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A myhk2020.com website is inaugurated today (September 28) to engage the public in revitalising Brand Hong Kong (BrandHK) and creating a vision for the city¡¦s brand in 2020.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, encouraged the community to use the website as a multi-media platform to express their views and aspirations for the future of Hong Kong.
Views collected via the website and other channels will be consolidated to form the vision and core values that underpin the revitalised BrandHK.
Launched in 2001, BrandHK has been the most important platform for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to promote the city overseas. The brand stands for the vision and shared values of Hong Kong then.
Mr Tsang noted that many changes had taken place locally and in the macro-environment in the past seven years, and they might impact on the aspiration and core values of Hong Kong people. Besides, any successful brand has to keep abreast with the times. A review of BrandHK is therefore needed.
BrandHK consists of many elements, and its visual identity, which takes the form of a dragon symbol, is just one of them. The current review is a comprehensive one that covers key aspects of the Brand, with emphasis on its core values, attributes and positioning. It does not focus on whether to keep the existing visual identity.
¡§To ensure that the revitalised BrandHK is forward looking, we invite members of the public to look ahead to 2020 while creating a vision for the city. This explains why the web platform is entitled myhk2020.com,¡¨ Mr Tsang added.
Mr Tsang said BrandHK should continue to symbolise the Hong Kong spirit and its vision. Hence, public engagement in creating the brand vision was a key process in the review exercise. ¡§BrandHK should not only be an image of the city that we seek to promote overseas, but also a force for cohesion within our community,¡¨ he said.
The first phase of public engagement for the BrandHK review started in May this year. Apart from gauging public views through opinion surveys, consultation sessions have been conducted with different sectors, including business, tourism, education and environmental groups; district personalities, think tanks, academics, parents and students. More sectors will be approached, either through exchange forums or a
questionnaire.
The inauguration of the website, myhk2020.com, today brings us to the second phase of public engagement. In this phase, we reach out to the entire community and look forward to more direct interface with the public.
¡§I¡¦m convinced that public engagement and tapping their views are an essential part of the review,¡¨ said Mr Tsang.
With the new website, people can express their vision of Hong Kong 2020 in multi-media format - text, photos, drawings and videos. They can also respond to the online weekly poll or join the two related competitions.
Apart from submitting their views online, members of the public may also send their views to the Information Services Department (ISD) by email, mail or fax. (email: ideas@myhk2020.com; fax: 2598 7482; mail: BrandHK Management Unit, ISD, 4/F Murray Building, Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong). The deadline for submission is November 30, 2008.
To tie in with the launching of the website, a music video and lyrics competition and a drawing competition were also kicked off today. The former contest, known as ¡§Hong Kong 2020 ¡V The Miracle Continues¡¨ is jointly organised by ISD and Radio Television Hong Kong. The latter, entitled ¡§Create Hong Kong 2020¡¨ is the joint effort of St. James¡¦ Settlement Continued Education Centre, Arthome and ISD.
Other guests officiating at today¡¦s ceremony were the Director of Information Services, Mrs Betty Fung; the Deputy Director of Broadcasting, Ms Gracie Foo; and the Chief Executive Officer of St. James¡¦ Settlement, Mr Michael Lai. On the occasion, more than 60 children joined hands to create a giant picture to illustrate their ideal Hong Kong 2020.
Ends/Sunday, September 28, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:33
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