Be grateful for the past. Seek opportunities. Look into the future
The Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Education Service held the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Education Fair at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on December 14 and 15, attracting more than 19,100 visitors over the two days. This was the first time in 173 years that an education exhibition was held since the HKSKH has been operating schools in Hong Kong and Macau. All kindergartens, primary and secondary schools together with the provincial units and social service agencies participated in full force. Through booth displays, workshops, stage performances and educational talks, the public was able to learn more about the school education and educational philosophy of the HKSKH.
The opening ceremony was held in the morning on the 14th of December. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was presided by Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Mr. Cheuk Wing-hing, Secretary for Education Ms. Choi Yuk-lin, Director of the Education, Science and Technology Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People''s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mr. Ho Kam-fai, the Most Revd Andrew Chan, Archbishop of the HKSKH, the Rt Revd Dr Timothy Kwok, Bishop of the Diocese of East Kowloon, the Rt. Revd Dr Matthias Der of the Diocese, Bishop of Hong Kong Island, and Mr. Moses Cheng, Chairman of the Education Services Department of the HKSKH.
In his speech, Archbishop Andrew Chan mentioned the three significance of the Education Fair. First, it was to look back on the past and be grateful; second, to seek opportunities in the present; and third, to look forward to the future so that we could have a better vision to promote the development of education in Hong Kong, China and the world.
The triple significance of the education exhibition
He said, first of all he should give thanks to God the Father for giving everyone the opportunity to carry on the mission of Jesus Christ as a "teacher" when He was on earth and to nurture the next generation a holistic growth of in body, mind and spirit. “We are very grateful for the selfless contributions of our forefathers. They had provided children with a holistic education in terms of morality, intelligence, physical fitness, sociality and aesthetics. They served wherever there was a need, regardless of region, culture, class or religion. This made our schools a cradle of education.”
Although not all graduates from this cradle were "high-end elites", our forefathers had nurtured countless generations with wisdom, good character, commitments, good spirit, the ability to stand tall, to fear God, to care about others, to love our nation and Hong Kong, and to have a global view. The Archbishop expressed his gratitude to them for their spirit of "making each generation live better than the previous one". They devoted their lives to the cause, taught by words and deeds, and because of their efforts the future generations lived with pride. He also thanked the government departments, members of the community, other school sponsoring bodies, peer partners, and relevant professional organizations for their guidance and support, as well as parents for their trust.
What the Hong Kong education sector should be most concerned about at present was not short-term crises, but rather a better grasp of Hong Kong''s orientation in the 21st century. Under the principle of "one country, two systems", as a world metropolis with the Motherland at our back and the world in front, our global vision and national sentiments must coexist and thrive together. He hoped to share this educational spirit of coexistence and symbiosis through this Education Exhibition. The Archbishop firmly believed that God loves the world, so the stronger the global vision, the stronger the sentiment of family and nation. Similarly, the more national sentiments one had, the more global vision one would have.
"Education is constantly changing. We cannot prepare people for the 21st century by the 19th century methods and the 20th century knowledge." The Archbishop admitted that HKSKH hoped that this education exhibition would serve as a catalyst for the whole community to pay more attention to education, work together and look to the future with one heart and one mind.
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to support Hong Kong in becoming a gathering place for international top talents. If we want to have high-quality development in education, the HKSKH also has the responsibility to prepare top talents for Hong Kong in our secondary, primary and early childhood education.
Facing the rapid development of future technology and the popularity of artificial intelligence, we had to consider how to use artificial intelligence to bring progress to mankind rather than being controlled by it, this was an important issue. The Archbishop firmly believed that in the future, with the shift from memorising answers to training in high-order thinking, creativity and imagination, the cultivation of spirituality and morality, would be more important than ever before.
In the days ahead, the Archbishop hoped to share the HKSKH model of collaboration among churches, schools and social services through this “Education Fair”. The HKSKH looked forward to the whole of Hong Kong, including the government, business sector and the public, to continue the close cooperation that has been done over the years. We also looked forward to working with various school sponsoring bodies, partners and relevant professional organizations to carry on the spirit of our forefathers who taught us to make each generation live better than the previous one. He believed that every effort made in education would always be honoured.
