hold various language activities outside classrooms, aiming at enhancing students' interests and abilities in language learning, as well as creating platforms to demonstrate their learning outcomes.
Over the past five months, the EDB and SCOLAR jointly took forward the Biliteracy and Trilingualism Campaign (the Campaign) at various levels of the community to enhance Hong Kong's language strengths and foster understanding and integration across different cultures.
At the ceremony, the Chairman of SCOLAR, Dr Anissa Chan, pointed out that the success of the Campaign relied on the collective efforts and support from various sectors of society. She sincerely thanked all sectors for their active participation.
With the support of the business community, the promotional videos produced by television stations highlighted the significance of biliteracy and trilingualism to the continued development of Hong Kong's economy, in particular for the hotel and tourism, retail, catering and transportation industries. The videos yielded five million views, effectively conveying the importance of biliteracy and trilingualism to the community. Thanks to the support from the school sector, the One-minute Video Production Competition received enthusiastic responses, attracting the participation of over 700 students and parents from more than 100 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools. Community partners also spared no effort in organising a variety of language activities targeting different audiences to resonate with the Campaign.
Awards of the One-minute Video Production Competition were also presented during the ceremony. The winning entries, portrayed in various styles, depicted the distinctiveness and advantages of Hong Kong in adopting biliteracy and trilingualism.
Community partners, namely the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, the Hong Kong China Rugby, the HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education and Xianggang Putonghua Yanxishe, invited the winners of their activities to perform or share at the ceremony. The content was diverse and intriguing, featuring non-Chinese-speaking students sharing about Hong Kong local food and traditional festival check-ins in Cantonese, a live performance by winners of the Putonghua dubbing competition, and foreign coaches and students introducing rugby in English. The lively atmosphere marked a remarkable end for the Campaign.
The ceremony was held at the Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre with about 400 attendees, including guests from the business and community sectors, teachers, parents and students. For further information about the ceremony and the Campaign, please visit the SCOLAR website (scolarhk.edb.hkedcity.net/en/index.php).
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