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The closing and prize-giving ceremony of the First International Youth Chinese Creative Writing Competition was held today (July 7). Eleven teams from various countries and regions, namely the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, participated in the event.
Co-organised by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong and the Confucius Institute of Hong Kong, the competition was also supported by the School of Chinese of the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Greater China Culture Global Association and the Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture.
The competition, which took place from July 3 to 7, aimed at promoting Chinese creative writing amongst young Chinese writers all over the world. It provided a platform for gifted young writers who are interested in Chinese creative writing to learn, to share and to exchange their ideas and learning experiences. Outstanding performance by the writers was also encouraged and recognised.
The competition, with a theme entitled "Racial Harmony", was divided into three sections, namely a prose section, a short story section and a blog writing section.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Principal Education Officer (New Territories) of the Education Bureau, Mr Benjamin Yung, and the council member of the Confucius Institute of Hong Kong, Professor Chan Shui-duen, congratulated the students on having such a valuable learning experience and encouraged them to keep striving for excellence by continuing in their study of Chinese culture and writing skills.
Professor Cheng Pei-kai of the City University of Hong Kong also shared his personal experience in creative writing and commented on the performance of the participants. His valuable comments would benefit the young writers in their studies and creative writing in the future.
During the five-day learning and cultural exchange programme, all teams took part in a talent contest to enhance cultural exchange and show their skills.
In order to enhance their creativity and writing ability, the participants attended a seminar on creative writing given by Associate Professor Wu Yin-ching of the Hong Kong Baptist University. They also visited the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Hong Kong. To broaden the students' horizons and to enhance their understanding in Chinese history and culture, visits were conducted to the Ping Shan Heritage Trail, the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. The participants not only shared their passion and learned the skills for creative Chinese writing, but also treasured having such a valuable learning experience through different activities.
For more details of the writing competition, please visit the website at resources.edb.gov.hk/gifted/IYCCWC/en/index.htm .
Ends/Saturday, July 7, 2012
Issued at HKT 13:30
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