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The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, and the Director General of the Department of Culture of Guangdong Province, Mr Fang Jianhong, signed the Greater Pearl River Delta Cultural Exchange and Co-operation Development Plan 2014-2018 between Hong Kong and Guangdong today (November 6).
The Plan, signed in Guangzhou after the 17th Plenary of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation Joint Conference, will follow up on the cultural co-operation items between Guangdong and Hong Kong. The objective is to establish a sound network for performing arts, exhibitions and training as well as a co-production chain for cultural and creative industries with a view to further boosting the cultural competitiveness of the region.
Mr Tsang said, "The Home Affairs Bureau and the Department of Culture of Guangdong Province have held 15 co-operation meetings since the establishment of their cultural co-operation mechanism. Through this platform, various cultural co-operation items between Guangdong and Hong Kong have been implemented. The scope of co-operation includes exchanges of performing artists and joint organisation of cultural programmes, exchange of cultural information, co-operation in museum services, co-operation and exchanges in public libraries, intangible cultural heritage, and co-operation of cultural and creative industries."
He stated that Guangdong and Hong Kong both value the training and exchange of talents under the co-operation initiatives. For example, more than 130 representatives from related industries in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau attended the first museum forum held in Hong Kong last year. Furthermore, talents can learn from and interact with each other through joint productions in performing arts such as the dance and theatre production "Love Letters". In future, Guangdong and Hong Kong will continue to facilitate co-operation amongst talents in different domains.
The Home Affairs Bureau, the Department of Culture of Guangdong Province and the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macau Special Administrative Region have established a cultural framework within the Greater Pearl River Delta region. The 15th Greater Pearl River Delta Cultural Co-operation Meeting was held in June this year. The second five-year plan of the tripartite cultural co-operation, which symbolises a new stage of co-operation, was signed in the meeting.
Ends/Thursday, November 6, 2014
Issued at HKT 21:32
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