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The newly approved projects under the Sustainable Development Fund would help sustain the momentum of our endeavours in promoting sustainable development (SD) within the community, Chair of the Education and Publicity Sub-committee of the Council for Sustainable Development Ms Christine Fang said today (February 27).
A total of four projects were granted funds this time round. All of them are community and school-based initiatives, showing a clear integration of the key SD elements, including community involvement, social cohesion, environmental awareness and economic development, in a balanced and practical way. These educational and promotional projects will last from six to 24 months.
The four approved projects are:–
* "Developing a Sustainable Lifestyle – An Interactive Educational Drama" by Bravo Theatre: $499,000 over a period of six months. The project aims to produce an interactive drama with sustainable lifestyle as the theme, which will be performed at primary schools and public venues such as shopping malls, pedestrian precincts, parks, etc.
* "Hong Kong Green Map – Towards a Sustainable City Life" by Chan Yuen Lai and So Kwok Kin: $247,000 over a period of nine months. The project will adopt the globally-shared Green Map System to produce a green map for Hong Kong, identifying places and locations that are relevant to a sustainable city life.
* "2Rs Express" by Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Fong Shu Chuen Social Service Building: $1,100,000 over a period of 24 months. The project aims at building a mutual help network for some social groups such as the physically-challenged and housewives through recycling activities. It will commence work in the Eastern District and eventually extend in stages to other districts of the territory.
* "Sustainable Urban Regeneration: Building an integrative community" by the China Business Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University: $113,000 over a period of seven months. The project will carry out various activities including community exploratory tours and workshops on sustainable urban regeneration in Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin.
"One of the approved projects, the "Hong Kong Green Map – Towards a Sustainable City Life", is the first of its kind in using a green map to promote sustainable lifestyle", Ms Fang said.
The other three approved projects aim to promote the SD message through interactive drama, recycling activities involving the physically-challenged, housewives and youth, as well as workshops and activities on the theme of sustainable urban regeneration.
"We believe that they will become a project model for wider dissemination of the SD message and for creating a greater impact on the general public", Ms Fang added.
The $100 million SD Fund was set up in 2003 to support community initiatives for promoting the concept of sustainable development. Practical projects and educational programmes that help raise public awareness of the principles of sustainable development and encourage sustainable practices are encouraged to apply to the Fund. The latest call for applications was the fourth time, with a total of 39 proposals received.
"This brings the total number of approved projects that have received grants from the Fund to 18 and the amount involved to $14.5 million. This is an encouraging step forward in promoting SD in Hong Kong", Ms Fang said.
The progress of all approved projects will be monitored by the Sub-Committee to ensure that they meet the objectives of the Fund and achieve the deliverables of individual projects.
The Fund will be open for the next round of applications in mid-2007. Applications from non-government and community organisations as well as individuals are welcome.
Details of the approved projects in the latest round of applications, as well as those projects funded by the scheme can be accessed on www.susdev.gov.hk.
Ends/Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:41
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