Jockey Club supports quest for language proficiency to enhance young people's competitiveness

28 February 2010

For the fifth year in a row, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is supporting the Association of International Accountants (AIA) Quest for the Champion Communicator, a competition that aims to raise the language proficiency of tertiary students in Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China.  The first round of this year's contest was held in Hong Kong on 27 February, with the Club's Executive Director of Corporate Development Kim Mak invited to be guest of honour.

The Club has always been supportive of activities that offer young people the chance to equip themselves with practical skills.  In yesterday's opening round, 21 contestants from Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Zhuhai demonstrated their language skills through giving speeches in turn in English, Cantonese and Putonghua on current affairs topics such as cross-border construction projects.

Addressing the contestants, Mak said he admired the competition as it not only helped develop trilingual speaking skills among young people but just as importantly, encouraged them to take an active interest in issues that would have a long-term impact on the community.

"The Hong Kong Jockey Club is celebrating its 125th Anniversary this year," he noted.  "Over the years, in our role as a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to serving society's needs, we have taken a lead in tackling many pressing issues facing our community.  In more recent years, we have also been taking a proactive approach to addressing longer-term issues."

Mr Mak said that meeting the needs of the younger generation had long been an important area of the Club's donations. In past decades such as the 1950s and '60s when there was a severe shortage of school facilities and schools were set up on the roofs of residential buildings, the Club supported the set up of primary and secondary schools and established an education fund. In the 1970s, the Club responded to changing needs by launching scholarship schemes and learning funds to help students participate in extracurricular activities. Recently, he added, the Club had supported a number of projects designed to stimulate young people's creative potential. Among them was SkyHigh Creative Partners, a project funded by the Club's Charities Trust, aimed at nurturing young people and realising their artistic potential.

At the end of the competition, Mak presented trophies to the top three students, who will now contest the final round of competition in Shanghai on 11 April.

125th Anniversary of The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is celebrating its 125th Anniversary in 2009/10 season.  Over the past 125 years, it has become one of Hong Kong's best known and respected organisations, providing the public with world-class sporting entertainment as well as being the city's major non-Government community benefactor, now donating more than HK$1 billion a year to charitable and community projects.  It has been a part of Hong Kong through good times and bad, sharing the city's growth and development with its people, and is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for future generations.