Cultivates Students'' Growth by The "Three-Horse Chariot" Concept
In his speech, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Mr. Cheuk Wing-hing pointed out that the HKSKH had a long history in Hong Kong. Apart from being a religious group, it had also been a social service organisation and a major school sponsoring body. With the concept of the "three-horse chariot", HKSKH fostered the healthy growth of students through the close collaboration of churches, schools and social service agencies, and provided people-oriented services to people of different ages and strata.
Mr. Cheuk praised the HKSKH for running schools for more than 170 years. With more than 150 primary and secondary schools and kindergartens, it provided students with quality education. It also established a number of scholarships to commend students who dedicated to serving the community. He thanked the Province for nurturing young people to be a new generation with both moral integrity and talent, vision and ambition for Hong Kong and our nation.
Glad to see HKSKH foster students'' innovative spirit and abilities
He said that the government of HKSAR regarded education highly and actively cherished the younger generation and allowed them to give full play to their strengths and realize their potentials. He also said that human resources were the foundation of building a strong country and reviving the nation. He was pleased to see that the HKSKH and its affiliated schools had always been in line with the education policy of the HKSAR Government. In recent years, they had vigorously promoted and supported the government strategy of strengthening the nation through science, technology and education. By upgrading the hardware and software of innovation and technology education, they had actively promoted STEAM education to cultivate the innovative spirit and ability of students, and implemented the national strategy of developing high-quality education. In addition, students were nurtured to understand our nation from various perspectives and cultivate their love of their nation and Hong Kong. He expected the HKSKH would continue to enhance students'' recognition of their national history, the fine Chinese traditional culture, and their love of their nation.
Demonstrating the Family Spirit of the HKSKH
In his vote of thank, Mr. Moses Cheng, Chairman of the Education Services Department of the HKSKH, said that this education exhibition didnot only showcase the 173-year mission and philosophy of running schools of the HKSKH, but more importantly, it demonstrated the HKSKH family spirit that was to provide holistic Christian education to students through our schools. This was a testimony of the commitment of the HKSKH over the years, the Lord''s assurance, and the quiet labour of our education colleagues. He thanked all the HKSKH school staff and participating units for their dedication and preparation, which enabled the education fair a success.
Go and let the public know about HKSKH schools
A large number of participants attended the Fair, including 140 secondary and primary schools, kindergartens, nurseries, and special schools of HKSKH in Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the Provincial Office, social welfare agencies, Ming Wah Theological Seminary, HKSKH Archives, Religious Education Centre, St. John''s College, the student dormitory of the University of Hong Kong, etc., making it an unprecedented event.
In addition to exhibition booths, various programs and workshops were held on the stage and in the activity area during the two-day exhibition. Events included students’ performances from schools, sharing of teaching experience, special lectures, and talks by speech therapists and educational psychologists. All these programmes provided good opportunities for students, parents and teachers to exchange ideas and gave the general public a better understand the HKSKH educational philosophy from multiple perspectives.
Over 19,100 visitors attended the two-day education fair, many of them came with their families. Some of visitors already had their favourite school in mind and wanted to learn more, while others were collecting information for their children who were about to enter primary or secondary school. In addition to local people, there were also visitors from mainland and overseas. They were all interested in understanding Hong Kong''s education system, the mode of school operation, and pathways to further studies so as to find an ideal school for their children.
Some parents said that although they knew that the HKSKH has operated many schools, they had never thought that the number was so large that one single school sponsoring body could hold such a unique education exhibition all by oneself. This was truly eye-opening.
HKSKH School Campus Journalist Training Program
To tie in with the education fair, the Education Services Department collaborated with Ming Pao to organise the HKSKH School Campus Journalist Training Programme, inviting professional instructors and media professionals from Ming Pao to host a series of activities and workshops to impart interviewing and writing skills, this deepened students'' understanding of the media industry and allow them to put what they have learned into practice at the education fair. The HKSKH Campus Journalist Training Programme held a graduation ceremony at the Education Fair. A total of 172 campus journalists from 56 primary schools and 30 secondary schools were awarded participation certificates.