The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has sponsored the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture to organise a three-day event at Kwai Tsing Theatre to help promote the creative industry and encourage young people to develop positive personal, economic, social and environmental change. Running from 21-23 January, “Make a Difference” (MaD) offered a wide array of creative activities including Jockey Club Make a Difference Workshop Series, that allowed young people to make good use of their creativity and contribute to society.
The Jockey Club’s Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges noted that young people had the creative potential to be the catalyst for positive changes that make a difference to society. To encourage this, the Club has been a staunch supporter of local creative industries and funded numerous innovative projects, including the revitalisation of an industrial building into the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre, and the “Heritage x Arts x Design” exhibition at the former Police Married Quarters on Hollywood Road. “This year, we are happy to continue to support the MaD Youth Forum and hope to inspire and empower young people in innovation, entrepreneurship, discovery and creativity.”
Financial Secretary John Tsang hoped the expert speakers and thought-provoking events over the weekend would help challenge the mindset of young people, and encourage them to explore not only themselves, but also the world.
More than 20 local and international change-makers are taking part in MaD 2011, sharing their creative ideas with over 1,200 young people aged 16 to 30 from Hong Kong, mainland China, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, to generate fresh ideas and creative power in Hong Kong. The Club-sponsored talks and “Jockey Club Make a Difference Workshop Series” featured various unconventional and creative workshops that encourage young people to feel and think differently.
These included “Dialogue in Silence”, being held for the first time in Hong Kong, where hearing-impaired trainers show participants a world of silence and inspire them to re-define disability as ability; “Dialogue in the Dark”, where visually-impaired guides help participants complete a series of tasks in the dark and learn to appreciate what cannot be taken for granted; “Robin Hood Reincarnation Session”, which encourages participants to apply their playful intelligence to master the noble art of redistributing excessive material; and the “Dream It, Do It Social Venture Seed Project”, inviting participants to team up with like-minded peers, dream up an idea to make the world a better place and realise it with their own hands. More information about these activities can be found at http://www.mad.asia/en.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club 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.
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Photo 1:
The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (right) pictured with Financial Secretary John Tsang (left) at the opening ceremony. Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges says by supporting the MaD Youth Forum, the Club hopes to inspire and empower young people in innovation, entrepreneurship, discovery and creativity.
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Photo 2:
Financial Secretary John Tsang speaks at the opening ceremony.
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Photo 3:
The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (left) joins Financial Secretary the Hon John Tsang (right) and other guests to perform the opening ceremony of MaD 2011.
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Photo 4:
Pictured with guests and young people at the opening ceremony are the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (back row, 2nd from left); Financial Secretary John Tsang (back row, 3rd from left); and Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture, Ada Wong (back row, 1st from left).
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Photo 5:
MaD 2011 offers a wide array of creative activities including talks and "Jockey Club Make a Difference Workshop Series". American model and athlete Aimee Mullins, who lost her legs when she was an infant, shares her thoughts and experience at MaD 2011.
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Photo 6:
The Hong Kong Jockey Club's Executive Director, Charities, Douglas So (right) and Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture, Ada Wong (left).
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