First CADENZA 18-District Programme event advocates good planning for second half of life

17 January 2009

The inaugural event of the CADENZA 18-District Programme, a public forum on the theme "Winning the Second Half of Life", was held today (17 January) in the Bandstand at Victoria Park.  With support from Eastern District Council, over 100 people were able to enjoy a dialogue with the guest speakers on how to plan ahead for an even better second half of their life.

Opening today's event, The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Executive Director, Charities, William Y Yiu emphasised the importance of this district-based programme and collaboration with the District Council in meeting local needs of elderly and the soon-to-be-old population.

During the forum, five guest speakers - human resources management professional Eddie Ng, and risk management expert May Fung, social work academic and CADENZA Fellow Dr Amy Chow, artiste-turned-Chinese medicine practitioner Wong Wan Choi and celebrity Niki Chow - shared their knowledge in an open discussion with the audience on the opportunities and challenges facing the soon-to-be-old when approaching their "golden time", the second half of their life.  All the speakers emphasised that changing one's mindset and lifestyle were the keys to enjoying a satisfying later life, in which seniors could make use of the wisdom and skills they had accumulated and feel the sense of having fulfilled their life's mission.

Highlights of the forum can be heard by tuning in to Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) Radio 5's "Programme for the Elderly" at 11am on 24 January 2009 (Saturday).

The CADENZA 18-District Programme is a citywide public education initiative jointly organised by CADENZA: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors and RTHK Radio 5.  It aims to promote positive ageing and to equip the soon-to-be-old with knowledge that can help them continue to live an active and positive life.  From this month until June 2010, a range of public interactive events and activities will be organised monthly in each of Hong Kong's 18 districts.  Details of the programme are available at: www.rthk.org.hk/special/cadenza.

"CADENZA: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors" is a five-year project launched by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust with a donation of HK$380 million in 2006.  The project aims at nurturing academic leadership in social gerontology and changing the mindset and attitude of the general public through a range of training and public education programmes.  Cross-sectional collaboration between organisations and the implementation of innovative elderly services and programmes are also encouraged in order to bring about a new mode of elderly care services to prepare for a rapidly ageing society.  Details of CADENZA are available at: www.cadenza.hk.