Building Safety Week 2018 promotes building safety (with photos)
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Addressing the opening ceremony of Building Safety Week 2018 at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai today, the Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands), Ms Bernadette Linn, said the Government has always adopted a multi-pronged approach to enhancing building safety, while public education and publicity is one of its main areas of work.
"The Government is convinced that different sectors of our community should work together to maintain building safety, thus making Hong Kong a safe and vibrant city for our citizens to live a happy life. Our colleagues from the BD will continue to promote building safety, with a wide variety of activities and a user-friendly approach," said Ms Linn.
She noted that to step up public education, the BD launched the online "E-learning Centre" last year. The initiative provides a convenient and comprehensive online database comprising information on general building plans, building inspection and maintenance, handling of unauthorised building works and handling of water seepage problems, to enable owners of private buildings and the public to obtain information on building safety and basic know-how on building maintenance at any time.
Building Safety Week, held for the fourth consecutive year, is an annual major public education and publicity event organised by the BD. In celebration of the department’s 25th anniversary, the "Building Safety on Board" Board Game Design Competition was held for the first time this year with an aim of disseminating building safety messages to the public through board games. The shortlisted entries were displayed and played by participants at the venue today.
One of the highlights of the opening ceremony was the Secondary School Drama Competition, in which six finalist teams showcased their talents by conveying building safety messages through dramas they had created. Prizes were awarded to the winning teams at the end of the contest.
Presenting awards to the winners, the Acting Director of Buildings, Mr Yu Tak-cheung, praised the outstanding performance of participants in both competitions. He said he believed that the participants had learned the importance of building safety in an enjoyable way through the process of board game design and drama production and performance.
Today's event also featured a building safety quiz battle and an informal discussion with building surveyors and structural engineers, through which participants could learn more about building safety and discuss related issues with building professionals.
Buildings Safety Week 2018 runs from today to April 20 and features a series of activities. Programme highlights include public talks, Building Information Centre Open Day, the Registered Inspectors Briefing Session, the Building Safety Symposium and the "Home Safe Home‧Home Sweet Home" Comic Drawing Competition winning entries roving exhibition held in Kowloon Park.
For the latest updates on the event, please visit the webpage of Building Safety Week 2018 (www.bd.gov.hk/english/services/index_pep.html).
Ends/Sunday, April 15, 2018
Issued at HKT 17:42
Issued at HKT 17:42
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