The 9th Arts Ambassadors-in-School Finale Party Commending Students on Artistic Excellence Sharing the Joy of Arts

The Arts Ambassadors-in-School Finale Party was successfully held today (14 July) at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. More than 1,200 Arts Ambassadors from over 660 primary, secondary and special schools took part to enjoy the fun of arts.

Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC) has launched the Arts Ambassadors-in-School Scheme (AAiSS) since 2008 to recognise students with artistic excellence and enthusiasm and encourage them to contribute their arts talents to the community. In its ninth year, the scheme has amassed more than 9,000 Arts Ambassadors. The Finale Party, consisting of “Arts Ambassadors-in-School Carnival” and “Recognition & Oath-taking Ceremony”, is a new initiative of the 9th AAiSS to allow students to participate in various activities to broaden their artistic experience.

The “Recognition and Oath-taking Ceremony” was officiated by Mr Lau Kong-wah, Secretary for Home Affairs and Dr Wong Ying-wai, Wilfred, Chairman of the HKADC. Led by Mr Lau and witnessed by parents, teachers and other guests, more than 1,200 Arts Ambassadors pledged their commitment to participate in the arts and to share the joy of arts with others. Two exciting performances, namely “Environment-friendly Percussion” and “Creatively Music x Theatre”, were staged by Arts Ambassadors to demonstrate their talent.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Wilfred Wong, Chairman of the HKADC, said the recognition ceremony has a facelift change this year. More than 10 interactive workshops and booths were set up to allow Arts Ambassadors to experience the joy of artistic creation. Among various activities, Arts Mentoring Classes invite Secondary School Arts Ambassadors to learn the arts under professional guidance and then act as mentors of younger arts ambassadors. Arts Ambassadors are encouraged to exchange and share their arts experiences, demonstrating the spirit of “Live in Art, Thrive in Sharing”.

There were four major themes of activities in the “Arts Ambassadors-in-School Carnival”,including “Theatre Arts”, “Handcrafts Mix and Match”, “Exploration of Body” and “Environment-friendly Arts Fair”.

The 9th Arts Ambassadors-in-School Scheme organised a wide range of arts activities in the past year, with an aim to encourage Arts Ambassadors to explore the unlimited possibilities of artistic creation. Besides the core activity“Creative Arts Day Camp”, the“Arts Training Enhancement Courses” introduced different arts courses covering sculpture, literary arts, music and drama. Arts Ambassadors were encouraged to choose their interested art form and gained in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience under the guidance of professional instructors. The “Community Arts Map Project”, in its second edition, allowed Arts Ambassadors to create and produce arts maps that feature different communities under designated themes. An online platform and a publication will be launched to showcase the works of Arts Ambassadors.

For Arts Ambassadors’ listing and details of the Scheme, please visit: www.aaiss.hk